Finally found the issue with my window problems if you don’t have power to one or more of your motors. Lifted up the center console to find my window harness was falling apart, melted and corroded. Found by checking power to switch.
Wondering if you've come across this problem: My 1998 M3's passenger window goes down just fine but when I lift it it makes sort of a grinding sound. I have not lubed the slides yet to see if that helps. I purchased a new motor but have not installed it yet, after watching this video may be the bushing you talked about?
I know it’s been 3 years but that grinding noise is usually coming from the cables that roll your windows up and down. If they have debris or no grease they tend to crinkle. They will go off the rails eventually causing the window to fully not be functional anymore.
1992 325i - driver window - FUSE 33 was the culprit. Window was not operating - finally found fuse 33 blown - and it was only labeled 'light - left side'. As far as I can tell now it is for the trunk light and the driver window only.
Just starting yesterday I noticed that when i am rolling up the window on my E36 right as it get to the top is makes this popping type noise. Window is moving up and down fine. Do you think it would be caused by bad plastic gliders? Thanks for vid
I wish someone showed the procedure to manually test the motor with power and ground. I finally caved and bought some before figuring out somehow all the motors in my barn find were bad at the same time
great video! I have one rear window that won't go up or down but a single click can be heard in the door suggesting power is going to the electric motor but no movement any suggestions would be appreciated.
The best thing I can tell you is to pull the door panel and take a look. It' really hard to try and diagnose power window issues without removing the door panel. If you can hear a single click sounds like the regulator and motor might have gotten out of alignment. Check out my new blog bimmercraze.com if you get the chance and let me know what you think!
Can you please tell me what the name of that piece is that is green and in between the window regulator and the motor.. mine is going up a inch and acting like something is stuck and will only go down a inch. I believe that maybe it. Can you give me a part number or specific name of the part.. mine is e36 323i.
hello, could you try to help me i'm portuguese my e36 compact the windows go up just a little at a time and they only go down little by little, to open and close the windows i have to press the button several times which could be from now top content
Hello. I bought a new GM module for my 1994 sedan e36. and I mounted it. it was good but than I checked the front left and right windows are opening and closing approximately 8-10cm. for example when I push the open window button, window is opening just 10 cm.than again push the button again 10cm opening.and again and again. if I want to close window, 1 time push the button 1 time 10 cm closing. by the way second button position (automatic open/close) doesn't work of course. How can I fix? thank you for video I will check everything. Please help me.
Hi how's it going I have a BMW convertible year 2000 e36 and the back windows will not work the front windows work grand and the top works ok but can't find out y the two back windows are still not work can ya help
My windows worked. But the front of the window got out of its slider. So I've put it all back in place. But now the motor clicks but doesn't do anywhere. The window is not stuck I can do it by hand with ease. So why is the motor stuck. Please help.
Hi. Thanks for the informative videos. My problem with my power windows is that the driver side window will go down, but when it goes up it tilts. How to fix this?
love the video very informative how ever my car the automatic up and down when car door gets closed on passenger side window operates when the key is off and it keeps running down the battery over night. Any help please?
MYbe you can help with my issue on a friends 97 Z-3. The driver window works but pass side doesent. I swapped switches and both switches work fine...the fuse is good. I checked for power to the pass side window and there is no power to the pass motor. I jumped the motor with a 12v battery and the window works fine up and down so looks like there’s a broken wire somewhere. I may have to pull the center console to investigate because there’s evidence of a mouse nest under the six speed shifter bezel. I’ll report back my findings once I get a chance to mess with it further.
