It goes click - then nothing

[rene7]

Wife owns a 2002 beetle, she loves it - even give it a name
Recently the drivers electric window has stopped working - it makes a quiet click but that's it. - Any ideas what may be the prob?
I had a quick look behind the door panel - wow there's loadsa electrical stuff attache dto the panel, so didn't get any further, until you lot can suggest what the prob may be - Help
Rene

[DuraAce]

Motor
Switch
Wiring/power/earth.


You need to investigate power /earth to the switch, then the motor. If either are missing repair them. If you have power at the motor when the switch is pressed its probably the motor.

[rene7]

Sorry maybe you misunderstood - the 'click' happens when I push the switch
Clearly there's power at switch so fuse is OK - AND the switch is working OK Hence the click which is coming from behind the door panel.
I was hoping that this maybe a common beetle fault so someone could point me at exactly where the problem was
I don't wan't the car off the road whilst I have it in pieces, waiting weeks for a replacement part.

[CATstrangler]

The click is probably a relay. Doesn't mean the motor fuse is okay.
Tip: most fuses in cars supply more than one consumer. Has anything else quit working?

Edited by CATstrangler on Friday 10th April 14:21

[rene7]

Cat Strangler
Nope everything else works OK including passenger window
Any relays behind the door panel?? Most cars have relays in fuse box or a box under bonnet. the click is coming from behind the door panel

Edited by rene7 on Friday 10th April 15:26

[CATstrangler]

rene7 said:

Cat Strangler
Nope everything else works OK including passenger window
Any relays behind the door panel?? Most cars have relays in fuse box or a box under bonnet. the click is coming from behind the door panel

Edited by rene7 on Friday 10th April 15:26

IDK, sorry. Though I wouldn't be surprised, given that you found "loads of electrical stuff" in there. As you say most cars have their fuses and relays centralised in boxes under the dash or bonnet, but there's no reason not to have them in the door cavity - it's good practice electrically to site a relay as close as practicable to the consumer.
I'd check for power at the motor and continuity to earth from the motor first. Then I'd go looking for the relay.
Of course the click might not be a relay after all. Could be the motor trying to move a jammed regulator as it's coming from the door cavity, so it would be worth watching to see if anything at all happens when you hit the switch.
Edit: st I just remembered my wife's mate having the same problem a couple of years ago on a Golf, or possibly her Honda. Turned out to be she'd unknowingly moved the kiddie switch. It took me a good hour to find it. Just a thought.

Edited by CATstrangler on Friday 10th April 15:58

[rene7]

Cat Strangler
Thanks for the suggestions - a seized up/down window actuating mechanism might cause the motor to click, But why would the mechanism seize?
The wife say's the window has always worked, a quick check on utube shows several beetles with windows that won't go all way up or down but wok partially, for the wife to go from perfectly OK to seized overnight sounds unlikely - at least in my estimation
If i get no other suggestions - I will check this, but can't understand why this would happen??
TA
Rene

[TonyRPH]

On a VW it'll almost certainly be the window regulator mechanism.

It'll need replacing.

[annodomini2]

Check in the following order:

1. Fuse
2. Switch
3. Relay
4. Regulator/motor

Ideally you want either a multimeter or an automotive electrical circuit tester to do without changing parts

[CATstrangler]

rene7 said:

Cat Strangler
Thanks for the suggestions - a seized up/down window actuating mechanism might cause the motor to click, But why would the mechanism seize?
The wife say's the window has always worked, a quick check on utube shows several beetles with windows that won't go all way up or down but wok partially, for the wife to go from perfectly OK to seized overnight sounds unlikely - at least in my estimation
If i get no other suggestions - I will check this, but can't understand why this would happen??
TA
Rene

OP, it's all about money. VW don't make window regulators and neither do Ford or GM or anyone else so far as I know. They're made by 14 year old girls in sweatshops in Shanghai or somewhere and they're made to a minimum price.
When they fail it's binary - it either works or it doesn't. Something just breaks and it's perfectly reasonable for that to happen overnight.
I'm not saying definitively that the regulator is the problem but it's a strong contender.
Three out of four failed on my wife's POS Focus cabriolet and one of those jammed tight in the fully closed position.
Your problem could still easily be a failed motor or smth, all I'm saying is the regulator is an easy check and it's not unlikely to be the trouble.
After that you're into electrical checks. I'm not so sure about fuses unless you discover that each window has a dedicated fuse, which is certainly possible. Look at the electrical gubbins inside the door for fuses. But usually a blown fuse affects more than one consumer. Switches are in the frame also because there's more than one I bet. There'll be limit switches in the door to stop the window in the proper positions as well as the operating switch in the cabin.
Motors also fail but not so often.
None of these things should be hard to figure out though, so good luck.