Window won’t go up

[ElanAl]

Hi all, my first post on this brilliant forum, but only because I’m afraid that my searches here to help me solve my current issue haven’t turned up anything to help me. I have had my lovely 1971 Lotus Elan Sprint DHC since last September and, although it had had a huge amount of money spent on it, it did have a few faults, all of which I’ve been able to fix (some with the help of this site) - bar one!

The off-side/drivers-side electric window goes down ok, but almost always when I press the rocker switch for it to close, then nothing happens - until it does! So, my question is, is the fact that the window almost always doesn’t go up likely to be because the switch is faulty? And, if so, do I need to release the entire wooden dashboard to get behind it to either repair or replace the switch? Or could the fault lie elsewhere..?

Any help/advice gratefully received. Many thanks in anticipation.

Cheers, Allen

[Billmack]

Often the switch or a loose connection on the back of it. The dash can be unscrewed and pulled back some but the wiring does not allow much. I have done work on some cars by pulling the speedo or tach and working thru that hole.

[ElanAl]

Thanks for that. I did try removing the ashtray and reaching up behind it, but no joy. I’ll try removing the rev counter tomorrow to see if I can get to the back of the rocker switch that way. If that fails, I guess I’ll have to look at loosening the dash to get behind it - any tips on doing that..?

[mbell]

I'd be probing the wiring with multimeter, probably in the door, to confirm the issue is electrical rather than mechanical. Likely is electrical but good to confirm that before going to the hassle getting access to the wiring.

[miked]

In agreement with Bill about loose connection behind. I have experienced this on a few cars with a slack female connector. Not tight and on the switch properly. Touching now and again.
Perhaps worth pulling the door card off and checking the motor connections before going behind the dash. You can also see the winch wire and pullies are in order too. I would do that first and hang a test lamp on the motor feed wires and see what happens in both up and down switching. Then if supply fails on the one direction I would go behind. Such is the position of those switches, it is hard to see properly even through the radio blank hole. End up dropping the dash forward to look over the top and behind the dash to see those two switches and there connections. Usually manage to jiggle the dash forward at the top with screws out with centre consul and gear lever removed. Also dropping the steering column clamps etc. Choke cable and water heater valve cable too. Not an exhaustive list for one that picked me up last time. The common sense things that restrict it from moving back. Could also be a dirty switch. These can be taken apart and cleaned if you have the patience. Hope this helps.

Cheers Mike

[Craven]

Up/Down window function is accomplished by reversing the polarity of the applied voltage to the motor, so only two wires run from the operating switch to the motor and used in both Up/Down function.
Operating switch is supplied with both positive and negative battery voltage, used in both Up/Down function.
This supply voltage to the switch and the two wires from the switch to the motor must intact for the down function to work.
It’s the job of the operating switch to change over the connections between the supply and the motor, conclusion 99% probability fault is the switch function.

[ElanAl]

Ok, thank you all for all that. I’m inclined towards thinking that the issue is with the switch, so I may start there. But equally, I can see me having to inspect inside the doors at some point! So, tomorrow I’ll see if I can get behind the dash somehow - must confess, I’m not looking forward to perhaps having to release the whole dash so I can see behind it. I was hoping that there might have been an easy way to do this - but, hey-ho, I’ll report back on my progress. Thanks again - watch this space...

[Chrispy]

I had trouble with my switch, I ended up just replacing it. Apparently they can be disassembled and the contacts cleaned, but it has some odd hollow rivets that I couldn't be bothered messing with.

I also had trouble with loose connections on the back of the switch.

[miked]

On wedge switches there are metal clasps that are crimped over the switch body. These prise apart to gain access. No rivets require any work unless a male connection spade is loose or adrift. The rivets hold the switch connections to the insulated body and are not for access.
I have put a tie wrap around the clasps and switch body after closing up rather than trying to get them as tight as they were. Not failed yet.
Witness marks on the contacts show how they sit. Test for polarity reversal before committing to close up as there are two see saw type contacts as I recall working in opposing positions.

[LaikaTheDog]

I had the same problem on a plus 2

Gravity helped the window down, but there just wasnt enough power to push it up unless I helped it by hand.

I replaced the felt in the frame, which made a massive improvement to wind noise but made the problem with closing the glass worse.

Worked better when the engine was running, leading me to suspect power loss in wiring due to aged connections.

I added a relay to the circuit so I had direct power to the motors, this fixed it.

[oldelanman]

Allen,
I believe some cars are wired so the windows can only be raised with the ignition on .. is yours ?
If it is there will be two feeds to the switch, permanent live for down and switched live for up .. the latter connection may be adrift from the switch. Worth checking that if you can before condemning the switch. If you remove the radio I think you may just be able to see the back of the switches.

[ElanAl]

Ok, time to report back, but what a pallava! I elected to go for the switch which, it turns out, was the right decision. This is my first Elan so I’m only just becoming familiar with the way that they are put together. And after seemingly having to take most of the car apart, I eventually had enough room, just, to unscrew the errant switch and free it from its incredibly hard to reach location. Honestly, there were moments when my respect for Mr Chapman’s genius was under threat! Still, I wasn’t sure how to test the switch, so I put a live feed to the now exposed wires and got the window to move up and down ok. So from that, I figured it had to be the switch. As suggested here, I managed to pry the switch open and gave all the contacts a good scrape clean. I put it back together and wrapped it with some good quality insulating tape to ensure it stayed that way - I would have used a cable tie but had run out. Anyway, I connected it all back to the wires and it worked a treat. So, as the manual says, replacing it is just a reversal of the taking out process - albeit a lengthy and awkward one! My thanks again for all your suggestions and helpful info. The car is now all back together just in time for its MoT test tomorrow - wish me luck!

[The Veg]

Make sure too that the motor is adequately earthed. Running large-gauge earths directly from the motors to the chassis made more difference for my Plus 2’s windows than anything else I tried and they now move with authority, even when going up.

[ElanAl]

Thanks again for all the advice from everyone on here. Just a final point which may help anyone else who may need to get behind the dashboard. I noticed on a drive today that the water temperature gauge didn’t appear to be working. I also noticed a small dark oily substance on my rubber floor mat immediately below where the gauge is sited. It seems that I should have taken the gauge out before manhandling the dash to get behind it as I’ve damaged the fragile capillary and now need to buy a new replacement gauge. Oh joy!

[billwill]

Hmmm, the Ether usually evaporates without a dark stain, I expect your oily mark is from the oil pressure gauge. If you didn't undo that from the engine you may have broken its oil pipe feed.

NOTE: I believe that PLUS 2 have a different window motor than 2-seaters so advice for plus 2 may be irrelevant.

Two-seater Elans have a real oil-pressure gauge with an oil pipe from engine to dashboard, and the engine-temperature is measured with a steel bulb part filled with ether and a capillary pipe to the dashboard, so the dashboard meter is actually a pressure operated device, but I think Elan Plus 2s have electrical sensors mounted on the engine so the engine temperature gauge and the oil pressure gauges are actually electrical meters.