elec windows

[Colonel Sanders]

anyone got any ideas what could cause just my elec windows not to work, the switch lights dont work either, but the sunroof opens?? wheres the fuse?

cheers


sean

[smithy318i]

have you pressed the cut off button by mistake?
Fuses are in the fusebox.

[Colonel Sanders]

where is this cut off button? didnt know there was one??

[kuSt]

it's just above the right hand elec window switch, it's a black button with nothing printed on. (it does look like a non pressable dummy switch though)

[Colonel Sanders]

oh so what do i do then?

[Colonel Sanders]

just took a look and mine is a none pressable dummy, its just a cover for a hole...
any other ideas its really doing my nut cos i cant open my windows and it baking hot over here!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Martinaston]

Pull the gaitor up around the gearstick, you should have a cut out switch under there somewhere. If not then someones had a play with it before and messed it up.

[Gortour]

May be that your breaker is on the kick panel by the pedals.

Do they work with ign on and doors shut , do they work with ign off and doors open

There are two seperate (ish) circuits.

[aceraf]

just took a look and mine is a none pressable dummy, its just a cover for a hole...
any other ideas its really doing my nut cos i cant open my windows and it baking hot over here!!!!!!!!!!!!

if the lights in the actual window switches are off aswell, then it does sound like you've pressed the cut-off....

see pic....

I thought my switch was a dummy aswell because it was so stiff....i have to press mine really hard for it to pop-out, and disable the windows!

If you have the same button as in the pic, then play about with it, as that's probably the problem!

[Colonel Sanders]

yeah its just a dummy switch mate a piece of plastic i pulled off with nothing under it.
il take a look at the other stuff cheers

[Colonel Sanders]

Pull the gaitor up around the gearstick, you should have a cut out switch under there somewhere. If not then someones had a play with it before and messed it up.

i owe you, pulled the gaitor off an low an behold there was a switch there connected it back up an put it back where its meant to be an its all tickityboo..... cheers for the help boys....

[Brianmoooore]

Any suggestions as to why someone should have hidden the cut out under the console, and fitted a blanking plate??

[Gortour]

maybe a previous owner kept pushing it trying to open the windows...

Only reason I can think of...

[Colonel Sanders]

Any suggestions as to why someone should have hidden the cut out under the console, and fitted a blanking plate??

dunno mate it did make me wander???? do you think it could be a sign of a bad thing?
seems to be fine now though....

[Brianmoooore]

do you think it could be a sign of a bad thing?

It's just one of those things that makes you wonder what else the previous owner has done!
Bit like when I find an E30 with tied back and shorted out brake pad wear sensors. Makes you wonder what else has been skimped on.

[Colonel Sanders]

weel not that fussed as hopefully next week gonna start a full rebuild from the ground up,body, suspension, bushes, engine rebuild, an a holset hx35w runnin ems-pro that ants pricing up for me, so should be a nice long rebuild thread with me pestering everyone for info no doubt.....

[Martinaston]

I must admit it does seem to be the most pointless feature on the car

[Colonel Sanders]

yeah no wonder they had hidden it!!!!!

[Brianmoooore]

I must admit it does seem to be the most pointless feature on the car

Why is it pointless! It's purpose is to stop your wiring loom catching on fire if a window sticks or a switch jams on!

[Martinaston]

But in all the time i've had E30's i've never had to use it

[Brianmoooore]

You've probably never seriously made use of the smoke alarms in your house either! Or any of the MCBs in your house consumer unit!
I had one car with dealer fitted electric windows and no cut out fitted.
One evening I arrived home with a load of stuff in the passenger footwell. I took a few things out and in the process of finding what I wanted, I pushed the corner of something heavy on to the LH up button.
Next morning the car was full of acrid smoke, the battery was dead, and the LH window motor and its wiring completely fried. That missing cutout could have caused damage running into six figures!
I also bought in another E30 where the trip would pop a few seconds after opening a front door or turning the ignition on. This was due to a paperclip that had fallen into one of the window switches, powering it permanently up.

[Colonel Sanders]

not good! cut out a good idea then!!!

