Here’s an oddball problem; the trim pieces on the rear gate are rubbing up against the window, which makes it painfully slow to roll up and down, but especially up. When I bought the truck both pieces of trim had been yanked off the gate so the window would roll smoothly. But, I don’t like that, so I’ve glued the interior trim back onto the plastic, and it’s holding fine; it’s just rubbing up against the window now and making it squeak and move slow.

So… anybody had this issue/fixed it? I’m thinking if I figure out how to give the window motor some more juice, it’ll probably work just fine. Or maybe something needs cleaned or lubricated. Just not sure exactly how to go about fixing this.

 

Getting more juice will in theory do nothing, 12v is 12v, unless it’s not getting what it needs……have you tested what is hitting the motor?

Motors get old or your regulator/tracks might just need a good lubin. I would make sure you’re getting proper voltage and get in there and lube it up. I have the same problem with my windshield wipers, I’m sure in 91 they were great but after 31 years the motor is tired……start simple

 

Thanks for the tips! I haven’t actually checked anything yet, I just got the trim on today and figured I’d start a thread before poking at wiring. Electrical is not my thing at all, so I try to be very well informed before messing with wires.

Now, another question, if I test the motor and it isn’t getting 12 volts, what would that imply? And if it is, does that just mean the motor needs replaced? Thanks again!

 

There's a difference between voltage and current carrying capability. You can have a perfect +12 VDC on a connection, but a bad ground, dirty connection, etc will reduce the CURRENT available to the motor, so it can perform it's task.
Yes, low voltage on a connection will cause motors troubles, no question, but again, if the current available with that voltage, which is equally important, is low, the motor won't work as well as it could with a full design current available.

Just need to check the current the motor draws, Your multimeter should be able to do the job quite nicely. If the motor is drawing a lower current than it should, it's time to clean connections, make sure they're nice and tight, etc. It's difficult to know what the proper current draw for a normally operating motor might be, but I'm sure one of the amazing Toyota types on these forums can tell you.

Good luck to you!
Pat☺

 

Thanks again for the tips everyone! I ended up just spraying the gears in the gate with some random lube I found at work. It helped a bit, window is now rolling up about how it used to before I put the trim in. Which, still feels pretty slow, especially since there’s a noticeable hiccup about halfway up where the window slows significantly. But, it’s getting all the way up in less than 30 seconds now, so that’s progress!

I’ll start checking the electrical stuff this weekend. Do either of you know of a crash-course guide to automotive wiring? I know how to check voltage with a multimeter and how to solder a really crappy joint, but that’s about the extent of my electrical knowledge. Hoping someone’s put together a decent write-up that I’m just not finding lol

 

