This 05 explore is my wifes 5th explorer. We had to replace the drivers switch on 2 earlier ones at about 65-70 thousand miles.

My wife put it into the garage last week and everything was working fine. The garage is heated so she put the windows down. I went to put it outside and none of the windows worked. The manuals shows a fuse and c.breaker under the hood. I checked and the fuse was OK. With the door open I checked again after having the fuse out and back in and they all worked. I thought it was alright. I got in and closed the door and they wouldn't go up with any switch. I opened the door and they worked. Tried it several times with the same result. I'm guessing it has something to do with the door closed switch, ground or broken power wire but I've never experienced anything like this before.

I haven't figured out how to get the door panel off with out breaking anything.

Any help would be very much appreciated. This is my wifes favorite explorer yet. It sits in the garage most of the time while she drives an older car to keep the mile down on it.

Ron

 

Hi Ron, welcome to the site..

Sounds like a problem in the door harness in the jamb.. You might try and 'wiggle test' the harness there with the key on and have someone holding the switch in a function position.. Wiggle 'and' bend the haness there and see if the window/s operate.. Being the windows function normally with the door open should take the circuit protection out of the diagnosis.. If the wiggle test doesn't prove out, a few checks you can do are,, first pop the master window panel off and check the LB/BK wire feeding the panel for voltage with the key on.. If non present,, pull the accessory delay relay in the central junction box (BTW should click with the key cycled on) and 'bridge' the connection as shown.. This will take both the relay 'and' cluster out of the diagnosis, then check the master panel for voltage on the LB/BK wire again.. The master window panel power is supplied through a 'closed' accessory delay relay in which the instrument panel micro processsor controls the relays ground to close thecontacts.. If by bridging the relay with the key on, you still have no voltage to the master panel, my bet would be a break in the harness where it passes through the cowl to the door..

Easy way to test for just a wire break is,, take a very small/thin wire and insert it along side theaccessory relay leg 'To master panel' as shown in the diagram,, then attach a larger test lead and run it to the master panelwire input LB/BK.. If the window contol is normal, then the you have a wire break...

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Thanks a lot for the reply. This afternoon right after I posted I tried the wiggle test you describe. I turned the key on, held the button down and wiggled the wires with the other hand. Depending on how I held the wires it would go up or down.

Is the master window panel you describe where the switchs are? I tried getting it apart but was afraid I was going to break something not knowing how it comes apart. Any information on this would be very helpful.

My wife has to use it tomorrow with the windows not working. We have got about 15 inches of snow tonight and it still snowing. She won't drive my super duty. I'll have to fix it Wednesday. I hope the break is where I can get at it. At least I can bring it it a nice heated garage. Its cold here.

Thanks again for the reply, it very much appreciated.

Ron