I had an e36 coupe 1997 , and the driver stops to work suddenly its stuck at the top , even when i open the door it doesnt respond that 0.5cm down , i can hear a click when i put the buttom down but nothing happen , any help plz ?
ahmad daham and GrayGooseShotter The 0.5 cm drop is caused by a switch in the door latch. Check to see if that is stuck. If it's stuck, mess with it until it comes loose. If the key is in the ignition (turned on) and the window isn't going down by the push of the button then it could be any number of things. However, my guess to your problem has to be faulty wiring. If your switch for the 0.5 cm drop is confirmed to be functional then that indicates that the problem is a (dirty/loose) ground cable to the window motor, making it so that your window doesn't get the power it needs. Let me know if this solves your problems
ever heard of a window not going all the way up? have a 95 e36 and the rear passenger window (the mini one) only goes up an inch or 2. it goes down but doesn't go up any higher. i will try unplugging the battery with all windows down and try putting them all up
Have you ever ran into an issue where the driver side window works, key in or out, as long as the battery is connected? My e39 does that. Driver side switch, of which I tried many modules, will work the driver side window, ignition on or off. WIll not control the other windows, but the other windows all work fine from their respective switches. Passenger mirror and driver door lock actuator all stopped at the same time. But the GMIII unit checked out fine in an identical car. Heated seats work, interior lights function. Any ideas? Did have a sunroof leak, no floor modules, no kickpanel modules. ECU TCU are both in the engine bay. Im not getting many responses other than a bad GM5 module. Which I dont think an e39 has, or I have yet to find it. Thank you. This did help with my slow back windows tho. Greased them up and they worked like new n.n
@@marcuspurciller I found out what happened. The sun roof was flooding the driverside floor of the car. But not enough that the rug was getting wet. There was an electronic control module under the driver side rug pad. It got fried, and took the Trans module and interior control module with it.
Hi mate my window stuck fully closed and won´t go down, when I push button I hear click sound on door and on passenger side, can u help me with this problem, i´m appreciated. :)
My drivers window will go down but not up.. you can hear it trying to go up but it won't. Is this a regulator problem or it just being out of alignment? If anyone can get back to me that would be cool!
@@AaronMelendez23 glad you replied so fast, I took my door card off and cleaned off some of the old dried up grease and now it goes up somewhat decently about 75% for the time which is a major improvement over holding the window button and pulling the window up with your hand
@@AaronMelendez23 I’m gonna leave it like that for now, I bought the car two days ago, so I still have to get it insured and all that, my main concern was just being able to have the window open while I drive it and not struggling with the window to get it back up
i have the same problem, i already replaced my regulator, which didnt work right now im looking into getting new window rubbers (the rails they slide in) to see if that will work
Hi so originally my window was derailed from the sides and that caused the clips to break which i replaced but i noticed one of the regulator pins that go into the plastic clips is bent slightly upwards preventing it from being pushed in all the way, also when i try to roll up rhe window there seems to be something blocking the right side rail, could the regulator pin being crooked cause that?
Yeah so when your window gets derailed, most of the time its because your window regulator has gotten a bend in it! Something hindering the side track? If you can feel something in the track than that's definitely an issue but I would say most of the time if the window keeps popping out of the regulator pins or wont go in its because the regulator is broken/bent.
Hi! i have quite an issue at the moment... my window switches are going in the wrong directions. So when i push up it goes down.... and vice versa of course. now that my car alarm is working my window opens when i close my car. Can you please show me or help me out with how to get my window to work in the normal way?
I have a similar problem.. Though not only the windows but interior lightning and central locking system is now also dead. I reccon it is related to the G/M module behind the glove compartment which is comanding the above now non-working things. Is this a common problem and is there a usual suspect here ? I checked the classic broken wire loom iin the trunk but all cables are fine... Any help appreciated. Thanks . My car is a BMW 325i convertible , 1994.
I finally got another G/M module installed (2nd hand) and now everything works... Well , not 100% ... The module needs reprogramming as I cannot lower/raise the front windows induvidually.... Weird.... The module is from a similiar convertible. Clearly the old G/M was bad... I will still open it up and diagnose it and look for any cold solder joints.
Really glad I found your channel... lots of useful info... thank you for your effort.... I have a convertible E36 and suddenly both my back windows won't come up again.... Any ideas what I should do, could it be some fuses? Please help...
Did they both go at the same time? Do the windows respond at all when you press the switches? Can you hear a whirring sound at all if you listen close to the windows when you hold down the switches? If you can hear some sort of sound coming from the motor/regulator area take a look at them and see if there are any obvious problems. Bad glides/motor seized/regular off the rail. Thanks a lot!
