How To Test Power Window Switch With Multimeter

Learn how to test power window switch with multimeter without professional and technical help

Knowing how to test power window switch with multimeter is good for operating your car properly. You may find yourself in your car in the summer with an annoying sun, and you want to open the power window, but it is stuck. You can have a very unpleasant experience with power windows and their malfunction due to different causes.

Before you run to a professional technician, you should take the problem with your window personally and seek the solution. These electric windows work with a very simple system. This system is linked to a switch so that you can open or close them quietly. You don’t have to be a tech professional, but you must first know its causes.

Problems in a power window malfunction

Problems in a power window malfunction can be due to many factors, and you should analyze them carefully. Among the things that may be affected by the electric window of your car may be associated:

  • Lack of maintenance

In the power window structure, it has many bearings that ignite with electricity and sometimes need maintenance. If you do not apply grease, oil, or other elements that make the area slippery from time to time, it can get stuck. If your window lacks maintenance with its bearings, you have a simple solution by taking it apart yourself.

The first thing you should do is disassemble the entire electrical lead so that the bearing system is visible. You can see that the bearings have enough grease or are too dry. Applying grease to your electrical lead’s bearings can improve their use by opening and closing when you press the switch.

  • Bad power conduction
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In-car window repair, you must take into account the energy conduction to this element. Maybe the problem with your electric window is not the bearings but an interrupted or very low power. You have to reopen the lead structure and check that everything is okay with a multimeter.

When there are energy problems that affect your electric window’s operation, their solution can be more complex. If you opened the window and confirmed that everything is fine, but the window does not work, go-to professionals. It is understandable that you cannot come up with this quick fix and that, unfortunately, it could cost me a lot of money to accommodate your car.

Steps to test the power window switch with a multimeter

Now that you have ruled out two possible problems in your car and your window, you can proceed to how to test power window switch with multimeter by completing a few steps. People can use multimeter to check the energy going through the power window. You will be able to immediately find the fault. Here are the things, which you can do to amend the power windows

  1. You have to remove the faulty power window switch that is in your car.

You need to free the glass and its entire structure inside the car door to work very well. For this process, you have to remove the four tips of the switch to release it. You can use a flat screwdriver.

  1. The second step you must do to accommodate your car’s power window switch is to turn the driver to open.
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When you turn on the power line in your power window, seeing the problem is easy. You mustn’t forget this step to know exactly where the energy conducts.

  1. Now, you have to plug the multimeter into the socket of this switch and test it to verify that it has power at 12 volts.

The energy that reaches the power window comes from terminals 4 and 5 of your power conductor in the car. If the amount of volts is good on the window switch, you will be relieved and rule out a more complex solution.

  1. For this step, you must continue with the window switch and connect the multimeter to the available terminals.

The resistance in ohms produced by terminals 1/4 and 2/3 must be low if the opposite is true. By law, the number of ohms a power window switch receives does not exceed 2 ohms.

  1. At this point, you can turn off your power window switch and set the multimeter back to ohms for technical analysis.

You have to put the conductors on terminals 1/3 and 2/5 to verify that their resistance is low. If the switch on the resistance in ohms is high, then the problem with your window may be due to direct conduction.

Then you should do the process of how to test power window switch with multimeter. You can lead to the conclusion of the operation on the switch. If you have a faulty power window switch, replace it rather than trying to fix it. The common causes why these power window switches in your car can be damaged is by:

Factory Problems

Maybe you bought a car with a faulty electrical system mainly because of the switch in your window. You can have a very innovative window switch with the naked eye but with a bad system that breaks quickly. With constant use of these switches, their contact points can wear out and damage operation.

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Excess energy

The window regulator may have burned out from the excess energy your car produces. You must verify that the electricity that leads through your car is correct, mainly towards the electric windows. The volt limit for this window regulator system is 12 volts and 2 ohms maximum.

Replace the window switch by yourself

To your relief, you can quickly replace the power window switch using a screwdriver and pliers. You do not need professional help to change this switch, although you must verify that the window’s electricity is good. When you use the multimeter and do your analysis on the switch or connectors, the maximum power is 12 volts / 2 ohms.

If you notice that your car has electrical problems, then you should take it to experts in the automotive area for its solution. You must pay the utmost attention to your car and electrical problems that affect the window today, but it’s direct ignition tomorrow. If the problem is just the window switch, you have to disassemble it in the car door, cut it, glue it and use it.

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