Driver's window will not roll up. There is a
The sound is the motor turning the winding cylinder for the regulator (the module which contains the steel cables which lift and lower the window) with a cable broken. Only solution is to replace the regulator. Not too difficult but somewhat tedious to do.
If you are going to do this yourself, get your camera and take pictures of each step before you do it. Referring to a workshop manual will be an immense help.
The door panel is held on by screws and plastic ribbed posts which stick into "grabbers." The door pull/handhold has plastic covers on each end. Gently squeeze these covers toward their middle to push the gripping cleats away from the edges. Using a pair of vice grips and setting the opening just enough to squeeze but not crush works best. Do not pry off with a screwdriver or you will have to replace the cover. Screws are behind these covers.
The window control panel pulls forward and up to remove. Pry carefully, gently. Do not force the plastic around the door handle. It does not need to come off. The foam rubber behind the handle moves around. Reset it when you put the door panel back on. Once all the screws are out, pull sharply along the edges of the door panel until the panel snaps off. If you break the plastic pins which hold the door in place, use 2 part epoxy to rebind them. Take the window control unit out of the door panel- don't disconnect, just twist to side through the opening. Slide the door panel toward the front of the car to clear the door handle. Gently.
Set the door panel aside. The inside of the door is covered with a thin foam plastic sheet. Carefully pull this back, removing it if you can, peeling it back if you can't. You will need to use some spray adhesive to stick it back in place when you close up the panel. Remove the radio speaker- stick the screws on the magnet on the back of the speaker. Pull the wires off the speaker carefully. Set it aside where it won't be holed by accident.
The wiring harnesses are held in place by plastic serrated pins fitted into holes in the door. Snap/pry them out carefully. The wires are wrapped with plastic electrical tape. If you pull hard and the pins come unstuck from the wires, simply retape them in place. A photo is good to help remember how to put the wires back in place.
Remove the plastic window frame on the bottom of the window- pry it up with a thin tool like a dry wall compound spreader (narrow one,) Set it aside.
You are now faced with a multitude of rivets. The easiest way to get them out is to drill out the center, widening the center hole as you do. You don't have to drill the hole completely as wide as the rivet, just enough to get the center out. Then place a chisel beneath the rivet head and hit it with a hammer to cut the head off the rivet. The rivet is aluminum and will cut off easily it the hole is bored out well (a little oversize hole helps.) The inside portion of the rivet will fall into the door. Pick them out or they will rattle later.) To repIace the rivets, I use a small bolt set which Harbor Freight company sells. There are enough bolts and nuts in it (approx 1/8 in or 5 mm-I think) to replace the rivets nicely. it is a small box of various sized bolts/nuts. Any short (1/2 inch) bolt and nut which fits the holes will work.
Remove all the rivets. Take out the screws holding the motor to the regulator. Photograph or mark how the triangular plate fits into the door and where the motor is oriented. It is easy to put the motor back on in the wrong position. The upper portion of the regulator is held on by two rivets at the top of the door. Once they are removed the holder which connects the upper part of the regulator is free. You cannot get the regulator out without taking the window out of the door. Stand facing the door edge and put your hands on opposite sides of the window glass. Manipulate it, rotate it, etc until you can pull it out. Be careful! Break the glass and you have to go to a junkyard or glass shop.
Pull out the motor and regulator. Note how they fit together. Put new regulator in same position. It you are not very, very careful with the new regulator, you can unwind the cables on it and they are a real pain to get right again. (The cables are counter wound so when one goes out the other winds in.) I usually put a piece of wire into the holes to lock the wires in place until I can fit the motor on it. Put the regulator into the door. Put the motor and the triangular plate into the door opening and set them in place on the regulator. You will have to figure out how the pieces go together inside the door- the access is limited and space is tight. Here is where a photo of the unit before it was uninstalled is valuable. You might have to put it in and out more than once to get it in right. Next replace rivets with small bolts and nuts with lock washers. Small hands help (but it is'nt a one person job.) Forceps also are an aid. You have to find the best way to get the nuts on for you. I used tape on the bolts on the top of the door to hold them in place until I could fit the frame in place and get the bolts and washers on.
When you have the regulator and motor in place- DO NOT TIGHTEN ALL THE BOLTS until you fit the window in place. It needs to move against the regulator and the guides to go into place. Then you can tighten up all the bolts.
Turn on ignition and test window. If in place properly (don't forget to put the bottom window frame back on and tap it into place) the window should slide up and down without binding. If it binds, is slow, hesitates, jerks, squeals or in other ways doesn't act normally, get back into the door and see where it is installed wrongly (I got the first regulator I put in all fouled up and had to buy another and install it!) Now when all is smooth, tighten up all nuts and screws.
Put the plastic shield into place and position but to not push into place the wiring support pins. Pull back the plastic and spray the back of the plastic with adhesive spray- Use good quality spray from auto store, not hobby stuff. Push, pull, stretch plastic until it fits. Reinstall wiring, radio speaker, etc. Be sure you have ventilation, the adhesive solvents are not to be breathed- Any pulmonary problem, wear a high quality face mask with cheek filters.
Wait until adhesive is dry before putting door back together. Put window control panel up through opening but do not snap into place. Position panel using plastic pins for placement. Push, pound with heel of hand, the panel until it snaps in place. It should go in nicely without a lot of force. Repace screws. (the screws inside the door pocket do not hold anything except the padded cover in place.) Check fit.
Place window control panel in place and snap it in. Replace covers over screws on door handhold- they might have to be spread a little to make sure they click into place- especially if they are cold (warm them up if they are stiff.)
You are done.
Depending on how fast you cut the rivets and unscrewed the regulator assembly, this is 4-5 hour job for the first timer. Take your time, get it right. Don't do it when you are tired or you will break something. Use epoxy to fix plastic parts. If its under the door panel, elegance doesn't matter, function does.
