I just installed a new regulator and everything seemed to be running smooth, UNTIL...

The window won't go up all the way. It stops about two inches short. I can cram it up there by hand, but it won't even budge with the regulator. I bought a brand new regulator with a brand new motor and everything works strong and smooth with the window out of the car.

I removed the window and the regulator moves up to the top of the rail strong and solid, even when I put pressure on it with my hand.

The window was in the rails (I triple checked and even removed it and placed it back in the rails and the same thing happened).

It doesn't appear from the inside that anything is rubbing on it (wires, etc).

I also slid the window in the rails free of the regulator and it slides up and down OK.

I am VERY perplexed.

Any clues???

It's still in the garage with the door panel off and the regulator in, so I am screwed until someone helps me out or I somehow find out what I am overlooking.

thanks

 

when I did my regulators a while back I greased the upper edges of the window and also the inner track of the rubber weather stripping...eventually it slid up nice and easy. also make sure the glass is 100% alighned on the track/in between the rubber.

 

what kind of grease did you use?

The glass is in perfect, like I said, I kept checking and just now rechecked it.

It seems like the window "catches" with about 3" to go and if I use the palm of my hand on the outside of the glass, it will uncatch as it goes up.

I think using grease might do the trick.

 

check the alignment again, I did the same thing. It will go all the way up, you just not positioned correctly on the track is my guess, or at least that was my problem. It looked right but it just wasn't there...

 

I AM STUPID!!!

I put the top two bolts on the rail in "exactly" where the original two were (there were "rings" left from the original bolts). After looking it over, I noticed there was room to "realign" the rail. Since I imagine no two regulators are PRECISELY the same, I loosened the bolts and moved the top of the frame over about 1/8" or maybe even 1/16" to the left and that was all it took. Now its just like freaking butter.

Keep that in mind, all of you that may be soon replacing your window regulators. One of those things that are easy to overlook and drive you nuts.

Idiot I am

 

I just got done with my first window regulator and motor swap and I had the exact same problem and I had remembered reading this exact thread and came back and read all the post and you all helped me through my problems,.......so thanks!

 

it's funny how you can get stumped by the stupidest things. Right in front of my face the whole time...here I was "window up [stuck], window down; window up[stuck], window down; (insert lots of swearing) window up [stuck], window down."

I am glad you could benefit from my stupidity.

 

i just installed my first window regulator and i noticed that the replacement one was pretty hard to move. i greased the cable and the cable guides as well as i could, but it was still stiff. installed it and it goes up and down fine, but the motor sounds like it's working harder than it used to. is this dangerous to the motor? do new regulators need time to "loosen up" a little?

 

Mine went up and down without the motor working too hard (once I had it in right!)

When I had mine in wrong, the motor was getting really warm (working too hard) and, of course, the window wouldn't go up all the way. I could get it up all the way by helping it, but apparently the window was having a great deal of difficulty going up because it was being guided too far forward by the regular being off alignment.

If I were you, I would try to see what happens if you loosen the top two bolts on the rail and move it over just a tad (like 1/8" or maybe less). It may be that you had the same thing happen as me, only it was not quite as far over as mine. In other words, yours is catching, just not enough to stop it from going all the way up.

That's just a possibility. Mine came with a new motor, so I am not sure what the old one would have done.

Since I noticed that there is room to move the top bolts, I would have to think they designed the door to take into account that regulators might have to be positioned differently in order for the window to go up and down with less problem.

Good luck!

 

in my case, it isn't a matter of the glass at all. i'm saying that it was really tough to move the elevator part up and down the metal track with my hand before i had even installed the regulator. it was like the little wheel that holds the cables was seizing or something. it had light grease on it, but it was pretty tough to move.

it's not like the motor runs constant duty or anything, so i'm not too worried about it.