Power Windows

[Jeremy]

Going through my accumulation of parts and have come across a set of power window regulators.  My car has manual windows.  What is the consensus on original power windows?  Are they worth it?  Do they work fairly quickly?

If I swap over to power windows, I would have to start from scratch with the wiring as I know I don't have the wiring to go with the regulators.

Would it be better to go with an aftermarket kit.

Are they worth it in an older car that isnt going to be driven every day?

I have them in my Firehawk and even they are sloooow compared to modern.  Passenger side won't even seat the window fully against the seals when the do is closed.

[Wallington]

Stock wiring design is rubbish, so you are no further behind in not having it. Yes, factory is slow. Rewire with relays and proper grounding. Sounds like your other car also needs work.

[stros]

I went with these aftermarket ones from Nu-Relics. https://www.nu-relics.com/Camaro-s/182.htm


So far so good.  I did have noise issues with them initially but after greasing the gears and springs to death they work great.  They come with switches that match OEM too along with all wiring.  They go up and down pretty much like modern cars.

[Jeremy]

Apparently there is a fix already out there for the Firehawk that requires running a relay and a new power wire.  The problem is only from the drivers side switch for the passenger window.  The passenger switch works pretty well.

I'm leaning towards sticking with manual windows as windows stay down and tops out most of the time anyway.

[Grand73Am]

I like the original power windows, and have had good luck with them. From Ebay, I bought a used original set of regulators with motors, which also came with much of the wiring, and installed them in my car. I cleaned and greased all the tracks and rollers, and the pivot points on the regulators, and they work well. And this is with the original wiring configuration, without any added relays or anything. The only modification I made to the wiring was to bypass the factory relay that's on the steering column under the dash. It's only there so you have to turn the key on to use the windows. And that relay often goes bad, and replacements are not readily available. Plus I rather not have to use the key to operate the windows anyway. And I also made sure all the wire connections were clean and making good contact. You can see how well they work in the video below (the top pic is a video). And that's without the engine running.

Not that there's anything wrong with modding the wiring with added relays, which I'm sure is an improvement. But I decided to give the original wiring setup a chance and it's working good for me.

The power regulators use different hole locations for mounting to the inner door panel. Picture below. The red arrows show the manual regulator hole locations. The rivets are the power regulator locations. There will be dimples in those locations for drilling the holes for a power regulator.

My windows fit well with the manual regulators, so before removing the windows, I sprayed some spray paint over all the adjuster screws and nuts, so that I could put them back in the same position, so the windows would still fit good after installing the power regulators. Another picture below. Don't forget to spray over the adjusting screws/nuts at the top of the door too.
 
If you want to remove the motors from the regulators to clean and paint the regulators, you need to drill a hole thru the regulator and put in a bolt and nut. Picture below. The yellow arrow points to the bolt and nut. The regulator is spring loaded, so the bolt keeps it from un-springing, so you can safely remove and re-install the motor. Remove the bolt and nut once you re-install the motor.

If you decide to put in the power regulators, and need wiring, there may be reproduction power window wire harnessses available. I haven't looked. But I drew up my own wiring diagram, from which a wiring harness can be made fairly easily. I can post up the diagram if you want to see it.

001 by grand73am, on Flickr

LEFT DOOR PWR WINDOW BLACK TA 2 by grand73am, on Flickr

005 by grand73am, on Flickr

004 by grand73am, on Flickr

[5th T/A]

Regarding what is better OEM or aftermarket windows I would say it all depends. Any OEM system because of its age will require a lot of work to make it function properly. While a new aftermarket system sounds appealing it might just be junk. I would not purchase any aftermarket system without a lot of positive feedback from people who have installed it, lived with it and liked it.

When I purchased a new 1973 TA it came with manual crank windows. Within about six months I converted it to factory power windows. I got everything brand new from my local Pontiac dealer. It involved replacing the regulators, adding the motors and factory wiring harnesses. There were knockouts in the doors and front cowl for the wiring and boots. I also had to cut the consoles for the switch. The installation wasn’t that hard and I believe I did the driver’s door one day and passenger door the next. They worked great, quick, quiet and smooth. If you go the factory OEM route try to find a car with them installed so you can get all the parts.

I won’t argue modern power windows that are driven off high current relays is technologically a better system. An old OEM system can work great if everything is in good shape, cleaned, lubricated and properly adjusted. Electrical connections have to be clean and tight. The system installed on my 73 TA always worked great without relays. I also had a 1975 TA and 1978 TA with factory power windows that worked great without modification. I currently have a 1980 TA purchased with 6600 original miles, now has 7700 miles, with original OEM power windows. They are quiet, smooth and faster than most modern car power windows.

I have worked on cars from the 1990’s and 2000’s with slow power windows. Most times I was able to get them working properly with cleaning, lubrication and adjustments.

[Wallington]

Also, many power window replacement setups are to convert a manual setup to power, rather than renew an existing power window setup. Excellent pics from Steve showing some of the finer detail differences.

[JJ 109]

I swapped my manual to power, using a used set up.

Works great. The motors are notoriously reliable.

Easy to set up.

[firebirdparts]

I also think the original regulators and motors were pretty good/reliable/durable. Limited by the problems with the wiring and lack of a ground wire.  When we were parting out cars, 95% of them worked great if you hook power directly.  They're heavy.