Greetings Oh Wise Mechanics-
We live in Raleigh, NC. My wife has a 1997 Jaguar XK 8 convertible, that she drives very rarely, but love the car. Current problem is that the rear windows are stuck down. The top is stuck up, but that isn’t a problem. She just want to get the windows up so she can drive it. They don’t need to go up and down - just up and stay there.
No one around here seems able to do the job - we are faced with going to the dealer and paying the equivalent of a new Acclaim to get the windows up. Any more cost effective suggestions?
Thanks much!
Robert Schrag
If you can remove a panel and get to the window motor (if it’s electric windows) you can simply unplug the connector and apply 12VDC to roll the window up. Leave the connector unplugged until you get the windows repaired. If it’s a manual window you will have to move the window up manually and leave it in place. You may need a mechanically inclined friend if you can’t do the job yourself.
I’d start with a check of the fuses. Get out your owner’s manual and look for mention of any fuses that power the windows and/or the top. Get some new fuses of the correct size and swap them (you can’t always see that a fuse is blown).
If the XK is like the S-type, then the power window motors have electronics built-in. Simply applying 12V won’t work, and might fry an expensive motor assembly.
Good point. We don’t want to fry any expensive components. I recommended a mechanically inclined person to help. As a mechanic…I always bypass any electronic component and go directly to the motor. That’s why it’s important to have a wiring diagram and to disconnect any connectors. A repair of the system is always the better alternative but I live in the real world like most people. Sometimes a complete repair is not possible or economically feasible.
The problem is (on the S-type anyway) there is no way to bypass the electronics. They are a part of the motor itself. There’s no way to just get to the motor leads without disassembling the motor case. If you do that, then you still can’t run the motor because it would be in pieces.
The XK is probably the same configuration. I have not had my hands on one of these window motors (only pictures). In this case a picture is not worth a thousand words. I will defer to your experience on this one.