[lsp]

This happened some days ago but I could not post it earlier due to non working internet connection and later due to some issues with my laptop. First of all a big thank you to "SS-Traveller". I've bugged this gentleman with car problem, dental problem and what not and he has never disappointed me. Thanks you so much Dada for taking my call at 10:30 in the night and suggesting the jugaad. I guess the best way to thank him would be to spread the knowledge I gained during this episode.


Jugaad (Hindi: जुगाड़) means a creative idea, a quick, alternative way of solving or fixing problems.
(Source: Wiki)


One fine evening around 9:15, I was pulling out of my office parking lot and pressed the power window switch to roll down the window and handover the parking token to the security guys. After that the window refused to roll up. I pulled over to a side and tried again. Nope, still the same. It goes down but doesn't go up. Tried various things like switching off the car and starting again (this should be enough to guess that I work in IT), opening the door and slamming it shut again (9+ years in the IT industry; my mind is programmed to behave this way now). The passenger side window was working normally. The driver side window was rolling down alright. It just wasn't rolling up. The switch was feeling different when trying to roll up the window so I guessed the problem should be with the switch only. Eventually the driver side window was fully down now. It was past 9 pm and all the shops would have closed by now. I thought to brave the chilling winds and head home and then see what I can do about it.


So I drove on NH 8 from Gurgaon to Delhi and somewhere around the halfway mark my right cheek went into cryogenic freeze with the left one planning to follow suit. Got home and armed with the emergency light and screwdriver I set to work. Disconnected the power window switch, reconnected and tried again. Nope, no luck.

Thought of applying some brute force. Tried to hold the window glass & pull up the window with force. It did not budge an inch! So much for brute force.


Next I opened the door panel. Since I've seen this happen before on my car I know where the screws are and where the clips are. It would be a good idea to know the same about your car. Upon opening I could not think of a way to get the window rolled up. I park on the road outside my house so it wasn't safe to park the car whole night with a window open.


It was 10:30 now and I was hungry tired and frustrated. Next I SMSed SS-Traveller and after that I called him. He suggested me this arrangement to atleast get the window rolled up.

OK so here goes the jugaad. This thread is only a stopgap arrangement, until you can find an electrician (mechanic) who can fix the real issue. In my case, all I did the next day was to buy a new power window switch for Rs 150/-.


First 3 images explain in very basic the movement of parts which gets restricted when the power window fails.









So after the boring textbook pics here are the pics from the spot.















I think the diagrams don't need any explanation. If someone requires more details please let me know. I would be happy to provide.

I also invite suggestions from TBHPians about other ideas which can be implemented.

[bblost]

Thread moved from Assembly Line

Thanks a lot for sharing.
Would be very helpful to someone someday.

[Octane_Power]

Myself being from IT field I ROFL'ed at the two things which you have mentioned about IT professionals. Switching it off & on and slamming it!
Thanks a lot for the 'jugaad'!
It will be very helpful when stuck in situations where we cant leave the window rolled down if its not working(like an unknown parking spot or a place other than our usual parking place).

-Bhargav

[MetalBuff]

Hello Isp,

Thanks for this.

Till now, I always presumed and linked this kind of behavior to a faulty/ dying battery but, not now. Additionally, the snaps and the explanation have set my concepts right

Ah, IT guys!! One seriously can't take out the troubleshooting skills out of us. Haha!

[SDP]

Lalit, thanks a lot for the detailed description and photos. Windows not rolling is a fairly common problem that most of us would have faced it at least once. Leaving a window rolled-down during rains or when parked, is a scary thought. A solution like this would definitely help as a temporaty fix.

PS: Wikipedia has a page for "Jugaad"? That's interesting!

[Ohh!Oxygen]

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by lsp

First 3 images...

Is it just my comp, or are some of the images not loading completely in the page (though, if I click on the image I can see the full image in another window)? Please check...

Lalit, tying up with a rope, as you have described, may not be as solid a jugaad as propping up the glass from below with a branch broken off a handy nearby tree, as I had told you that night.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. Your thread deserves an honourable mention here, although strictly speaking it's not get-me-home but park-at-home (well, okay, get-me-home on a very rainy day)!

[punto_]

Post deleted by the Team-BHP Support : Please do NOT post one-liners that add little or no informational value to the thread. We need your co-operation to maintain the overall quality of this forum.

Please read our rules before proceeding any further.

[mayankjha1806]

Quiet exhaustive, i must say. I am not sure how long one can continue with this Jugad. What i do mostly is slightly easier (Does not need opening up things) and having wires coming out.

Put your hand on either side of the glass after the door is open, and then pull the glass up until it closes (i.e. touches the top). Needless to say this cannot be done on a moving car and is only a short term fix until you get the car to a garage to be looked into.

[lsp]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Myself being from IT field I ROFL'ed at the two things which you have mentioned about IT professionals. Switching it off & on and slamming it!
Thanks a lot for the 'jugaad'!
It will be very helpful when stuck in situations where we cant leave the window rolled down if its not working(like an unknown parking spot or a place other than our usual parking place).

-Bhargav

(Regarding IT ... ) Ain't that the truth. Thanks!

