I have a car that is about 20 years old. (2001 Lexus RX300) I recently repaired the exhaust and some other things, and I think that mechanically, this car could last me 5+ more years. What to do about the window?
In July, the driver door window start to open and close very slowly. In August, all the windows on the car started open and close very slowly - except the driver door window, which doesn't move at all. The sun roof also didn't move.
In October, I installed an aftermarket replacement Window Master Switch for the driver side. I changed it following this youtube video.
Here is what happened: At first, it worked great. Then, the windows and locks behaved strangely. I shut off the engine. After the engine was off, the power locks were locking/unlocking very quickly. In response, I unplugged the master switch. Luckily the windows were closed at the time.
Here are my questions:
In general is it ok to drive a car with this switch disconnected? Will this lead to long term electrical problems? What about specifically for the 2001 Lexus RX 300? This will mean that I can most certainly continue to drive this car for several years.
If I try to fix it, what should I do next? Is the problem that I installed an aftermarket switch, or is there a short somewhere else? Is this something that can be troubleshot?
Perhaps there is a way to jerry-rig this so that I can open and close the windows without spending ~$800 on the official lexus part?
Edit to respond to comments:
Michigan doesn't have inspections of any kind. Escape route sounds important though.
I did try removing and putting the old one back in. Didn't work. :(
