Power window on passenger side won't come down.

420

Asked by skeet99 Apr 18, 2015 at 02:16 PM about the 2008 Ford F-150 FX2 Sport SB

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 2008 F-150 crew cab passenger side front door window will not go down with a switch, I pulled the door panel and unplugged the motor and jumped it, and it went down and up with out a problem, I plugged the harness back in and went to where the switch is plugged in and removed the switch and jumped it and it work fine up and down , I ran the window down, then plugged in the switch and the window went up with the switch but would not come down. I have replaced both drivers door master switch and the passenger side door switch and it still won't come down with a switch, Is there a solenoid or other devise that could cause this problem and if so where is it ??

26 Answers

73,250

The problem may be in within the removal harness which plugs into switch itself. A prong bent or internal connection. Disconnect the harness and use two small pieces of wire, or a paper clip to jump the connection from the harness to the switch itself. Your problem is with the connection itself. If you can jump the switch then power is being supplied to the harness.

26 people found this helpful.
420

I pulled the plug and ran the window up and down by jumping it from a battery, then I plugged the harness back in and went to where to switch plugged in and again jumped it and worked flawlessly , I ran the window down and put the switch in and the window rolled up no problem but it still won't go down. I used an ohm meter and checked the switch and there power draw on the up side but zero power on the down side !

36 people found this helpful.
73,250

You have replaced both door switches. Does the window go up and down from the controls on the drivers side door? I have found the switches do not often go bad. In many instances there is a problem within the boot on the drivers side door. Remove the boot and check for any damaged wires. Then check inside the boot on the passenger side door. The wire does not have to be completely broken. Check and see if any of the wires bend easily at a right angle. Repair if necessary. Continued.

20 people found this helpful.
73,250

You can loose either a multi meter or 12V test light on the passenger side door. Make the connection and operate the switch. You will get current present on the way the window presently operates (up or down) When you get no light on the inoperative direction move the ground to a metal portion of the vehicle and see if it works. If it does you have found the defective wire or connection. NOTE: These window regulator motors operate on the same principle as old electrical motors, reverse the polarity of the current to the motor and the motor runs in the opposite direction.

14 people found this helpful.
73,250

correction. "you can use a multi meter"

4 people found this helpful.
700

I have the same truck, same problem. Passenger window will go up but not down. Manual override concludes that the motor works well both up and down. Swapped out the passenger side switch still same problem. Driver's side controls look like new. How did you fix your's?

22 people found this helpful.
73,250

Dolly: Your post is not clear. Does the window work properly (up and down) from the passenger side? Or does it just go up, but not down from the passenger side? What does "manual override" mean? Does the window work properly from the driver controls? Or just one way, up?

7 people found this helpful.
700

Both switches will bring the window up. Neither will bring it down. There's nothing to indicate the motor is even trying to take it down. "Manual override" means I managed to get the motor to work and bring the window down, then up, by removing the door panel and reversing the positions of the stator magnets... This means that the window started going down from the up switch - weird. So, the motor works in both directions, the window mechanism is fine too. There's something wrong with the wiring apparently, but I don't know where to start checking. I removed the boot on the passenger door - wires look quite new. I've only had one electrical problem up until now and it was completely unrelated. Should I check resistance on same coded wires between driver/passenger switches?

8 people found this helpful.
73,250

Purchase a 12V test light. One end should have a pointy pin. which is connected to a 12 volt light used to probe wires and inside connectors on the positive side. The other end has an alligator clip which is connected to any metal part of the car to act as a ground. The window motors are 12V DC. The motor reverses itself when polarity to the motor is reversed. The motor is usually bolted to a metal fixture inside the door and therefore grounds itself, usually. Remove the door panel and back probe with the test light (with the key in the on position) and locate the pin which supplies power to the switch. Since the window goes up, you definitely have power to the switch. Probe each connection slot and push the up button until the window rises, and the light goes on. Note the color of that wire. Now probe the other pins while pushing the down button until the light glows. If it glows, note the color. Now move to the same color wire at the connection of the motor and repeat the test. If it glows, the motor is bad, but you know it is good because of your previous test. You will probably not get a glow when the down button is pressed when testing at the switch connection, meaning the switch is bad.

7 people found this helpful.
73,250

The other possibility is a bad connection or damaged wire inside the door. Do the checking at the passenger side door first, the problem will be there.

6 people found this helpful.
700

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes I will test it with the bulb method. But the switch is ok because I did swap it out with one from the rear window, still the same thing. There's only two wires that go into the motor. If I don't get a glow when the down button is pressed this wouldn't mean per se that the switch is bad because the whole loop also goes to the driver's side... How are the wires on these windows routed? They exit the fuse box and where di they go first - to the driver's control module or the passenger?

8 people found this helpful.
73,250

I'll try to explain as simply as possible. I have a 2010 F 150. I suspect your 2008 windows operate on a similar process. Independent power is supplied to the passenger side window via the junction box. Therefore, the windows should go up and down without any input from the drivers side controls. When the window is lowered from the drivers side, power is sent through the switch on the passenger side door to lower the window. Since the window will not go down from from the passenger side, the place to check is there. The window motor only has two wires because power will flow through one wire to raise the window. To lower the window, power is sent through the other wire. Remember, if you reverse the polarity through a DC motor, the motor runs in the opposite direction (reverse). This is why I suggested using a test light at the motor when the button is pressed in the up position or down position. Since the window works going up, the light should glow the button is pressed up. Now reverse the probe to the other wire and press the down button. If the light does not glow, then no power is getting to the motor from the other direction. There is an easy way to check the motor with a jumper wire. If you want to know the process, let me know.