Originally Posted by MetalBuff

Hello Isp,

Thanks for this.

Till now, I always presumed and linked this kind of behavior to a faulty/ dying battery but, not now. Additionally, the snaps and the explanation have set my concepts right

Ah, IT guys!! One seriously can't take out the troubleshooting skills out of us. Haha!

... and Amen to that!

Originally Posted by SDP

Lalit, thanks a lot for the detailed description and photos. Windows not rolling is a fairly common problem that most of us would have faced it at least once. Leaving a window rolled-down during rains or when parked, is a scary thought. A solution like this would definitely help as a temporaty fix.

PS: Wikipedia has a page for "Jugaad"? That's interesting!

Sanjay, you should check out the exmples of jugaad on that page. Really interesting.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Is it just my comp, or are some of the images not loading completely in the page (though, if I click on the image I can see the full image in another window)? Please check...

Lalit, tying up with a rope, as you have described, may not be as solid a jugaad as propping up the glass from below with a branch broken off a handy nearby tree, as I had told you that night.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. Your thread deserves an honourable mention here, although strictly speaking it's not get-me-home but park-at-home (well, okay, get-me-home on a very rainy day)!

Pics opening fine for me.
I remember you said tree branch. In fact I got a stick from my house but it was a little bigger than needed. The rope I was using was a nylon shoe lace and I thought it should hold the fort till the morning. a brach from a tree or a couple of bricks (if you can get them in there) should be great.

@ Punto : If I knew what was needed to be done in the first place, I would say it will take about 10 mins max. 5 mins for opening the door panel and another 5 for unscrewing the window pane and putting a loop (or a tree branch/stick/brick under it).

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Quiet exhaustive, i must say. I am not sure how long one can continue with this Jugad. What i do mostly is slightly easier (Does not need opening up things) and having wires coming out.

Put your hand on either side of the glass after the door is open, and then pull the glass up until it closes (i.e. touches the top). Needless to say this cannot be done on a moving car and is only a short term fix until you get the car to a garage to be looked into.

I mentioned in the initial post about my trying this. Did not work for me. I am not sure if it would work for any power window. I may be wrong.
Could you check and let us know?

[fine69]

Originally Posted by lsp

Do all cars have windows with that kind of lower base, protruding in the middle. I mean aren't the window panes flat/straight at the bottom

The after-market power window switch for driver side window in my car only moves the window up if I hold it up at a certain angle, pulling up the button completely has no effect on window movement. So I'm assuming I might face this situation any day now. I have a Swift (previous-gen).

[pranavt]

Why not just power the winder motor directly to make the window roll up? From what I can see here, the motor was fine, it was just the switch that had an issue.

[lsp]

Originally Posted by fine69

Do all cars have windows with that kind of lower base, protruding in the middle. I mean aren't the window panes flat/straight at the bottom

The after-market power window switch for driver side window in my car only moves the window up if I hold it up at a certain angle, pulling up the button completely has no effect on window movement. So I'm assuming I might face this situation any day now. I have a Swift (previous-gen).

I can vouch for that design of the window glass of the Santro. Can't say for sure about the other cars.

I do have another idea to hold the window up, which would work in case there is no protrusion in the glass to insert in the loop. It was suggested to me by a mechanic. It involves holding the glass in place my using thick wires/thin metal rod (eg cycle spokes). I will post a diagram explaining it in the evening.

Originally Posted by pranavt

Why not just power the winder motor directly to make the window roll up? From what I can see here, the motor was fine, it was just the switch that had an issue.

In my case the problem was with the switch and I did not wish to mess up with the wires.

Can you please explain in detail what needs to be done to power the winder motor directly?

[drsnt]

Since I have been lateral shifting my car (buying used hatch back) almost every year now, what I have learned is that power window problem is very common. If the motor is to die it will give enough warning before as going slow. One thing which happens suddenly is snapping of wire joining motor to assembly, which will make your window jammed.

In your case there was carbon in power window switch and after a FNM once cleaned my co driver side switch, i came to know the procedure is not very complicated, I believe that opening switch and cleaning would have been a easier exercise had you known about it.

I had last week cleaned my driver side power window switch after it stopped working suddenly the same way as your, going down but not comming up. It's running fine now I saw a lot of carbon on contact points, cleaned them with petrol and reassembled them. All took me half hour.

[lsp]

Originally Posted by fine69

Do all cars have windows with that kind of lower base, protruding in the middle. I mean aren't the window panes flat/straight at the bottom

The after-market power window switch for driver side window in my car only moves the window up if I hold it up at a certain angle, pulling up the button completely has no effect on window movement. So I'm assuming I might face this situation any day now. I have a Swift (previous-gen).

Prevention is better than cure. Get the thing sorted so that you don't have to be stuck with my situation.

Originally Posted by lsp

....
I do have another idea to hold the window up, which would work in case there is no protrusion in the glass to insert in the loop. It was suggested to me by a mechanic. It involves holding the glass in place my using thick wires/thin metal rod (eg cycle spokes). I will post a diagram explaining it in the evening.

So here is the idea in case you don't find anything to create a loop or the window is now in a shape which can be in a loop. You will need thick wires or thin metal rods to hold the window in this case.