digitalcaddie
03-22-08, 09:05 PM
OK, so the driver side window in my 97 SLS rolled down the other day, but wouldn't roll back up. After getting two switches from the junk yard that didn't work 100% (one rolled the window up, but not down, the other had the opposite problem), I tried taking apart my original busted one to see if I could clean up the contacts/fix the problem myself. So the following is what I did to get the thing working again. I took some pics and will post them shortly when I can add arrows/descriptions to the pics so you know what you're looking at. Unfortunately, the pics didn't turn out that great, but they'll get you going.
So for starters, pop window switch panel out of the door. A flathead screwdriver is useful here and you may want to pop the door lock panel to give yourself a little more room. Next disconnect all the electrical connectors to free the part...use your flathead again as some of those stupid tabs are a pain to push in. Now take a jewelers flathead screwdriver and pry just the window switch part away from everything else. At this point I suggest working at a bench on a piece of paper as the parts are kinda small and can get lost.
So for starters take the window lock push button off by simply pulling on it. This may require some tough pulling or maybe pliers, but it will pull straight up and off. Next, you need to remove the tops of all the rocker switches. They are held in place by tabs on either side and you'll probably have to break one side to free them up. I suggest using your jewelers screwdriver and only prying on one side until they pop off. I did that and only broke one side of two of the rockers so everything snapped back together when I was done.
Now turn the switch module over and remove the white plastic bottom to expose the circuitry underneath. There are tabs on either side of this thing that catch on the gray plastic so I used two jewelers screwdrivers here (one on each side) to pry the gray plastic away on one side while I worked on the other side. Once you slide the white plastic part off over the exposed copper conductors, you should be able to see the circuitry
inside the switch. Next use your jewelers screwdriver to pry the gray housing away from the switch circuitry. BE CAREFUL NOT TO PULL ON THE TOP GREEN CIRCUIT BOARD WHERE THE WINDOW LOCK SWITCH IS BECAUSE ITS PRETTY FLIMSY. You can also push on the switches from the other side to get the circuitry out of the gray housing.
So at this point it might be a little more clear why your switch isn't working. My original and the switch from the junkyard both had black junk on several of the contacts that can't be good for electrical conductivity. To clean the contacts, you need to remove the clear plastic rockers by freeing them at their pivot points. When you do this, you'll see that below the rockers, there are two spring loaded plastic tabs that apply pressure to the copper conductors underneath them that alternately break one connection/make another connection depending on which way you rock the switch. When you have the rockers removed, the conductors will fall out if you turn the switch module upside down assuming they aren't covered with too much junk. Make sure you clean the contact point on the switch module as well as on the BOTTOM of the copper conductor piece that moves back and forth. I just scraped away all the black junk with my jewelers screwdriver.
So there are other things to check for at this point besides just the black crap. My original switch didn't work any more because one of the plastic pressure "tabs" had warn away and wasn't moving the copper conductor any more. To fix this I added a big drop of epoxy to the end of the pressure tab to make up for what had warn away.
The switch from the junkyard didn't work because the tabs that the rockers pivot on broke so the pressure tabs once again weren't applying any pressure to the copper conductors. To fix this I drilled a hole through the pivot point in the clear plastic piece and used a nail as the new fulcrum.
Another problem that I think I created was that I bent one of the copper conductors that move back and forth and it no longer hit the contact so you might have to slightly bend those to make sure they touch. An ohm meter is useful here to ensure things are making contact where they should be but not shorting to other stuff.
While you're in here you can replace the little 12V lamp that lights the switches if its burned out. Its in the middle of the circuitry between all four switches. Its covered by a little yellow rubber condom that you can remove and reuse if you want to maintain the same color/brightness of light. I smashed the existing burned out bulb and then soldered in a replacement that I got from the junkyard from the small lights that shine down on the switches on all the doors.
So to put everything back together, just snap it all in place and plug it in.
If you catch this post in the next week and don't want to do all this crap to get your windows working, you can bid on the switch I fixed on ebay.
So for starters, pop window switch panel out of the door. A flathead screwdriver is useful here and you may want to pop the door lock panel to give yourself a little more room. Next disconnect all the electrical connectors to free the part...use your flathead again as some of those stupid tabs are a pain to push in. Now take a jewelers flathead screwdriver and pry just the window switch part away from everything else. At this point I suggest working at a bench on a piece of paper as the parts are kinda small and can get lost.
So for starters take the window lock push button off by simply pulling on it. This may require some tough pulling or maybe pliers, but it will pull straight up and off. Next, you need to remove the tops of all the rocker switches. They are held in place by tabs on either side and you'll probably have to break one side to free them up. I suggest using your jewelers screwdriver and only prying on one side until they pop off. I did that and only broke one side of two of the rockers so everything snapped back together when I was done.
Now turn the switch module over and remove the white plastic bottom to expose the circuitry underneath. There are tabs on either side of this thing that catch on the gray plastic so I used two jewelers screwdrivers here (one on each side) to pry the gray plastic away on one side while I worked on the other side. Once you slide the white plastic part off over the exposed copper conductors, you should be able to see the circuitry
inside the switch. Next use your jewelers screwdriver to pry the gray housing away from the switch circuitry. BE CAREFUL NOT TO PULL ON THE TOP GREEN CIRCUIT BOARD WHERE THE WINDOW LOCK SWITCH IS BECAUSE ITS PRETTY FLIMSY. You can also push on the switches from the other side to get the circuitry out of the gray housing.
So at this point it might be a little more clear why your switch isn't working. My original and the switch from the junkyard both had black junk on several of the contacts that can't be good for electrical conductivity. To clean the contacts, you need to remove the clear plastic rockers by freeing them at their pivot points. When you do this, you'll see that below the rockers, there are two spring loaded plastic tabs that apply pressure to the copper conductors underneath them that alternately break one connection/make another connection depending on which way you rock the switch. When you have the rockers removed, the conductors will fall out if you turn the switch module upside down assuming they aren't covered with too much junk. Make sure you clean the contact point on the switch module as well as on the BOTTOM of the copper conductor piece that moves back and forth. I just scraped away all the black junk with my jewelers screwdriver.
So there are other things to check for at this point besides just the black crap. My original switch didn't work any more because one of the plastic pressure "tabs" had warn away and wasn't moving the copper conductor any more. To fix this I added a big drop of epoxy to the end of the pressure tab to make up for what had warn away.
The switch from the junkyard didn't work because the tabs that the rockers pivot on broke so the pressure tabs once again weren't applying any pressure to the copper conductors. To fix this I drilled a hole through the pivot point in the clear plastic piece and used a nail as the new fulcrum.
Another problem that I think I created was that I bent one of the copper conductors that move back and forth and it no longer hit the contact so you might have to slightly bend those to make sure they touch. An ohm meter is useful here to ensure things are making contact where they should be but not shorting to other stuff.
While you're in here you can replace the little 12V lamp that lights the switches if its burned out. Its in the middle of the circuitry between all four switches. Its covered by a little yellow rubber condom that you can remove and reuse if you want to maintain the same color/brightness of light. I smashed the existing burned out bulb and then soldered in a replacement that I got from the junkyard from the small lights that shine down on the switches on all the doors.
So to put everything back together, just snap it all in place and plug it in.
If you catch this post in the next week and don't want to do all this crap to get your windows working, you can bid on the switch I fixed on ebay.