Driver window and up and down on seat not working.

[Djweaz]

I went to install my new door handles and gaskets and my drivers door window wouldn’t roll up to get at the handle. Popped up the the switches and checked them out seemed ok. Only window not working was the drivers window. Checked the power on my seat knowing that it is on the same line on the fuse on the firewall. Seat moves front and back but up and down doesn’t work. Anybody have any ideas??

[simplyconnected]

Could be wiring, motor ground or switch. Check the plug at the motor with your volt meter or test light. Got the schematic from our TRL?

[jopizz]

As Dave mentioned check for voltage at the wires that plug into the motor. You have three power wires; red, yellow and green. You should have voltage at the green wire in either direction. You will have voltage at the red wire in one direction and the yellow wire in the other direction. If that's good then check that the black wire in the harness is grounded to the body of the car with an ohmmeter or test light. If that's good then it has to be the motor. If you don't have a good ground then the circuit breaker is bad or not grounded. Connect a wire directly from the black ground wire coming from the motor to the body and see if it works.

John

[Djweaz]

Dave & John: I’m thinking it is the switch gone bad. This is probably the 4th time the window refused to move up or down. It is at random times when it does it. I used the switch to the passenger back window and it went up and down no problem. I have to leave it like that until after Sunday. My youngest daughter is getting her senior pictures taken with it. I’m going to replace all 4 switches and get I done and over with. Also Monday I am calling new port engineering about my wiper kit. The schematic doesn’t mesh with hooking up the new motor to the existing connections meaning it’s not as long as the part being replaced so that both bolts can be reached. So I am missing something either in parts or how I am reading it. I don’t know if people tell you how great you two are or not but you are. I was talking to somebody the other day about getting frustrated and had to walk away from it for basically the entire summer. My ballast resistor died so I had to replace it. I went to the Nashville Good-Guys in late spring and broke down 3 miles from the house. I was able to limp it back home. And had to wait for the parts store to open nd get ANOTHER ballast resistor. Drove to Good-Guys. While waiting in the long line to get in and get my spot I started running hot when we parked I was losing antifreeze from an on/off switch area that the previous owner put in because the heater core was bad. I found out that you should never block off the antifreee that it needs to flow. Someone else told me if he remembers right that the thunderbird wasn’t very reliable in the first place let alone all the other cas back then

[simplyconnected]

Glad you nailed the cause, Rob. Thanks for the kudos as well.

As far as being reliable, these cars are pushing 60 yrs-old and many are still on the road. Everything goes back to the Earth eventually but Thunderbirds are a testament of how well-built these cars were. The materials back then were archaic and low-tech but they outlasted many younger cars. New or used parts are still out there, too.

I love a car with fenders your girl can sit on without the thing denting, etc. I hope you enjoy your Thunderbird for many more decades. - Dave

[YellowRose]

Driver window & up & down on seat not working.

Rob, thanks for the kudo's to Dave & John. They do a fantastic job of helping everyone. Regarding those window switches, the Technical Resource Library has a Tech Tip on how to clean them up and make them good and usable again. Check that out before going out and buying new switches. The TRL link is always part of my signature element and jopizz's...

[p38fighter]

1959 Convertible

Rob, I used a Newport wiper motor and had no trouble. I also was rewiring the whole car at the time. If I can help with photos or anything let me know. The dash is off right now so its somewhat visible. Dash goes back in this weekend.

[jopizz]

Rob,

Thanks for the compliment. As Ray said most times the switches can be cleaned without the need to replace them. As for the Squarebirds reliability I've owned many different Ford and GM cars over the years and I don't think it's any better or worse than other cars from that era. Regarding your ballast resistor it's always a good idea to carry a spare with you. You can also just connect the two wires together and it will get you home should it fail. I'm not sure what type of ON-OFF switch was installed in the cooling system. All you need to do is put a hose from the water pump to the intake manifold to bypass the heater core.