Great video E36 Fanatic. One question... Do you have a link to where I can buy a replacement bushing? I'm talking about the bushing in between the regulator and the engine motor. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Not the regulator but I can see my driver side window is out of the right side track, but have not found a video to remedy/fix the problem. Any suggestions (PLEASE)?
Yeah, two reasons it would get out of the rubber track, first off the regulator is bent and/or glide broke. Second, sometimes I've seen it simply come off the rubber track over time by chance. It's a real pain to get it back aligned, you have to unbolt the window from the guide rail, and you really need a second person holding the window while you try to fit it in the glide.
theuniqueldy I would honestly rather replace a starter than have to align the windows, I had to re align my brothers window last week after replacing a door handle, it took me maybe two hours and a lot of cursing to finally get it aligned correctly and get it back on the glides. It's certainly doable it's just a very frustrating process.
OMGosh not that is scary! I replaced my started last spring. Even with my little hands removing that freaking last bolt was way harder than my doing rear brakes, replacing the cabin air filter & even replacing the ignition housing put together! Will consider having someone do it :)
Sorry for the late reply, okay my brother's e36 passenger door has that issue. The issue with his vehicle is the door lock assembly, hopefully that's not your problem, but if it is his symptoms are that his exterior door handle pulls way to far out when you try and open it, and the interior door handle doesn't work either. My brother is able to play with the handle just right sometimes so he can get the door open. Door lock replacement isn't to difficult as long as you can get it open. Check out my new blog bimmercraze.com if you get the chance and let me know what you think!
I have E36 316i, from 1996. Power windows only work when drivers door is open. I dunno about passenger front door. Any ideas what it could be? My dome light also doesnt come on when i open door. Even if i "move" dome light switch around. Could this be related? Any ideas why i have to open door to be able open/close front power windows? I have rear manual windows
Have you opened up the door panel? Could be door latch micro switch, door panel insulation has broken down. Theres a microswitch on the door frame where it latches, press it in and the window should go up an inch or so.
i have a 1999 323is and all the power windows stopped working at the same time. drivers passengers and sunroof. no sound comming from any of them. i already replaced the window fuse under the hood? and i cant see any other fuses that are blown?? help
Dalton Phillips did you ever figure this out? I have the same problem, disconnected the battery and got my sunroof and one window to work but as soon as I touch another they all go out again.
Finally found the issue with my window problems if you don’t have power to one or more of your motors. Lifted up the center console to find my window harness was falling apart, melted and corroded. Found by checking power to switch.
great video, my only suggestion is to check the fuse first if your windows fail to operate,
Steve Pond fuse and wire integrity
Any idea where I can purchase a new bushing ?
Wondering if you've come across this problem: My 1998 M3's passenger window goes down just fine but when I lift it it makes sort of a grinding sound. I have not lubed the slides yet to see if that helps. I purchased a new motor but have not installed it yet, after watching this video may be the bushing you talked about?
I know it’s been 3 years but that grinding noise is usually coming from the cables that roll your windows up and down. If they have debris or no grease they tend to crinkle. They will go off the rails eventually causing the window to fully not be functional anymore.
Appreciate your hard work. Thank you for this I have a 98, 318ti as this problem in a little bit more but it runs great
1992 325i - driver window - FUSE 33 was the culprit. Window was not operating - finally found fuse 33 blown - and it was only labeled 'light - left side'. As far as I can tell now it is for the trunk light and the driver window only.
My regulator mount is broke I've only found 1 video that addressed this particular issue. Ever heard of it?
Check the fuse 14 as well
If centre locking fuse fails everything loses power ( windows lights etc)
How do you find the location of said fuses?
Just starting yesterday I noticed that when i am rolling up the window on my E36 right as it get to the top is makes this popping type noise. Window is moving up and down fine. Do you think it would be caused by bad plastic gliders? Thanks for vid
I wish someone showed the procedure to manually test the motor with power and ground. I finally caved and bought some before figuring out somehow all the motors in my barn find were bad at the same time
Your videos are awesome. Best on the Internet. Thank you!
great video! I have one rear window that won't go up or down but a single click can be heard in the door suggesting power is going to the electric motor but no movement any suggestions would be appreciated.
