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The car is a 2000 Toyota Camry LE, 149,000 miles (give or take a few hundred) on the clock. 2.2l I4 Engine (5S-FE).

Yesterday the passenger side front window went down (power windows), but would not go back up. I wasn't very happy about this, it's the second time it happened. And then, a few minutes later, it would roll up again. This self healing happened both times. What I realized yesterday is that both times this failed, it was a very hot day (85 deg F, 30 deg C) and that side of the car was facing the sun when it was parked. So that door was nearly too hot to touch. Once the drive home began, it rolled up fine.

Here's my question. If the problem was consistent, this would be easy to find. Just trace back through the electrical diagram until the reason current is not flowing is found, or the motor is removed from the door and fails to function when tested. Since this only happens when that whole door is hot, how do I chase this? Because neither the driver or passenger side window switches worked, my suspicion is that there is a bad ground inside the door. So that's where I would start to look for proof of the problem. But how do I do that when the door has to be hot? Even if I park it in the sun on that side on a hot day, the condition only lasts for a few minutes before it begins to work again. Should I take the door card off and start to heat electrical components with a heat gun? Am I causing more damage by drying things out even more by doing so?

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  • Does the window try to go back up at all? Can you hear the motor trying to work?
    – Mobius
    Commented Sep 16, 2016 at 14:57
  • Not at all. The problem is definetly that the motor is not operating. Whether that's a wiring or motor issue is the main question.
    – cdunn
    Commented Sep 16, 2016 at 14:59
  • IIRC there is a circuit breaker in the window motor. it's probably over heating and tripping the breaker when you try to move the window up.
    – Ben
    Commented Sep 16, 2016 at 19:32

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I would pop the door panel off, hook the switch back up, and set it in the sun. Prep your tools so you can quickly check for voltage and ground going into the switch, and at the motor. IMHO, the heat gun would be a last resort.

In the past, I have hooked up multiple test lights and meters in advance so they are ready to go.

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