John

[Thunderherd]

Dave & John: I’m thinking it is the switch gone bad. This is probably the 4th time the window refused to move up or down. It is at random times when it does it. I used the switch to the passenger back window and it went up and down no problem. I have to leave it like that until after Sunday. My youngest daughter is getting her senior pictures taken with it. I’m going to replace all 4 switches and get I done and over with. Also Monday I am calling new port engineering about my wiper kit. The schematic doesn’t mesh with hooking up the new motor to the existing connections meaning it’s not as long as the part being replaced so that both bolts can be reached. So I am missing something either in parts or how I am reading it. I don’t know if people tell you how great you two are or not but you are. I was talking to somebody the other day about getting frustrated and had to walk away from it for basically the entire summer. My ballast resistor died so I had to replace it. I went to the Nashville Good-Guys in late spring and broke down 3 miles from the house. I was able to limp it back home. And had to wait for the parts store to open nd get ANOTHER ballast resistor. Drove to Good-Guys. While waiting in the long line to get in and get my spot I started running hot when we parked I was losing antifreeze from an on/off switch area that the previous owner put in because the heater core was bad. I found out that you should never block off the antifreee that it needs to flow. Someone else told me if he remembers right that the thunderbird wasn’t very reliable in the first place let alone all the other cas back then

I just recently installed the Newport wiper motor on my 59 T-Bird. I had to drill one of the mounting holes on the Newport mounting plate out to just a little bit over 1/4 inch in order for the holes to be wide enough apart for the screws to be able to thread into the t bird mount. Or, you could drill both holes out a little bigger than they are. I didn't call Newport about this, but maybe I should have. Maybe I still should, so they know there is a slight problem.

[Djweaz]

I just recently installed the Newport wiper motor on my 59 T-Bird. I had to drill one of the mounting holes on the Newport mounting plate out to just a little bit over 1/4 inch in order for the holes to be wide enough apart for the screws to be able to thread into the t bird mount. Or, you could drill both holes out a little bigger than they are. I didn't call Newport about this, but maybe I should have. Maybe I still should, so they know there is a slight problem.

So it’s not just me that is scratching my head trying to put it together. And the thing is they say that they make wiper motors specifically or every vehicle, which means that it should fit. I dropped P38 a pm so he can take pictures of his installed

[Djweaz]

I will check it out tomorrow and see what I come up with. I believe I downloaded it. I went through all of them and downloaded them and I put them all together as one “book” using Adobe and combined them to put them all on my tablet. I actually just bought an original 59 service manual so now I will have a digital copy as well as a digital copy. I hate asking questions it makes me sound needy in my opinion. I really do appreciate the help I get from this forum. All the help that is given out to people that I have read threads on people don’t say thanks. I just like to let people know how appreciated I am for the help

Yes this car is going to be a lifetime car right here I love it. I’ve dropped about 8k in it since February trying to make it better than it was when I got it. It had sat for decades so many fixes are unseen

[scumdog]

Check your battery if fully charged, I have a window that stays down if the battery voltage is low but works fine when the engine is running. (It took me a while to figure that one out!)

[simplyconnected]

Check your battery if fully charged, I have a window that stays down if the battery voltage is low but works fine when the engine is running. (It took me a while to figure that one out!)

Tom, sounds like you also have a grounding problem. Even with the engine off, windows should work just fine on 12 volts and a solid ground. - Dave

[p38fighter]

electric wipers

1959 convertible
I sent Rob some additional photos but here a few that may help someone else...

[jopizz]

I hate asking questions it makes me sound needy in my opinion. I really do appreciate the help I get from this forum. All the help that is given out to people that I have read threads on people don’t say thanks. I just like to let people know how appreciated I am for the help

Rob,

The main purpose of this site is to help each other fix their cars. As great as the shop manual is it doesn't give answers to everything you may encounter. Remember that the manual is almost 60 years old and hasn't been updated to reflect modern technology. There are many things that have improved over the years and many shortcuts those of us who've worked on these cars have found. I hope you continue to ask questions as we all learn from each other no matter how old we are or how much we think we know.

John