Couple of tricks that'll improve your soldering...
First, keep your iron's tip CLEAN. Cut a small square of sponge, get it wet and wring it out so it's moist. Keep it near your iron's holder, whatever type you have. The best kind has a square plastic base, with a square for the sponge, and a spiral of spring wire to hold the iron, without touching the tip. McMaster-Carr carries them.
Every time you pick the iron up, wipe it on the sponge real quick, and then re-tin it. Just a little drop of solder onto the tip right after you clean it. Whether you use it or not, wipe it, and re-tin it whenever you touch the iron. Make it habitual. Do the same before you slide it back into it's holder when your done. That way you will always have fresh, clean solder on it when you go to use it. Once in a while, take a stiff steel wire brush, and scrub off the tip. Like once a month if you solder a lot, once a year if just rarely. Then wipe and tin it again. You'll use twice to three times the solder wiping and tinning your iron as you actually do ON wire, if you're doing it right. Keep the spool of solder by the iron's holder, so you can wipe the iron, then touch the end of the solder. It just takes a touch, and the tip will be covered in liquid solder. IF it's clean. Just a thin layer, with maybe a slight bulge of solder on the side that's down. Any place the solder doesn't flow onto by it'self, isn't clean. Either wipe on the sponge again, or steel brush it to clean it. Do the steel brush with iron hot, so you can re-tin immediately.
ALWAYS use resin core solder. NOT plumber's solder, use electronics solder. You can get it from McMaster-Carr catalog on line. They have a large variety of the various soldering needs. For electronics.
No higher than a 30 or 35 watt iron.
Get some liquid flux from McM catalog, too, along with a dispenser for it. The liquid, pale blue colored flux, not plumber's paste flux.
When you get all set up to solder two wires together, for example, strip them back about 1/2". Slide a 1" piece, roughly, of heatshrink down one of the wires for later use.
For automotive use, the melt-wall, or FIT-300 heatshrink is what you need. Keeps the crud in an automotive environment out.
Clean and tin your iron, put a small drop of flux onto the bare wire, and touch the side of the iron's tip to the wire. It will draw the solder right onto the wire, and it'll look bright and shiny. Wipe and re-tin. Do that for both wires. Clean the two wires of any flux residue with a small, tight brush, and alcohol. The solder should have flowed slightly up under the insulation. You can tell if the wire inside the first little bit of insulation is stiff, like the wire that's bare.
Rubbing alcohol works fine. I use one of the small, medical dispensers. The kind with the top that draws alcohol up into a shallow "bowl" the top forms, when you press down on it. Again, McMaster-Carr.
You can get a pack of 100 "acid" brushes for about $5.00. Cut them down short for cleaning flux residue off with regular scissors. Guess from where the brushes come
Twist the wires together. A good mechanical connection is critical to a good solder join. Put a small drop of flux on the joined wires, wipe and tin your iron, touch the two wires. It will draw the right amount of solder onto the join, from the iron. Again, it should look bright and shiny, NOT dull. If it's dull, it's a "Cold" solder join, and is no good. Get out your solder wick, and draw off the dull solder, and start over. If it looks good, slide the heatshrink down over the join, and the insulation on both sides. Shrink it down good, so that the meltable wall oozes out the ends.
An electronics type heat gun is the beat choice for heatshrink. NEVER use a paint stripping heat gun Waaay too hot. Lacking the heat gun, use the iron to shrink the heatshrink down. Wipe it back and forth along the heatshrink, all the way around it, until it shrinks down. Don't let the iron sit in one place on the heatshrink, keep it moving. A butane lighter will shrink it down too, but be careful not to burn it. Keep it moving.

If you're wondering, I got several different soldering schools when I was in the Corps, as part of my job. Including what's called Micro-miniature component repair.
It may seem like you need a lot of "stuff" to solder well, and you do, but once you have made the initial investment, the kit you now have will last you a long time. The most supplies you'll use is solder, due to wiping and tinning all the time, and the heatshrink. It's well worth it though. A spool of solder will last you years, though, unless you are constantly soldering a couple dozen wires together.

If you really want, I can find all the "stuff" in McMaster-Carr, and put up the links for it all. It'll take me a bit...
Keep it all in it's own "Soldering Kit" carry bag of some sort, so when you need to solder something, you can just grab it and go, rather than searching around for something.

Measuring current with a multimeter...
When you measure voltage, you set the meter higher than what you think the voltage will be, touch one probe to the test point, ond one to ground, right?
When you measure current, you set the meter the same way, higher by far than you think the reading will be Then you attach one meter lead to part of the wire, and the other lead to the other part of the wire. Essentially, you make the meter a part of the circuit. Wire>meter>wire. Does that make sense at all?
To put it in electronic terms, measuring voltage is done in parallel to the circuit under test, measuring current is done in series to the circuit, if that's any help.

I know, I babble a lot. I shut up now. I know when to shut up. I'm not one to keep on rambling when I should stop talking...
Pat☺

 

i recently changed the motor on my 94 because it would barely go up or down, i used Dorman part no. 742-600, got it at advance auto, not to bad to change, window works perfect now.

 

My passenger window was painfully slow. Voltage good, connections clean and tight. Removed regulator and cleaned off old grease and regreased with white lithium.
Had already replaced window runs. Nothing helped much, if at all.
Removed motor and bench tested-passed. Brushes still in great shape.
My only guess at that point, and one I didn't know how to test, was the magnets in the motor getting weak. I found that a early 90's Camry takes the same motor so I went to the wrecking yard and got a used one. Works great now.
If I remember correctly, the tailgate and right door are the same motor. You could swap them and see if the issue moves to the other door.