Technical Front driver's side window won't go down

[Hedfan]

The front driver's side window in my Fiat 500X won't go down. The control panel in the door handle will lower and raise all the other windows, but not the front driver's side one.

All the other windows have respective controls in their door handles, but for the front driver's side, this is the only switch.

I am sure I can hear a relay click when I lift the switch to close the window, of course nothing happens because the window is already closed.

It's been working fine for years, but has suddenly stopped working. I can't think of anything that's changed recently.

I followed the procedure here to remove the glove box and access the fuse box, but all the fuses were fine (tested with a multimeter).

I removed the control unit and reseated the two connectors. There was no visible sign of anything disconnected. I have not tried to open the unit itself, it seemed to me to be very well contained.

Has anyone else had experience with this issue? Or can suggest what I might be able to try next?

 

[bugsymike]

The front driver's side window in my Fiat 500X won't go down. The control panel in the door handle will lower and raise all the other windows, but not the front driver's side one.

All the other windows have respective controls in their door handles, but for the front driver's side, this is the only switch.

I am sure I can hear a relay click when I lift the switch to close the window, of course nothing happens because the window is already closed.

It's been working fine for years, but has suddenly stopped working. I can't think of anything that's changed recently.

I followed the procedure here to remove the glove box and access the fuse box, but all the fuses were fine (tested with a multimeter).

I removed the control unit and reseated the two connectors. There was no visible sign of anything disconnected. I have not tried to open the unit itself, it seemed to me to be very well contained.

Has anyone else had experience with this issue? Or can suggest what I might be able to try next?

I have had several other makes recently where a cheap chinese window switch did the job, if available for yours and under £20 it may be worth a punt.
From Memory the switchs signal the body computer can bus system and the motors often only have two wires which reverse to give up and down as in + becomes - and vice a versa and no earth return.
It confused me on one as I could hear it react when I tried to make window work, so in the end I manually wound the spindle of the armature to drop the window a bit, then when I pressed the switch it went back up again so I knew the motor was OK.
That was on a Doblo, but I have also had similar on Citroens.
As a test you could try squirting electrical switch cleaner directly into the switch and work it a few times to see if it reacts.
I have one at the moment on a Citroen Dispatch (badge engineered Fiat Scudo) where the drivers window only works if you jiggle the passenger side of the same switch a new switch made no difference on this one. I have been told it is to do with the BSI unit, but as previous owner fitted a non standard radio the normal method of altering settings from the radio menu is not possible.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I would be seeing if that control panel would come apart so the 4 switches are revealed. You can then check the actual switch. My own experience has been the regulator its self causing this. One day they work and the next not. I had a seat one go not that long back. It was a problem on a wet day. Local garage kindly changed it that day and got the car under cover too. Around £100 for the whole job. Personally I would prefer OEM parts on locks and windows as they come with a decent parts warranty.

 

[bugsymike]

I would be seeing if that control panel would come apart so the 4 switches are revealed. You can then check the actual switch. My own experience has been the regulator its self causing this. One day they work and the next not. I had a seat one go not that long back. It was a problem on a wet day. Local garage kindly changed it that day and got the car under cover too. Around £100 for the whole job. Personally I would prefer OEM parts on locks and windows as they come with a decent parts warranty.

True, I have had the switches apart and cleaned them using electrical contact cleaner on occasion, however some chinese replacements have been as little as £13 and after recalling some Fiat seals I ordered that from the Main Dealers for my 1.6 Doblo came in a Fiat sealed bag and marked PRC (Peoples Republic of China) OEM tends to lose it's kudos, especially when the price didn't reflect it's origin.
Where cable window regulators are employed they can fail due to rust in the wire and guides, I replaced one in a daughters Punto Evo o/s/r and gave it a good oiling and greasing where applicable before installation.
Generally I have found the motors never wear out as not running for any length of time, most commonly it was the rear window motors stuck through lack of use and the brushes plus armature cleaning cured them.
Many years ago I had a customer with a Ford Granada 2.8 estate like that, you could hear the motor behind the panel reacting to the switch but no motion, so with the owners permission I oiled the channels, brought the engine revs up so voltage increased slightly then slammed the door whilst holding the switch in the down position, the motor then worked and after repeatedly operating it up and down along with more oil in the channels, it worked reliably afterwards. Along with instruction to him to use it regularly.

 

[s130]

You can try this.