The best thing I can tell you is to pull the door panel and take a look. It' really hard to try and diagnose power window issues without removing the door panel. If you can hear a single click sounds like the regulator and motor might have gotten out of alignment. Check out my new blog bimmercraze.com if you get the chance and let me know what you think!
This is the same problem I'm having and I'm trying to figure it out before I pull everything apart.
Window regulator from z3 for e36 Works?
Can you please tell me what the name of that piece is that is green and in between the window regulator and the motor.. mine is going up a inch and acting like something is stuck and will only go down a inch. I believe that maybe it. Can you give me a part number or specific name of the part.. mine is e36 323i.
My motor clicks when i press the switch but nothing happens?
hello, could you try to help me i'm portuguese my e36 compact the windows go up just a little at a time and they only go down little by little, to open and close the windows i have to press the button several times which could be from now top content
Hello. I bought a new GM module for my 1994 sedan e36. and I mounted it. it was good but than I checked the front left and right windows are opening and closing
approximately 8-10cm. for example when I push the open window button, window is opening just 10 cm.than again push the button again 10cm opening.and again and again. if I want to close window, 1 time push the button 1 time 10 cm closing. by the way second button position (automatic open/close) doesn't work of course. How can I fix? thank you for video I will check everything. Please help me.
Hi how's it going I have a BMW convertible year 2000 e36 and the back windows will not work the front windows work grand and the top works ok but can't find out y the two back windows are still not work can ya help
My windows worked. But the front of the window got out of its slider. So I've put it all back in place. But now the motor clicks but doesn't do anywhere. The window is not stuck I can do it by hand with ease. So why is the motor stuck. Please help.
Hi. Thanks for the informative videos. My problem with my power windows is that the driver side window will go down, but when it goes up it tilts. How to fix this?
Dondi Virrey fix the window clip that hold the window to the arm
I would check the fuse before i tore apart the door panel
love the video very informative how ever my car the automatic up and down when car door gets closed on passenger side window operates when the key is off and it keeps running down the battery over night. Any help please?
Hello, please can someone assist me, when you open my passenger door the window glass goes up on both my doors. Please help. Thank you
MYbe you can help with my issue on a friends 97 Z-3.
The driver window works but pass side doesent.
I swapped switches and both switches work fine...the fuse is good.
I checked for power to the pass side window and there is no power to the pass motor.
I jumped the motor with a 12v battery and the window works fine up and down so looks like there’s a broken wire somewhere.
I may have to pull the center console to investigate because there’s evidence of a mouse nest under the six speed shifter bezel.
I’ll report back my findings once I get a chance to mess with it further.
What was it? Having that same problem now
Please please please more of your brothers car! I have the same
I had an e36 coupe 1997 , and the driver stops to work suddenly its stuck at the top , even when i open the door it doesnt respond that 0.5cm down , i can hear a click when i put the buttom down but nothing happen , any help plz ?
I've got the same problem... did you get a solution?
ahmad daham and GrayGooseShotter
The 0.5 cm drop is caused by a switch in the door latch. Check to see if that is stuck. If it's stuck, mess with it until it comes loose.
If the key is in the ignition (turned on) and the window isn't going down by the push of the button then it could be any number of things. However, my guess to your problem has to be faulty wiring.
If your switch for the 0.5 cm drop is confirmed to be functional then that indicates that the problem is a (dirty/loose) ground cable to the window motor, making it so that your window doesn't get the power it needs.
Let me know if this solves your problems
Mine was doing the same thing. Literally unplugged the wires and plugged them back in and the window went right down.
ever heard of a window not going all the way up? have a 95 e36 and the rear passenger window (the mini one) only goes up an inch or 2. it goes down but doesn't go up any higher. i will try unplugging the battery with all windows down and try putting them all up
Have you ever ran into an issue where the driver side window works, key in or out, as long as the battery is connected? My e39 does that. Driver side switch, of which I tried many modules, will work the driver side window, ignition on or off. WIll not control the other windows, but the other windows all work fine from their respective switches. Passenger mirror and driver door lock actuator all stopped at the same time. But the GMIII unit checked out fine in an identical car. Heated seats work, interior lights function. Any ideas? Did have a sunroof leak, no floor modules, no kickpanel modules. ECU TCU are both in the engine bay. Im not getting many responses other than a bad GM5 module. Which I dont think an e39 has, or I have yet to find it.
