I am a brand new member to the FordForum and a Ford man through and through.

I have a 1984 LTD Crown Victoria station wagon that is like new. Recently I've developed a problem. My tailgate window will not operate. I am getting power at the dash switch and at the motor. The key switch doesn't operate either but if I hook power directly to the motor, the window will operate just fine. The lock mechanism for the tailgate seems to be sloppy and must be locked with the key. Pushing the lock button has no effect. Does anyone hae a solution or another area for me to check out? Electrical is not my forte and I'm out of ideas.

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I *think* there is a relay for the tailgate window motor. If the relay is bad the window won't work but wiring the motor directly will.

The relay for the tailights is behind the driver's-side rear speaker in the cargo area; at least that's where it is on my Dad's '87 Crown Victoria wagon. I would suggest you look there for the tailgate window relay as well. If not there, check under the hood for a relay/distribution box.

Let us know what you find out.

 

Thanks a lot, sheebeehuh! I will definitely check that out.

 

Well no luck on finding a relay for the tailgate window. Also, if the relay were bad I wouldn't be reading power at the switch and the motor would I? However I am. It's just that the window won't go up and down unless I apply raw power to the motor... weird.

Anybody got any other ideas???

Thanks!

 

I'm not familiar with your particular vehicle, but will try to help based on my experience with other vehicle electrical problems. You said you're getting power at the dash switch and atthe rear window motor. Since you're able to get the window to operate properly via direct power to the motor, I would trace the wiring between the dash switch and the motor for any splits or breaks.

 

Hi Borgrif, I'm new to this forum also, in fact I registered so that I could respond to your thread.

I suspect that you have a poor or high resistance connection somewhere along the power path to the motor. Try to rig up a connection that will allow you to monitor the voltage at the motor with the motor connected. My guess is that with the load (motor) in the circuit, you won't see the power there when you operate the switch.

Here's and analogy; If you had a garden hose connected to a sprayer with the faucet turned on, but there is a kink somewhere in the hose. You can hit the sprayer, but quickly the pressure drops, and you only get a slow dribble. What you are looking for is that "kink" somewhere in your power path. I would check and clean all connections. Any amout of corrosion will cause what you're seeing. If you have a good schematic for the circuit, this will make this task much easier. I wouldn't rule out the switch itself. You might try bypassing the switch using a jumper wire.