I just bought a 1992 Maxima for my 16 year old daughter. It is really in nice shape, 98k, got it for $500.00!! Had the VTC fixed, cleaned it up and was all ready to go. She got her license yesterday and went on her “maiden voyage”. A friend jumped in the back seat and rolled down the rear power window. However, when she went to roll it back up, nothing. You can hear the motor working, but the window just stays down. You can pull the window up by hand and it feels like it is in the track, but it just doesn’t go up. So, first question, does anyone have instructions on how to remove the door panel to get at the motor/regulator,etc.? Any special tools/hints? Second, what do you think happened? Did a gear, or cable break? I’m not familiar with this so any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!

 

The window regulator broke. Very common on these cars. There's a cable in there that spools around the window motor and (for some reason) the end clips that hold the cable taught are made of plastic and break, which causes the cable to unspool and /or tangle which makes the window fall.

New aftermarket ones can be had for about 30 bucks on eBay.

OR if you're super cheap, you can just use a metal coat hanger or something to rig the window to stay up. Unhook the window switch if so

 

And here's a write up

Part 1: http://4dsc.com/articles/interior/wi...lator_cb.shtml

Part 2: http://4dsc.com/articles/interior/wi...egulator.shtml

It's not a hard job at all, I've done it a half dozen times or so over the years on various 3rd gens. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

Got any pics?

 

How do you do it on a junkyard car? For practice while there's no battery on those cars.

 

I did this last week... The day I called to schedule my windows to be tinted my passenger side window fell down in the door when I went to roll it down. I went to the junkyard the next morning, got what I needed, and replaced it. Super easy.

If you get one out of a junkyard car, you may find it impossible to remove because of the window being in place and there not being a battery. You can solve this by bringing a hammer and busting out the window, (in my case it was already done for me).

On a rear side window if you remove the weather stripping from the triangle window, you can remove it and the vertical track between the two and then the window should move freely enough to get all the bolts out to remove the regulator.

If that fails, just bust the damn window.

 

A 12v source comes in really handy at the junkyard.. IE bring a jump starter or a small SLA.

 

You all are awesome. Thank you so much. I got the regulator out and yes, the plastic piece on the regulator did break. I ordered a new regulator from Advance Auto and is supposed to be here Monday morning. So here is my first question, how does the new regulator come? Is the cable already wound around the center section, or do I have to "assemble" it. The reason I think it has to be assembled is because you have to route that cable through the ends and lift mechanism on the sliding rail.
Second question, where can I get a new plastic switch, the black piece that says up/down? The tutorial said that needed to be removed, but it doesn't on the back doors. Anyway, I broke it trying to "pry" it out. Thanks again for all your help, this is a great resource as I'm sure more issues will come up and I try to be a DIY guy.

 

The new regulator will be assembled already, you will just need to swap in the motor from your old one (unless you paid substantially more for one that comes with a motor but that is unnecessary since we know your motor works - I've also never seen a motor fail in these cars). Be sure to use a thicker Phillips screwdriver that fits snugly to remove the motor because if not they tend to round out then you're in a tough spot.

As far as removing the switch, you mean literally just the up/down button? I don't see why you would pry it or try to remove it? It just unscrews from the back of the cover plate with some Phillips screws. But like the tutorial said it didn't need to be removed just unplugged. Either way, grab a replacement at a junkyard or Rock Auto sells them if you want a brand new one.

 

It's cheaper to get them at the junkyard (Pull a Part, etc.) It why I practice on them first before I do it on my car.

 

OK, makes sense now. I got the new regulator yesterday. I didn't realize the regulator also came with a new rail/lift mechanism. I thought I had to use my old rail/lift mechanism and "route" the cable from the new regulator through that. But, not the case, so much easier. I installed it yesterday, everything is working great. Thanks again for the assistance, much appreciated!!