Fixed my slow windows

[TraceZ]

I've heard of several ways of fixing this problem... I replaced the motors a couple years ago, but they were both already getting very slow again.

Last weekend I removed both motors and openned them up for inspection. They looked great inside. The armatures looked like new, the commutators were not worn, the brushes looked great, the springs were still shiney like new, etc. So... Why were they slow?

Answer... a combination of old wiring in the car and the thermal protection strips in the motors going bad.

Solution: 3" of copper wire and some solder. use a secion of copper wire to bypass the thermal protection strip. no need to remove the strip, just leave it be. Solder your copper to the brush hood on one side and to the connector contack on the other. Done. Simple.

I tested both motors, taking the windows up and down at least 100 times. The motors did not get hot. I can still stop the window with my hand, so I know it will not sever anyones limbs if they get caught in it. Other people have done this mod, but the difference is I did not pry open the thermal strips or solder over them. I left them unmolested. In theory, I could return the motors to stock if I wanted to at some point in the future by simply cutting the new copper wire out of them.

[raroZ28]

Did you get any pics?

[Joe 1320]

Very cool.

[TraceZ]

Did you get any pics?

Just bend open the 3 tabs locking the end cap onto the motor.

Remove the end cap, catch the brushes and springs as they fly out.

Get a piece of copper wire and solder it from the connector terminal to the brush hood.

Pull the armature out from the motor housing. Spray some light oil in there to halp heep it free in the furure.

Put the brushes and springs back in their brush hoods.

Carefully hold the springs and brushes in place as you insert the commutator end of the armature back into the end cap.

Lubricate it with a little grease

finish up by sliding the armature and end cap quickly back into the motor housing so the brushes stay in place. Bend the 3 tabs back in place.

Done.

[CDJr]

Great info, Tracy

[Blazer]

How much faster did they get.Mine are so so. But they were never super fast to start with. But than if i were to drag race windows with my X girl friends Mustang she would blow my doors off. en other words is it worth my time to do this.What will my ETs be. Thanks for posting that.
Blazer

[TraceZ]

How much faster did they get.Mine are so so. But they were never super fast to start with. But than if i were to drag race windows with my X girl friends Mustang she would blow my doors off. en other words is it worth my time to do this.What will my ETs be. Thanks for posting that.
Blazer

I get full up in 5 seconds on both windows with the car running. 6 seconds without the car running. They are easily twice as fast as they used to be. The passenger side was so weak I had to open the door to get the window to go all the way up. The mouldings were too much of a resistance otherwise.

Just make sure you solder the wire in correctly. Looking at the inside of the end cap, you will see the two connectors the plug connects to next to eachother on the connector side. One of them connects directly to the nearest brush hood. The other connects to the thermal strip which connects to the brush hood on the far side.

You want to solder the wire from the far side brush hood, to the plug contact. This will allow energy to take the path of least resistance and bypass the thermal strip. Sorry I don't have a picture of that.

It works really well.

When our cars were originally built the wiring was new and the thermal protectors didnt cause any problems. But, GM used wire that was too small a gauge and as our cars aged the resistance in the wires grew. Now there is not enough power at the motor to get past the thermal strip wihtout causing problems.

You can either remove the thermal strips, or re-wire the windows. Many people are adding larger wire and relays fed directly by the battery.

I figured I'd try bypassing the thermal strips first, and if it continued to be a problem I'd re-wire the doors. So far so good on bypassing the thermal strips, it has allowed the motors to get more juice and work properly again.

[aldaran]

Are all motors this way or are after market motors built better? My 2000 Camaro passenger window is very slow and I was thinking of getting a new motor.

[TraceZ]

Are all motors this way or are after market motors built better? My 2000 Camaro passenger window is very slow and I was thinking of getting a new motor.

I've seen some aftermarket motors that have a different motor in them. It looks like the motor out of a cordless drill.

[Timbers]

Ya

I was gonna say, man are my windows getting slow! It's annoying to sit there and watch the sucker, I bet it takes 15 seconds for my window to go up.

What is a thermal strip anyways? I'm sure I will understand once I get the motor out, but until then please let me know what that is.

Aren't the motors riveted in? I have never looked too close a them. How hard are they to get out?

On the last few cars I have torn apart, I've had to take the glass out, drill all the rivets out, take the whole motor/track assembly out, its a pain!!

...Tim

[BrdWAtti2d]

Yea they are rivited in but it's still not too bad.
Here's a how-to thanks to Rob (ShoeBox)

[Timbers]

.

I just checked mine, they are actually pretty fast when the engine is running, they are only slow when the car is off. Brand new battery too. Guess the added voltage of the car running makes them faster.

...Tim