mikeg75

When the headlights are switched on, my back right window motor or power lock motor now clicks as if it is activating, and while driving last night, my wife says she heard sounds like an electrical short circuit was going on in that window/door (bzzz, bzzt, something like that!).

It seems like a gradual worsening of an electrical problem which started with the power locks for the back doors not working when we unlock the car, and where the windows in the whole car don't work well sometimes immediately after the car is started.

Is there something simple I can check to make this stop? Maybe its a sign of bad electrical grounds or a bad alternator? Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

This is a tough one! Obviously there is some feedback going on but a connection between the headlights and the door locks or window motors is going to be hard to figure out; they are all separate electrical circuits. Checking the ground wires would be a good starting point when you have feedback problems. Inspect the wire harnesses under the hood for spots that could have rubbed through the insulation especially in the tight areas. Check real good where the main wire harness goes into the firewall on the driver's side.

Various questions - Do both headlights come on at full brightness or is one of them (or both) dim? When the low beams are on, can you tell if the high beams a partially illuminated? Has the car been in an accident that could have damaged a wire harness?

Door locks are controlled by the master switch in the drivers door. Since it has a dash light in it, there could be a possible feedback that way.

mikeg75

Thanks for your thoughts Dennis. I didn't get a chance to check the light strengths as you suggested. The driver's side master switch may have gotten a lot of water in it this year during heavy rains we had in May/June here in Philadelphia. I definitely remember a couple days of the windows and locks acting weird shortly after one particularly heavy rain where we got out in the middle of the downpour to let my son out for school or camp.

Back to the current problem - I don't drive the car every day and tonight I took it out for a drive to see what is going on. The click is gone and I didn't hear any buzzing. The power locks on both back doors have not worked in a while and maybe the buzzing and clicking sounds my wife and I heard earlier this week were the last gasps. It hasn't rained in about 2 weeks here so maybe also the electrical system is dried out completely where it wasn't earlier this week.

In any event, I should have mentioned in my original post that my son has been sticking stickers on that window the last 9 months and I noticed tonight that some of them seem to be foil-type ones that may have a little metal in them. Maybe he killed the power lock motor in the door as I noticed that part of one of the bigger metallic ones is missing, presumably sucked into the inside of the door.

I'm having other problems with this car and for now I guess the window and power lock issue isn't the most important. I think my motor mounts need replacement sooner rather than later, as I noticed a lot of squeaking on accelerating when I was out driving it tonight.

And it still feels shifty/bouncy when I drive it though my wife claims she doesn't notice it.

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

I've been reading your various posts on all your problems and I hate to see someone with so many problems at once. When you have a bunch of things happening at once, you have to figure out the priorities and set a schedule.

You mentioned that your son put stickers on the window and maybe that played a part in the door lock problem. I doubt that as the wiring and connectors are pretty well sealed. Foreign objects could cause mechanisms to bind, but again I doubt that a piece of foil is stiff enough to do this.

Reading this latest post makes me feel more and more that the master window switch in the driver's door is the cause of your window and lock problems.