Mechanical Problems & Technical Chat - 96 Civic HX Power Window Issue

Last week my driver's side power window would not roll down, after playing with the switch a bit it rolled down but never got it back up. Not wanting to pay $141 for a new switch I called all the area junk yards only to find they were closed the week of the 4th. So I took the car to my machanic (he works only on Hondas). He looked up the wiring diagram and put the window up by connecting the proper two wires.

On Tuesday, I went to the junk yard and tried two used swithes. Both would work the passenger window (as will mine) but neither would roll down the driver's side.

I realize it is possibe that my switch went bad and I got two other bad switches but I think this is unlikely (one was out of a 2000 Civic).

Anyone have any ideas? I checked (and changed) the fuse.

Does any one know which wires I need to connect together to get it to roll down (and which to connect to roll back up?

Thanks for your help.
Steve

Did the window slow down on you before hand?

No, the window worked fine until it stopped working. No slowness, hesitation or noise.

Pull your panel off and make sure all the wires are connected right. If they are your motor may be going out, I know in my formula my passenger window went out with no notice at all. Where are you located?

I am located in Winston-Salem NC. Guess it could be the motor......just that the mechanic was able to get the window up by connecting the wires at the switch plug..........

I dont know man, it maybe anything from a relay to a motor. Hard to tell. Hey you dont by chance have the stock HX rims do you?

i've got a 96 Civic EX and I've got power window problems too. Mine starts to go down and then about half way it stops and makes a loud grinding noise, but as long as I give it some help, it will continue down. Same thing happens when it comes back up too. Turns out that its the power window regulator, not the actual motor. If you put your window down, you can look down into the door where the window is and see the gear teeth on the regulator and make sure you don't see any smooth areas in the teeth. The regulator is a quick fix (and a lot cheaper than the motor). Check it out, could be the same for you. Apparently it just locked up at some time and stripped some of the gears, not that uncommon so I've heard.

Thanks for the advice. After looking at everything I knew to look at (and even some stuff I didn't) I broke down and took it to my Honda mechanic. As it turns out there is some sort of a short in the wiring harness between the door and the fuse box. The fix was to correct this short using a part of a wiring harness from a junk yard. Total cost - $460.

Not too happy about spending that kind of money but they started working on it this morning and were still working on it at 6:00 tonight. Apparently it was much more difficult than expected and he felt bad enough to offer me a discount since he could not get the car back to me today (I am leaving on a trip at 6 am and was planning on driving the car).

Any way the car is fun to drive and I like it but it is pissing me off - did I mention I replaced the engine last winter?

Where did you find a HX motor? If you don't mind, how much did it cost? I have 250,000 miles on my 97 HX. I see a replacement motor in the future for me.

is this 4 or 6 cyl ?

The engine was a little over a grand, it has 40k on it and came from Japan (apparently there is no used car market over there). I also had to replace the catalytic converter which is attached to the manifold which was $800, Honda may reimburse this expense. All belts, hoses, thermostat, etc were replaced with new Honda parts....total cost about $3200. This includes a 2 year 50K warrenty and was done by a Honda Certified shop (not a dealer).

My brother in law had his daughters EX engine replaced for considerably less but it only had a 90 day warrenty from the time he received the engine. Not sure if he replaced all the other parts in the process.

fglaustin - it is a 4 cyl. I was unaware that they made Civics with 6 - but certainly no expert here.

there should be a way to disconnect at a connector on both sides of the switch.
note which way you push the switch to go up and which way down.
disconnect the ground at the battery.

disconect on both sides of the switch.
use an ohmmeter and connect it to one of the wires on one side of the switch and on the same wire on the other side of the switch. push on the switch (in the direction that makes the window to go up). if you do not get continuity showing, then connect to the other wire. and do the same. the one that gives continuity is the one that activates the motor to the window.

How long ago did you replaced the engine? Last year, I had my trans rebuilt by a reputable shop with a 2 year warranty.

japan has very strict emission requirement.
as i undersatand it, all engines are to be replaced after a certain number of miles. thought it was 35,000 - i guess though it is 40,000.
their loss is our gain :) , well maybe.

you guys pay extremely too much on engine and parts. we get a b16a engine from japan with tranny for 1400. and all those lil parts u mention like termostat and everything is nowhere near 3200. it's more like 150. bucks.