jermo

Have a 1996 Civic EX coupe and I’m having problems with the power windows, this is kind of a doozy fellas…I don’t usually post as I usually find the answer online or figure the problem out on my own but I’m pretty confused

First I guess I should say the sunroof, mirrors and door locks work just fine
Also the driver’s side window rolls up and down just fine
The current problem I have is with the passenger side, it will only roll down and NOT up
I also noticed on the driver’s side at the master switch that if I try to roll down the passenger window it will not roll down or up (could have sworn it rolled the window down like the passenger switch does when I first started to troubleshoot the problem but now it doesn’t)

Please read further because I have tried a lot of **** and hope I can remember everything I have tried…

-I used a test light to check the under dash fuses just in case and both terminals on both fuses light up the test light just fine
-On the driver’s side master switch I used a test light to check for voltage at the plug. A1 and A6 both have power
-On the driver’s side switch I checked for voltage on terminal 1 and it has power
-Checked the wires to each door where they normally break and saw one had already broke and was re-wired before I got the car. It was the green with black stripe A6 wire that I tested and it had power. I also found another broken wire and wired it up correctly, it was the yellow with red stripe wire.
-Used 2 different motors I had for the passenger side, plugged them in and same as the one in the door they only roll down
-Used 3 other switches, 2 on the passenger side and 1 master switch on the driver’s side and everything is the same, driver rolls up and down fine and passenger only rolls down with the passenger switch.
-I de-pinned the motor in the door and when I switch the wires to the switch the window rolls up, switch the wires back and it rolls down

-The bizarre thing is I used a test light to check voltage when rolling up and down the window on the driver’s side and of course I get voltage each time, so I did the same on the passenger side. What’s bizarre is that I get voltage when I use the switch to roll down the window AND I get voltage when I roll up the window…WTF?!?

So am I not getting a correct ground to the passenger side? The test light tells me I’m getting power for both up and down so all I can think of is incorrect ground. Does up and down share grounds or are they separate because obviously the down motion is getting correct power and ground. I’m pretty bad at electrical so I don’t know exactly how the windows are all wired together and where to go from here. Any stupid tricks I can do to just make it work, even if it kills the battery!?!? Thanks fellas and sorry for the huge essay

Former User

The Blu/Orn wire that runs from pin A2 in the master switch to pin 2 of the passenger switch is almost surely broken.

jermo

think another wire is broken huh? I checked a bunch of times for more broken wires but didn't see any...hard to get in there tho so i'll check again, maybe ill just cut it and re-wire it

Former User

Don't rely on visual inspection for electrical problems. Use a multimeter to test the wire for continuity between pins A2 and 2. You will likely find that there is no continuity (broken wire).

jermo

ill definitely check it, have a shitty multimeter so hopefully i can get it to work

then again remember i used a test light on that wire and it lit up when i rolled the windows up or down, which one im not sure. Does the drivers side supply power to the passenger side via that wire? If so me getting voltage on a test light would confirm theres no breaks in the wire right?

Former User

No. See circuit diagram.

Continuity test the Blu/Orn wire between pins A2 and 2.

mk378

When the passenger's switch is not pressed, it just connects the two wires from the motor over to the two wires to the driver's door and switch. Power and ground both come from the driver's side when the driver presses his switch to roll up or down the passenger window. When the passenger presses their switch, power comes from the green-black wire in the passenger door, but the ground still goes into the driver's door and through the driver's switch and main switch.

jermo

Thanks for breaking it down for me man, im not a ****** electrical engineer so i don't understand circuit diagrams at all...but anyway the Blu/Orn wire was the problem, re-wired it on the drivers side and good to go! Thanks again everyone

Former User

Neither am I. With a little effort, you could learn to read simple circuit diagrams like the one I posted. It's not beyond you. If you're interested, just Google search and read.

By knowing how to read the circuit diagram, I was able to diagnose your problem in about a minute without doing a single electrical test. Learn and be empowered.