Thank you. This did help with my slow back windows tho. Greased them up and they worked like new n.n
Sounds like the switch is connected to a hot wire, maybe someone swapped the switch and rigged up a random power wire to it
@@marcuspurciller I found out what happened. The sun roof was flooding the driverside floor of the car. But not enough that the rug was getting wet. There was an electronic control module under the driver side rug pad. It got fried, and took the Trans module and interior control module with it.
@@barrelracer318 oh man glad it got fixed
Hi mate my window stuck fully closed and won´t go down, when I push button I hear click sound on door and on passenger side, can u help me with this problem, i´m appreciated. :)
Did u fix this problem I have something very similar
@@sheaniwheeni8333 I just moved and set the window a little lower and then it started working. I have coupe
My drivers window will go down but not up.. you can hear it trying to go up but it won't. Is this a regulator problem or it just being out of alignment? If anyone can get back to me that would be cool!
did you ever get this repaired i have the exact same problem in my 92’ 325i
Nah man I wish lol. Still dealing with it just cause it’s a huge task swapping out regulatory/motors. Might just pay someone to fix it for me.
@@AaronMelendez23 glad you replied so fast, I took my door card off and cleaned off some of the old dried up grease and now it goes up somewhat decently about 75% for the time which is a major improvement over holding the window button and pulling the window up with your hand
@@AaronMelendez23 I’m gonna leave it like that for now, I bought the car two days ago, so I still have to get it insured and all that, my main concern was just being able to have the window open while I drive it and not struggling with the window to get it back up
My major problem is the alignment on the tracks. My window falls off on rolling down. And tint sideway rolling up. Any advice on what to do?
i have the same problem, i already replaced my regulator, which didnt work
right now im looking into getting new window rubbers (the rails they slide in) to see if that will work
@@joshkiej6601 I eventually gave it out to an expert who discovered that the rail was out of position or bend.
@@bamidelekoledoye1161 which rail? And is it a coupe or sedan? The coupes are pretty notorious with the rails even snapping the welds of the door
@@joshkiej6601 Its Sedan actually. It is the left rail. How it got bent is still a mystery to me. But thank goodness I got it fixed at last
Where is the window relay
Hi so originally my window was derailed from the sides and that caused the clips to break which i replaced but i noticed one of the regulator pins that go into the plastic clips is bent slightly upwards preventing it from being pushed in all the way, also when i try to roll up rhe window there seems to be something blocking the right side rail, could the regulator pin being crooked cause that?
Yeah so when your window gets derailed, most of the time its because your window regulator has gotten a bend in it!
Something hindering the side track? If you can feel something in the track than that's definitely an issue but I would say most of the time if the window keeps popping out of the regulator pins or wont go in its because the regulator is broken/bent.
@@e36fanatics29 thanks dude, ill check it out in a second :)
Hi! i have quite an issue at the moment...
my window switches are going in the wrong directions.
So when i push up it goes down.... and vice versa of course. now that my car alarm is working my window opens when i close my car. Can you please show me or help me out with how to get my window to work in the normal way?
w westland switch your wiring
I have a similar problem.. Though not only the windows but interior lightning and central locking system is now also dead. I reccon it is related to the G/M module behind the glove compartment which is comanding the above now non-working things. Is this a common problem and is there a usual suspect here ? I checked the classic broken wire loom iin the trunk but all cables are fine... Any help appreciated. Thanks . My car is a BMW 325i convertible , 1994.
Im having the same problem. Did you ever find a fix
I finally got another G/M module installed (2nd hand) and now everything works... Well , not 100% ... The module needs reprogramming as I cannot lower/raise the front windows induvidually.... Weird.... The module is from a similiar convertible. Clearly the old G/M was bad... I will still open it up and diagnose it and look for any cold solder joints.
