Check the wiring in the harness that runs between the driver's door and the body of the car. The wires are known for breaking over time from the flexing they do from opening and closing the door. Try next time opening the door and moving the harness by hand while holding a button down. Even if the windows don't move you should still pull the rubber cover back and visually look at the wires. Also the clicking you hear is a relay under the dash. I doubt that is the issue, but to rule it out switch it with another relay and see what happens.

 

Ok, so do you think wires are touching each other and that is causing the problem? And so why does the relay make the clicking noise if that probably isn't it?

 

I took out the relay under the dash and switched it with the one to the right of it. And that didn't do anything. I don't think the circuits are the same though. But then I just switched them back and it didn't do anything. My driver window was stuck down for a while yesterday and I didn't know what to do so I tried pulling off the door panel and then the window rolled right up. It's weird. It almost seems like a wire is being pinched inside the panel but I'm pretty sure I can't find a wire being pinched. I went to O'rielly's last night and one of the guys said it could be the switch inside on the buttons. Could that be it? I don't know what else to do. Maybe buy a new relay and see what happens from there? I just don't understand how I pull the door panel off and then the window rolls right up.

 

If the relay did not work you will have to check the wiring I mention in my last post. The wires are known for breaking. If a wire or wires broke that is going to cause you an issue.

Go to the link below and open the pictures to see what I mean. If the wire is broken then power cannot flow.
http://www.taurusclub.com/forum/117-electronics-security-audio-visual/133900-windows-now-fixed.html

 

Ok so I took my door panel off yesterday and checked everything. I went to my auto store and bought a new relay to try and it still clicks so it is for sure not the relay. I also took off the boot where all of the wires are and I looked inside. All the wires seem to be perfectly fine. Very rarely when I take off the door panel and play with the wires the windows roll down. Also it seems like I have to hold the rear window buttons to roll down the front as well. My car is acting so weird. This problem has just confused me so badly. What could be the problem? I can't seem to find it. The only thing I can think to do is to just take it to Ford and have them look at it but it will be so expensive. I just don't know what the problem could be here.

 

Having to hold the rear switches as well makes me think the switch assembly has gone bad.

 

Do you think that if it is a bad switch that it could make all of the windows mess up from all switches. Like even if I went to the passenger side window, it won't roll down. And sometimes when I mess with the wires on the driver side with the door panel off it rolls down. And why would the relay be clicking if the switch is bad? Thanks

 

Do the switches on the other three doors work fine? You made it seem like that in the original post...

 

No they do not. None of the windows will roll down from the other switches either. That's why I'm confused and it would make me think that it could be the master switch that is bad and it is messing up the other window buttons too or that it is a fuse or relay somewhere. I just don't know why when I move the wires inside the door panel, that sometimes the windows will work.

 

Do you have any ideas White Falcon?

 

If moving the wires causes it to work, I'd be pretty sure it's not a fuse or a relay. I didn't know the wiring on the window switches was wired like that, but it sort of makes sense. I'd be checking the wires in the door for breaks and frayed areas, and making sure the wires are good and snug in the plugs themselves.

 

It's weird that it does that so that's what leads me to think it is the wires but I checked the wires in the door and all of the wires seem to be perfectly fine. I also checked the best I could inside the after I took the panel off and none of the wires seem to be bad. I mean I guess somehow it could be a switch correct?

 

Could be. All the window wiring runs through the master switch. Swap a jy master switch in and check.

 

I'm thinking of going to the junkyard today and plugging the front and rear window harnesses into a new one to see what happens. I mean I guess it could be the switch. I was looking at my car last night with my buddy and he got under the dash and played with a brown harness that is bolted in and it was lose. When he moved it though, the windows worked for about 8 seconds. I rolled the front driver side window down about half way and rolled it back up. I also had the door panel off. But I don't know if it was a coincidence or if it could be the brown harness. It is up kinda high under the dash and towards the driver door. Anyone know what that harness is for? Also I looked more inside of the boot between the door and the car and all of the wires seem to be perfectly fine. I don't know what could be the problem.

The only three things I can think of doing is one, using a circuit tester to check everything. Two is, going to the junkyard and getting another switch to see what happens. Or three is, rewiring my aftermarket stereo system because I was at my auto parts store, O'reilly's and the guy there said he thinks that I could have a bad ground which threw back a message through other wires and the problem landed somewhere else like whatever controls the windows and either shorted out the window system or it is just having problems. I wired the system myself. So I'm pretty much thinking of just getting it rewired professionally.

Those are the only things I could think of doing to fix it. Unless there is a bad wiring connection somewhere and maybe that brown harness under the dash has something to do with my windows or somewhere wires are messed up. I just don't know what the problem could be. What do you guys think? I have very little patience left. I called Ford and they said they would need 4 or 5 hours to just looks at the car and they charge $125 an hour which is a bit ridiculous. I understand Ford is going to charge a crazy amount but idk. I'm to the point where if none of these things fix it or if no one can find the problem that I mine as well just take the car to Ford and have them fix it or atleast look at it and tell me the problem so I can save a few hundred dollars and fix it myself.

What do you guys think could be the problem? Or what should I do? Thanks for all of the help.

 

So I went to the junkyard yesterday and got a new switch, put it in my car and the windows worked perfectly! So happy.. Spent $12.25 And ford told me they wanted it for 5 hours at $125 an hour.

 

Good to hear. Stay away from that dealer!

 

Clicking sound from driver side window relay.

My 2002 Sable driver side window relay was making a clicking sound but the window would not move. When I pressed on the driver side window relay and toggled the driver side window switch I could then get the window to temporarily work. After removing the GEM and taking it apart I saw a bad solder joint on the big yellow thermal resistor. It is the postage stamp sized yellow component on the circuit board near the back side of the driver side window relay. In order to fix the bad solder joint I had to file down a solder iron tip so that I could fit the solder iron tip between the two circuit boards. I used an alligator clip heat sink to protect the component during soldering and I applied flux and additional solder to the bad solder joint. It works great now.

 

That could be the main switch because in there the other windows are enabled and disabled by the child safety switch in the drivers side door switch assembly

 

Almost every time on my 1998 Ford Taurus, when I roll down any of my windows from the driver side buttons they won't go down. And when they sometimes do come down the won't go back up. Also a lot of the time one of the fuses under the dash makes a loud clicking noise. I assume it is the Window Relay. Anyways, what could be causing this? A bad relay/fuse or a bad window motor? What are some ways to find out exactly what it is? I tried taking the door panel off and unplugging then replugging back in the connectors that are connecting into the panel for those window switches and it fixes the problem for only about 10 seconds. Does this happen often? What do you guys think the problem is? Thanks for the help

For anyone else tracking down this problem and comes across this thread like I did...

In my case I pulled the door panel off, removed the harness from the switch assembly then took a file and cleaned the contacts that the harness plugs in to. There was some corrosion/buildup on the spades preventing good power flow.