1st gen. tailgate problems
 

I bought an 88 4Runner a few months back with (what I thought anyway) a bad rear window motor. I got a working motor and regulator from a donor truck, swapped them in, but nothing. I even changed the rear window switch to no avail. It runs off the engine fuse, and I know that's good. Any info??? I did run juice to the switch right from the battery and I heard a relay clicking when I turned the key which seemed to be coming from inside the 1/4 panel trim on the drivers side. The factory repair manual says that there's a relay off the fuse box, but the clicking seems to be coming form the rear of the truck. I'm at a loss.

There are a pile of potential problems with these tailgates. Do a search for "tailgate" and "rear window" and see what comes up.
A few ideas, tailgate closed detection switch, broken wires, windshield wiper parked detection switch, cargo area hard top installed detection bolts in place...on and on.
Search and you will find lots of places to start.
Let us know if you get it figured out.

Heres a few links...Search the terms rear window, tailgate, relay
It might be your relay which is located behind the driver
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...tailgate+relay
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...arWindow.shtml

I know when I had a problem with my window, it turned out to be the circuit breaker that was right next to the fuses. Mine had a yellow top with a small hole that you would put the end of a paper clip thru to reset the breaker. You might want to check them. The only problem is that when they trip, there is usually do to another problem or short in the circuit.

like this?

http://media.putfile.com/window-61

sorry for the video quality, I was trying to film it & operate the switch.

Mines still busted, so if you figue it out I'd like to know too.

Thanks for the link. I'll be bringing the 11 pages I printed out into work tomorrow.

my buddy has an 89, his quit working, so I got a wiring diagram, and it turned out the relay box wasn't functioning properly, the relay box is behind the platic panel on the drivers side, next to the rear seat(behind the drivers seat), toyota wanted somewhere around $200 i think, he found one at a junk yard, but that one didn't work either. so, what i did was wired in 2 aftermarket relays, they were probably about $10. if you aren't good with wiring, getr some beer and call up a buddy who can decipher a wiring diagram.

Old electric parts are the worst. There are sooo many kill switches on the circuit it is virtually impossible to troubleshoot. There is a gate sensor, a special bolt for the top that has to be in the right spot. A sensor that shows weather the rear wiper is in the right spot. All of these tie back to a computer that determines if the windows can come down. I cut those f*ing wires and wired the motor direct to a double pole double throw switch in the cab. That is the only place I can role down the rear window but it beats trying to fix everything else in the loop.