Really glad I found your channel... lots of useful info... thank you for your effort....
I have a convertible E36 and suddenly both my back windows won't come up again....
Any ideas what I should do, could it be some fuses? Please help...
Did they both go at the same time? Do the windows respond at all when you press the switches? Can you hear a whirring sound at all if you listen close to the windows when you hold down the switches? If you can hear some sort of sound coming from the motor/regulator area take a look at them and see if there are any obvious problems. Bad glides/motor seized/regular off the rail.
Thanks a lot!
I believe fuse # 13, 14 are deal with power windows, check the fuse box labeling to confirm.
Great video E36 Fanatic. One question... Do you have a link to where I can buy a replacement bushing? I'm talking about the bushing in between the regulator and the engine motor. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Alton Sinclair just bought one of them a few days ago off of what, I'll check who the seller was but it was like $2 each.
I also need this bushing. I live in Germany. You have a Link for me?
Not the regulator but I can see my driver side window is out of the right side track, but have not found a video to remedy/fix the problem. Any suggestions (PLEASE)?
Yeah, two reasons it would get out of the rubber track, first off the regulator is bent and/or glide broke. Second, sometimes I've seen it simply come off the rubber track over time by chance. It's a real pain to get it back aligned, you have to unbolt the window from the guide rail, and you really need a second person holding the window while you try to fit it in the glide.
Thank you so very much for the info. Oh yeah, I found the same kind of reply in a Bimmer site that also made it clear it is going to be a bear!
theuniqueldy I would honestly rather replace a starter than have to align the windows, I had to re align my brothers window last week after replacing a door handle, it took me maybe two hours and a lot of cursing to finally get it aligned correctly and get it back on the glides. It's certainly doable it's just a very frustrating process.
OMGosh not that is scary! I replaced my started last spring. Even with my little hands removing that freaking last bolt was way harder than my doing rear brakes, replacing the cabin air filter & even replacing the ignition housing put together! Will consider having someone do it :)
How can I get my driver seat door unstuck
Sorry for the late reply, okay my brother's e36 passenger door has that issue. The issue with his vehicle is the door lock assembly, hopefully that's not your problem, but if it is his symptoms are that his exterior door handle pulls way to far out when you try and open it, and the interior door handle doesn't work either. My brother is able to play with the handle just right sometimes so he can get the door open. Door lock replacement isn't to difficult as long as you can get it open. Check out my new blog bimmercraze.com if you get the chance and let me know what you think!
Thanks, buddy. Good vid.
Thank you so much! Solved my issues:)
Astounding video....
Thank you so much, saved me!
Bushing and regulator, bushing and regulator 🤬 HOW YOU FIX IT!!!!!
I have E36 316i, from 1996.
Power windows only work when drivers door is open.
I dunno about passenger front door.
Any ideas what it could be?
My dome light also doesnt come on when i open door.
Even if i "move" dome light switch around.
Could this be related?
Any ideas why i have to open door to be able open/close front power windows?
I have rear manual windows
Have you opened up the door panel? Could be door latch micro switch, door panel insulation has broken down. Theres a microswitch on the door frame where it latches, press it in and the window should go up an inch or so.
Thank you for the information.
I will take a look. Never opened the panel.
Now i know where to look.
Will let you know what it was when i fix it.
Thanks! Good luck, a lot of the time it may be something relatively obvious once the panel is removed, other times it takes a little more diagnosis.
Awesome vid!
That's mate
u sound like hank hill sometimes lol good video tho
This is not like an m3. Way more swiss cheese sheet metal to deal w. Such bs
Waste of time
i have a 1999 323is and all the power windows stopped working at the same time. drivers passengers and sunroof. no sound comming from any of them. i already replaced the window fuse under the hood? and i cant see any other fuses that are blown?? help
Dalton Phillips did you ever figure this out? I have the same problem, disconnected the battery and got my sunroof and one window to work but as soon as I touch another they all go out again.
Bad relay?