How do you fix the rear power windows on a 1990 LeBaron convertible?

Answer 1

April 6, 2005

It is not as hard as you would think. I have no mechanical background yet I was able to replace both my rear window motors in my 93 LaBaron convertible. The first time I did it was trial and error and it took me two hours to replace the window motor because I didn't know what I was doing. I have since had to replace the replaced window motors and I can do it in about 20 minutes or so each.

Getting good used window motors (87-95 used the same window motor, regulator, and unit)is a challenge - especially for the driver's side quarter rear window motor. When you order a replacement you really want the whole unit (window motor, regulator and the metal framework that it attaches to). You won't need to get new window glass, you can just use the old windown glass.

Since there are a good number of screws and things, do yourself a favor and save some time and cussing and swearing by getting a piece of cardboard, a pen, and some tape so that you can label where each of the screws and bolts came from so you'll have an easier time putting everything back together.

Here's the process:

1. Remove the rear bench seat and seat back rest. This is tough because it takes an extra long screw driver to pry apart the "clamlike" seating the backseat bracket is secured in. To remove the seat back you'll need a 10mm rachet. All bolts in this operation will need a 10 mm rachet.

2. Remove the 3 Phillips screws that hold the plastic seat molding, speaker panel, and the convertible metallic latch.

3. Remove the floor screw that holds this plastic seat molding to the car molding to the left of the driver's seat.

4. Remove the Phillips screw that is located near where the seatbelt feeds through the plastic molding.

5. Remove the Phillips screw which holds the silver convertible top boot latch.

4 The large plastic panel which contains the back speaker ane convertible latch with opening for the seat belt can now be moved to the side to allow you to see the inside of the fender and frame

5. On top of the window motor there is a t-bar with a brushy end that helps guide the window up when you press the window button. There is 1 bolt on top that holds this in place. Remove it with the 10mm rachet.

6. Near the top of the window, you will see 2 bolts that if you look inside the window frame, hold the window in place. Remove these 2 bolts with a 10mm rachet.

7. Inside the frame are 2 more bolts that anchor an L shaped piece of metal on the window frame. These provide the proper setting for the window so that it doesn't bang back and forth. Loosen those so that you can move the L shaped metal bracket. You'll need these loosed to pull the whole window unit out in a couple of minutes.

8. Look inside the frame at the bottom of the window unit, you'll see one more 10mm bolt that needs to be removed. You'll need an extension added to your rachet in order to reach this bolt and remove it. When you pull this bolt out, it may drop off your rachet and fall to the bottom of the frame. Don't worry, when you pull the window motor, regulator, and entire unit out, you can reach down with your arm and pull out that bolt if it fell.

9. This will free the window unit. You can pull it up about 6-8 inches. There is some tar paper like plastic that is along the frame to keep moisture away. It may get in your way, tear it off and because it is sticky you can replace it later. You won't be able to pull the window motor unit out just yet. At the bottom of the window motor is the wire that gets the power to the window. You need to remove the female clip from the male end of the electric motor. To make sure it doesn't come loose, there is a plastic edge that you need to push down to free the connection and wire from the window motor. You can then pull the entire window motor unit out the top opening.

10. Once the window unit complete with the metal frame, motor, and regulator are removed, you can take the old glass and put it on the new power window unit. It takes a star driver to get the white round plastic window washers off. Since I didn't have a star driver, I used an Allen wrench.

11. Take the female connection wire that supplies the power to the window motor and connect it to the male end of the window motor. It can only go one way, so you can't mess it up.

12. Once the new window motor is attached, get a friend or your spouse (if she is still talking to you after you've probably done some cussing and swearing to this point) and have him/her press the window button on the driver's side to see if the window motor works. There is not a whole lot that makes you madder than to get a window motor from a junk yard that doesn't work. It happened to me.

13. If the window motor works, slide the unit down the so that the L bracket on the bottom of the window unit fits on the hole where the last bolt you removed needs to be tigthed. Remember it needs a 10mm rachet and extension. A couple of times this bolt fell down into the frame and I had to take the power window unit out to get my hand inside to pick up the bolt. To prevent this from happening again, I took some masking tape and tape the bolt to the rachet extension so it could not drop off. When I screwed the bolt in, the tape tore and I pulled the rachet and extension out.

14. With this now done. Go back up to step 7 and do just the opposite, then step 6 and so on. All you have to do is reverse what you originally did.

I know that the directions are very wordy, and I apologize for that. Replacing the window motors is not as difficult as you think. Take your time and go slowly. If I can do it just about anyone else in the whole world can do it. Good luck.

I found the above instructions immensely helpful in repairing my 1995 LeBaron, using parts from a 1987 LeBaron found at a junkyard.

