we just got a 96 toyota camry and love it but when we bought it, it had a fault with the driver's window. it goes down no problem but it rarely goes up. when it does go up, it goes up fine but sometimes it can be days before we can actually get it to go up. we just brought it to a local toyota dealership and they said it was the motor and the switch. they said it would cost $900! we can find a motor and switch ourselves second hand and get it put in somewhere else. but now i'm wondering if it really is the motor. i thought it sounded like a switch problem. any suggestions???

 

Yes, replace the window regulator. There are plenty of aftermarket places, you can save money here. After reading your post more closly, put a volt meter at the motor and make sure you are getting 12v to it when you operate it. If I could watch it I could tell but usually I would just order a regulator. It is possible that over time if this problem was there it could damage the switch. If the motor works one way it is fine the other, all that isdone is the switch swaps the polarity at the motor.
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sorry for my ignorace, but am i correct in assuming the switch, the motor and the regulator are three different things? i thought i was just dealing with either the switch or the motor. what is the regulator exactly? thanks so much for your reply.

 

The regulator is the motor itself. It is also connected directly to the window and moves it up and down with a system of cables within the motor. One way of testing the motor is with the door panel off hold the window up button and tap on the motor with a hammer LIGHTLY. Once the motor responds and goes up, than you have identified the regulator as the problem. A lot of the time problems with window regulators are intermittent, as your's goes up, but only rarely leads me to believe that it is the regulator. I would just replace the regulator, I dont really see how it could damage the switch itself, but I'm not a Toyota tech. They may have a very valid reason for replacing the switch, but I would just stick a regulator in it first.

 

Those 3 I mentioned are separate. You can purchase those items new. The regulator is what the window is screwed to and the regulator has a gear and or cable Actuated. The motor is bolted to the regulator with 3 screws and the motor is reversable that is why if the motor works one way it will in the opposite dirrection. The switch is what is on your arm rest and those will go bad allso.
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The switch can be damaged when there is to much resistance which increased load=amperage and then the added heat from the increased load will melt the switch assembly. Cars suck, so any money I put into it is gonna hurt me in a personal way so I repair the thing the first time around. There are times when logic is out the window so that is why I mentioned how to test the motor in a post above, as allways good luck and take your time.
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here is a pic of the area that will go bad but not just the only thing tho.

 

here is a pic of a complete assembly with the motor in the upper left corner

 

I have a Toyota Camry 2002,with power windows. Problem is the windows on passenger side and both back windows don't respond to switches, whether from that door or from the driver's arm rest.There is no sound at all. I thought it might be the fuse, but the power lock on passenger sideworks, and I think one fuse governs both the window and lock. Thewindow on the driver's door works as it should. Any ideas will be much apreciated.

Gene

 

it is possible the kid proof switch is maybe bad or dissconnected? Start checking power from one or the other door and work your way to the master switch. A wiring diagram is most helpfull here. Good luck,
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