[kuSt]

i'd like to copyright the term 'non-pressable dummy'

[Colonel Sanders]

its a good name!!!!

[Stifla]

Pull the gaitor up around the gearstick, you should have a cut out switch under there somewhere. If not then someones had a play with it before and messed it up.

Is there a cut-out anywhere else, ive got the same problem.
I checked under the gaitor for any switches but theres nothing there, there isnt even a blank hole in the consul, just the two window switches!

Any help is appreciated!

[trackdaze]

Hi, only slightly related, this one. Does anyone Know if I can put manual window set-up in place of my electric ones? (Looking to save a bit more weight for the track) If it's a straight swap I'd be happy to swap with someone who wants the electric set-up,

Cheers, Steve..........

[Brianmoooore]

Is there a cut-out anywhere else, ive got the same problem.
I checked under the gaitor for any switches but theres nothing there, there isnt even a blank hole in the consul, just the two window switches!

Some versions of the E30 have the cut out in the row of switches (hazards, demister, etc.) at the top of the dash. Otherwise, I suspect you have the far inferior dealer fitted electric windows instead of the factory fit ones.

[Stifla]

Is there a cut-out anywhere else, ive got the same problem.
I checked under the gaitor for any switches but theres nothing there, there isnt even a blank hole in the consul, just the two window switches!

Some versions of the E30 have the cut out in the row of switches (hazards, demister, etc.) at the top of the dash. Otherwise, I suspect you have the far inferior dealer fitted electric windows instead of the factory fit ones.

Is there anyway else of identifying this, as the swtiches are exactly the same as all the other e30 switches.

[Brianmoooore]

Is there anyway else of identifying this, as the switches are exactly the same as all the other e30 switches.

The dealer fit windows?
The switches have seperate push on spade connectors on the bottom instead of a moulded connector, and the wire that goes to each door is two single wires that pass through the large hole in the door hinge pillar plug and socket rather than going through pins and sockets.

[Stifla]

Is there anyway else of identifying this, as the switches are exactly the same as all the other e30 switches.

The dealer fit windows?
The switches have seperate push on spade connectors on the bottom instead of a moulded connector, and the wire that goes to each door is two single wires that pass through the large hole in the door hinge pillar plug and socket rather than going through pins and sockets.

Hmm, nope mine have factory block connectors on the bottom of the switches, and all the wiring to the door goes through one big socket.

Its strange because the passenger window stopped working about 2 weeks after the drivers one.
And i can still hear the faint clicking coming from the motors on both sides.

Ive checked the motors and mechanisms, window guides, plugs contacts etc and its getting frustrating now as it gets bloody hot in the car!

[Brianmoooore]

Sounds like these are factory fit.
Usual cause of window problems is the switches themselves. Now you've told us hat one failed before the other, this is even more likely to be the problem.
They are normally salvageable by dismantling, cleaning, adding a little silicon grease and reassembling.
Check the power supply to the switches by connecting a 21W 12V lamp between the green/grey and brown at the switches.

[pictonroad]

Is there anyway else of identifying this, as the switches are exactly the same as all the other e30 switches.

The dealer fit windows?
The switches have seperate push on spade connectors on the bottom instead of a moulded connector, and the wire that goes to each door is two single wires that pass through the large hole in the door hinge pillar plug and socket rather than going through pins and sockets.

Hmm, nope mine have factory block connectors on the bottom of the switches, and all the wiring to the door goes through one big socket.

Its strange because the passenger window stopped working about 2 weeks after the drivers one.
And i can still hear the faint clicking coming from the motors on both sides.

Ive checked the motors and mechanisms, window guides, plugs contacts etc and its getting frustrating now as it gets bloody hot in the car!

I had exactly this problem, switch light working, could hear the click from the motor but the window didn't budge.

I tracked it down to the 'gearbox' that turns the motor's rotary output to the up-down motion required for the windows, it had seized completely solid.

Got another one out of a scrappie and swapped it in a couple of hours.

If you can hear the motor 'trying' I'd seriously check this out.