I would like to add that where the problem is limited to a broken or mangled wire cable, locating replacement parts is not quite as challenging, because the regulator assembly from either the driver side or the passenger side regulator has the same parts for the spool and cables. This, then, is repairing your existing regulator, not replacing it. IF OTHER PARTS ARE BROKEN, then you need to find the correct side replacement part.

If the only useable regulator and frame you can find at the salvage yard is for the opposite side of the car, AND YOUR DAMAGE IS JUST TO THE CABLES, that's OK, go ahead and take the regulator/frame/motor. (This was quoted new at a Chrysler dealer for about $500; I paid $20 for motor and frame/regulator at a junkyard). Damaged cables may be the most common problem, since it seems to be the weakest part of the mechanism.

On your workbench, note carefully how the cables are supposed to be routed on your salvage part. Making a sketch or taking some pictures with a digital camera may be helpful. Note carefully where the cable emerges from the spool housing: there are four possible exit points but only two are actually used.

With your original regulator on a workbench, you can remove tension for any jammed cables by loosening or removing the motor from the frame: there are three screws set with an Allen wrench.

If the cables are still in one or both of the pulleys on the frame, they can be removed by setting the cable into the notch on the pulley wheels and rotating the pulleys. Use these notches to replace the cables on reassembly.

The tracking car cover plates can be removed using the 10 mm socket on three nuts. This will be necessary to remove and re-install the cable ends, which have little springs at the ends. There are stops for the tracking car rivetted to the frame so unless you want to re-rivet them or modify their mode of attachment, you will need to leave the tracking car on its track.

The cable is actually two cables attached to opposite sides of a single spool set inside the motor assembly. Remove the 5 screws on the cover plate for the spool - same Allen wrench as before. Then the spool can be lifted out by gently prying with a small screwdriver. Do the same procedure for the salvage part.

There are three sets of little black rubber dampers on the underside of the spool. Hopefully they will be in serviceable condition, but compare them to the ones on the salvage part and use the better set. If neither set had been serviceable, I had thought to use RTV silicone sealant to fashion replacement dampers, allowing it to harden overnight in place, but I did not actually try this.

The cable that goes to the upper side of the frame (with the cable sleeve section) needs to be on the bottom side of the spool. Put a couple wraps of cable around the spool for each cable, the second cable wrapped in the opposite direction from the first. Then carefuly set the replacement spool and cables (and rubber dampers) back in the spool assembly housing. This is possibly the trickiest part of the whole business, requiring the most dexterity, but it went well, and I got it on the first try. Hold the spool in place with its cover plate and a couple of the cover plate screws, and see if you have enough cable wraps. Do this by routing the cables properly through the pulleys, etc., and seeing how the spring/cable ends match up at the tracking car which carries the window. With a couple wraps on each cable, the tracking car will need to be in the middle of its travel. If the cable ends overlap by a couple inches, then you need one more wrap around the spool.

In my case one cable had pulled out of the tracking car. Close inspection showed that the metal tangs on the tracking car, where the spring on the cable end had rested, were bent. Also a small piece of the plastic housing had broken off at that point. I expect the force necessry to bend the metal and break the plastic arose only when the window or the cables had jammed, so bending the tangs back should be OK if jamming (and excessive force) can be avoided.

Bending the metal tangs back is easy with a screwdriver or stout needle-nose pliers. I also cut away excess plastic housing with an Exacto knife so that the spring would have a flat seat on the metal tangs and not want to tilt or wander. But the spring did not set well on the tangs until I took a small (#8) flat washer and used it to make a seat for the spring and span the gap in the tangs. The plastic housing material had served this purpose originally. If you need to do this procedure, make a single cut on the washer with a hacksaw in a bench vise, then bend it sideways to slip it over the cable, then bend it back with needle-nose pliers. Attach the washer after the cable end and spring have been threaded back roughly into position in the tracking car, but not yet set in the slot.

Reassembly is done in reverse order as usual, with a couple (obvious) caveats. First, be sure all the sliding surfaces and the replacement cables are clean and treated with a lubricant. I used wheel bearing grease, but suppose other types of grease will work too. Second, the cables should be under some tension as installed, arising from the cable end springs, so make sure you have all the cables in their correct positions, and then set the tension in the last step, which is when the motor assembly is mounted back onto to the frame with those three screws.

As a final tip, upon reassembly it is extremely useful to test the unit and to move and position the window assembly with a 12-volt car battery on the work bench. This is an alternate procedure to what the first author suggested. I used a jumper cable made of lamp cord and alligator clips. The alligator clips were from Radio Shack, small ones for the connector at the motor, larger ones at the battery. Wrapping the small alligator clips in electrical tape and inserting an insulator between them (I used a smalll piece of cardboard) keeps them from shorting against each other at the motor connection. Swapping the clips at the battery reverses the motor direction.