Open the door. Place your left hand on the inside of the glass and your right on the outside. Now get someone to operate the switch as you push down. Don't push too hard as I've not seen how the glass attaches to the regulator mechanism. In the old days the bottom of the glass was supported by a sturdy metal stirrup. These days probably some cheap plastic clip.

 

[bugsymike]

You can try this.

Open the door. Place your left hand on the inside of the glass and your right on the outside. Now get someone to operate the switch as you push down. Don't push too hard as I've not seen how the glass attaches to the regulator mechanism. In the old days the bottom of the glass was supported by a sturdy metal stirrup. These days probably some cheap plastic clip.

Well worth a try.
The ones I have seen recently seem to have a peg going through a hole in the glass at the bottom, held in place by a red horse shoe shaped plastic clip which is attached to the regulator, this is the remains of one I kept in case required, I think it was from a 2010 Punto Evo.
Here is one I prepared earlier, in green, when in use it bends back to clip over the plastic peg the hole in the glass engages in.

 

[The Panda Nut]

True, I have had the switches apart and cleaned them using electrical contact cleaner on occasion, however some chinese replacements have been as little as £13 and after recalling some Fiat seals I ordered that from the Main Dealers for my 1.6 Doblo came in a Fiat sealed bag and marked PRC (Peoples Republic of China) OEM tends to lose it's kudos, especially when the price didn't reflect it's origin.
Where cable window regulators are employed they can fail due to rust in the wire and guides, I replaced one in a daughters Punto Evo o/s/r and gave it a good oiling and greasing where applicable before installation.
Generally I have found the motors never wear out as not running for any length of time, most commonly it was the rear window motors stuck through lack of use and the brushes plus armature cleaning cured them.
Many years ago I had a customer with a Ford Granada 2.8 estate like that, you could hear the motor behind the panel reacting to the switch but no motion, so with the owners permission I oiled the channels, brought the engine revs up so voltage increased slightly then slammed the door whilst holding the switch in the down position, the motor then worked and after repeatedly operating it up and down along with more oil in the channels, it worked reliably afterwards. Along with instruction to him to use it regularly.

True, I have had the switches apart and cleaned them using electrical contact cleaner on occasion, however some chinese replacements have been as little as £13 and after recalling some Fiat seals I ordered that from the Main Dealers for my 1.6 Doblo came in a Fiat sealed bag and marked PRC (Peoples Republic of China) OEM tends to lose it's kudos, especially when the price didn't reflect it's origin.
Where cable window regulators are employed they can fail due to rust in the wire and guides, I replaced one in a daughters Punto Evo o/s/r and gave it a good oiling and greasing where applicable before installation.
Generally I have found the motors never wear out as not running for any length of time, most commonly it was the rear window motors stuck through lack of use and the brushes plus armature cleaning cured them.
Many years ago I had a customer with a Ford Granada 2.8 estate like that, you could hear the motor behind the panel reacting to the switch but no motion, so with the owners permission I oiled the channels, brought the engine revs up so voltage increased slightly then slammed the door whilst holding the switch in the down position, the motor then worked and after repeatedly operating it up and down along with more oil in the channels, it worked reliably afterwards. Along with instruction to him to use it regularly.

Those cheap switches cost little more than a can of contact cleaner!

 

[The Panda Nut]

True, I have had the switches apart and cleaned them using electrical contact cleaner on occasion, however some chinese replacements have been as little as £13 and after recalling some Fiat seals I ordered that from the Main Dealers for my 1.6 Doblo came in a Fiat sealed bag and marked PRC (Peoples Republic of China) OEM tends to lose it's kudos, especially when the price didn't reflect it's origin.
Where cable window regulators are employed they can fail due to rust in the wire and guides, I replaced one in a daughters Punto Evo o/s/r and gave it a good oiling and greasing where applicable before installation.
Generally I have found the motors never wear out as not running for any length of time, most commonly it was the rear window motors stuck through lack of use and the brushes plus armature cleaning cured them.
Many years ago I had a customer with a Ford Granada 2.8 estate like that, you could hear the motor behind the panel reacting to the switch but no motion, so with the owners permission I oiled the channels, brought the engine revs up so voltage increased slightly then slammed the door whilst holding the switch in the down position, the motor then worked and after repeatedly operating it up and down along with more oil in the channels, it worked reliably afterwards. Along with instruction to him to use it regularly.

I have used silicon spray lube on tardy windows and got good results in speeding things up. It seems to last to.