9 people found this helpful.
700

Thanks for your reply and description - it is helpful. I checked the boot between the driver's door and the cab and guess what - three broken wires, like completely broken. I fixed all of them. And guess what - nothing changed, except that now the window will not even go up... I don't understand how this is possible, since yesterday it was going up, before I found about the broken wires. Colors were purple - apparently for the passenger power adjust mirror, white with yellow, and brown with two light blue stripes. This window situation is getting f*** retarded. I'll be checking more stuff on the passenger panel later tonight, once I cool down a bit.

3 people found this helpful.
73,250

To make life easier for you, try locating a wiring diagram for the power vehicles for your vehicle. The diagram will include the wire colors, making tracing a lot easier, not to mention where things lead. Did the wires appear to be broken or cut by someone. Since you reconnected them, check the fuse.

3 people found this helpful.
73,250

power windows for your vehicle.

1 people found this helpful.
700

The wires were definitely broken. As far as I understand the fuse is only one fuse for all the power windows, so I presumed it is working, since all other windows are perfectly fine. I don't like wiring diagrams and honestly don't cope well with them :) Will do a live trace tomorrow though, and do the bulb check, I got the right kind of bulb.

3 people found this helpful.
700

So I fixed the window. After fixing all the broken wires on the driver's door boot, I removed the passenger door panel. I had not connected well the two pin power for the motor. After it clicked everything is fine. My problem was resolved after I found three broken wires in the boot of the driver's door. Two were thick wires obviously for power, one was an unrelated wire for the power adjust mirror on the passenger side. Conclusion: after reading on many forums it seems it's a very common problem for this generation F150 to have weird and random failures with the power windows - any window can fail and will either not go down, or not go up, or any combination. It's a very common issue, the most common culprit were broken wires in the door to cab boot. Seems some of the wires were a bit too short or kinked and would fail after some years of service. This is not a surprise considering that electrical in these trucks resembles a DIY job. If there's a problem with a single window there's no need to check the fuse, there's only one fuse for all windows. First and easiest to check: the switch for the window. People get dirty contacts on the pins, or blackened contacts on the button itself. All passenger switches are interchangeable. Second: check that the motor for the corresponding window has power at it's two pin connector and is running in both directions. Instructions on how to do this can be found above in other posts. Third: Check wiring in the driver's side and corresponding door to cab boot connections. Wires may be completely broken as in my case and many others on forums. Fourth: Start replacing stuff that cannot be diagnosed, like the drivers main window control module.

26 people found this helpful.
20

I have a similar issue as well. I have a 2000 Daewoo Nubria and the rear passenger window will go down but not up. Here is the dilemma the front passenger window will go up and down from using its switch but on the drivers door it can not be accessed. The drivers switch works just fine for its own window. But all of the other switches on the drivers master switch can not operate any of the other windows up or down. The left passenger will not go up or down by using its own switch. I have been working on the right rear window by switching out the regulator, switch and motor. The only thing it will do is go down. My question is being that the drivers master switch is not able to operate any of the other windows can the issue be the master switch on the drivers door?

2 people found this helpful.
160

I have a 2004 f150, the passenger side window will go down but not up. I have power to the switch on both sides, power down to the motor, and going into the motor on both sides, down and up. Like stupid I replaced the motor and the switch, nothing helps. My radio has been crazy for a while, but the windows have been fine until 2 days ago. It will not go up from the drivers side either, have power to everything still will not go up. Any suggestions from anybody. Thanks

16 people found this helpful.
50

I have a ford f150, driver side will go down not up, passenger doesn't work at all. Tried cleaning the contact spots , then tried replacing master window switch, checked the fuses both under dash and under good all good.... turned out to be a broken wire

5 people found this helpful.
40

Our truck drivers side window rolls down on its own when the truck is turned off and it’s just parked in the driveway. Is that the same issue everyone else is having?

4 people found this helpful.
20

Same problem broken thick white wire in driver's door boot , 5 minute fix.

2 people found this helpful.

Mine goes down and not up well. The wire has to be semi-broken. Sometimes it goes up the 1st time, sometimes I have to press the button 5 times, sometimes, 20, sometimes 50, sometimes 100, sometimes 1000.....it's been like that for 2 years.....I'll fix the wire soon!

2005 F150 XLT front passenger window only rolls up & down when panel is disassembled by bypassing the switch. Once down you can roll the window up w/the passenger switch only. Driver switch has zero function. ALTHOUGH w/an Ohm Meter & circuit tester it shows power in both driver & passenger switches. Mind boggling, I know. After searching & reading these articles I checked the boot between the driver side door. Blew my mind!!!!!!!!! FOUR cut wires. Got dark on me yesterday, but I'm finishing up this morning. One of them Wires is the Up position to the drive side switch. Although the up position showed currency when tested. Hopefully this will fix my door number code issue as well. I've noticed it's not lit up & needed looking into. Update on the prognosis!!!!!!!!!

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