i was given a 91 ford tempo, 4 door, 4 cylinder, awd.

it needed work, but it runs decently and gets great mileage.

my problem is the electric windows.

to start off, the front windows worked but were a bit slow at times going up and down. the back windows go down but not up, and make like a clicking sound when you use the buttons on the drivers side.

about 2 weeks ago my drivers front window was really sluggish going down and i used my hand to help it go down. now it won't go back up. there's no noise when i push the button, and it's almost like it's getting no juice. the passenger side front window is working great. up and down, and the back windows are still doing their thing, clicking when you try to get them to go back up.

i had the fuses checked today and they were fine. if one window is working, and two partially and one not at all, could it be something besides the motor for the windows? and is there just one motor or several?

i'd like to get a general idea before i go to a garage. no sense in getting ripped off if i can help it.

thanks

 

I'm no expert on power windows. Had one car with it years ago. Now from all the problems I have heard, I think I'll just stick to manual, thank you. Dont' care to go off road into river with windows that won't go down, or in 95-100 degree temps with window that can't be made to go down, or in 20-below weather when windows won't go back up.

But troubleshooting your problem should be pretty straight forward. Each window would have it's own motor because there has to be some means for each window to mechanically, down inside each door, to raise up the window. Motors and wires and switches inside the door could be tested for proper resistance, or for a short, and the wires serving the motors could be tested for appropriate voltage, to find out if some or all are suffering from some low voltage situation.

 

First thing to try, get some spray silicone or even WD-40. At the front and back of the glass is a guide. It is the black rubber or cloth like track the glass slides in. Spray the guide from the top of the door and use a spray tip nozzle to spray down into the door, with the glass down.

 

For a problem such as sluggish windows I'd remove the inner door panel to assess what's going on. After 17 years, the grease on the mechanism has probably hardened. I'd clean it off and relube it with fresh grease. Be happy that most of the windows still work.

Another problem is that the window mechanism may be out of alignment. If you continue to operate the windows in this condition you may burn out the motors.

By the way, this also happens to door latch mechanisms. I've owned so many old cars that I now consider it as maintenance that needs to be done every 10 years.

 

Yup, silicone those guides for sure. One other thing to keep in mind is that the drivers door is the one that opens & closes the most, and the wires that run to all those windows, also run through the front of that drivers door & into the post, thus, lots of bending etc, causes problems. I've seen quite a few where the problem starts right there behind the boot that covers them.