man, i just posted in the 1st gen section, opps.
I'm gonna go ape ****. i spent four days troubleshooting. all the wires have continuity, the switches look like they work. i have voltage reading afterthe switch before the motor when i depress or raise the switch. i used straight battery power to the motors and they work both up and down. this is also happening on both sides. the fuse isn't blown. i hard wire battery power bypassing where ignition power would go before the main switch on the driver side and grounded it and i get power and continuity all the way up to the motor. i checked the passenger side for continuity and voltage from the lock out (being on) position and everything seems to be all good. for some reason the motor rather have battery power than whats coming out of the switch. what the hell am i doing wrong. i don't have much hair as it is and i'm gonna rip that one out too. (so much for that comb over)

88 GXL

 

Good question?
I have some issues with mine as well that I won't have time to check out until this weekend. Some people stat the contacts in the switches need cleaning...But time will tell.
Good luck & keep us posted on it.

 

After the switch before the motor, does that mean that you tested for voltage at the switch, or at the connection to the motor?

Also, is there any carbon buildup on the connection?

 

Have you checked inside the switchs for dirty or bad contacts???

The switchs would meter fine, but when they have a load they don't work or don't work as well.

 

I had the same problem, you have to take the switch apart and clean ALL the contact surfaces. Use sand paper to rough it up. be careful not to loose the tiny contact levers when you disassemble them and keep track of the positions of the levers when reassembling. The driver side is pretty easy however the passenger side will take a little care when taking it apart, again don't loose the levers and put them in the same position as removed. Hope this helps. My windows both work fine now. Gary

 

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=195534

incase any information that gets posted there is helpful to you

 

i dunno, i checked after the switch in the connection before the motor. if the switch is bad than how come i still get complete readings and the test light works. i do have carbon build up but if that's the case then you wouln't any readings at all right? see, the problem is that i checked using a test light and a meter. where is the regulator and what does it do? if it goes bad, can i put another inline with it? the voltage is different (by one volt) from the battery but it's the same as all the accessories in the car...power mirror, dome light, etc....???????when i hard wired the power window system, i get the same amought of power as in the battery. it's so weird! everything else in the vehicle works. i'll try and buy a new switch since the old ones are falling apart but i just hate not being able to narrow down a component, you know what i mean. well....i hope it works. i let you guys know.

 

I've fought this one a lot. (I also have a Triumph Spitfire)
Your switch contacts and/or their connectors are probably dirty and/or corroded in which case they'll pass enought current to give a voltage reading on a meter or light up a test lamp but not enought to power the (much higher load of the) windows.
Speaking of which, I was looking at one of my poer window switches after I took it apart and I was thinking that the contacts look awfully small for the current they handle. Has anyone tried wiring relays int the power window circuits to unload the switches? Just thought it might save some expensive (and hard-to-find) window switches.
I have a buddy who thinks he can build a kit that'll plug into the stock window harness. Before I let him mess with my wiring I'd like to know what others have done for this.

 

i found out what i did wrong. i finally took apart both switch (for the billionth time) and the metal tiny tabs inside the switch can only be installed (or placed) in one way. if any of the tabs are incorrectly placed you'll either short a fuse, window will only go in one direction, continue going, or won't work at all. damn, this whole time i've checked the wiring and never thought of the tabs till i started cleaning them. my switches were fairly clean to begin with. the tabs on one side is a little wider than the otherside, and where you place them you'll know that there's only one way, the only problem is that it just doesn't look write. i hope this thread will help anyone else who might have this problem and thanks you guys for the help.

 

i spelled "write" wrong, i mean right lol! i'm so excited my windows work again! the master switch from mazda is $145.00. i mean damn! for that little thing.

sooo, does any one have a master switch to sell. one of my lever is broken, i just left it in to keep the contacts together, otherwise tabs will move or jump around. oh, i switched the good lever which was for the passenger to the broken one(driver) and left the passenger without the lever and tab and the passenger side switch didn't work so to complete the circuit, that broken lever and tab i just left in and pretty much everything works, i just can't roll down the passenger side without reaching over. hope this helps.

 

The S5 switch can be repaired (crude, but effective)
Separate the lower half from the upper half of the rocker. (That should be right where it broke)
Fill the top end of the lower half with bondo marine epoxy putty stick and fit it to the top part. Clean up the excess and let it cure.
Epoxy a small fitted metal plate on to to reinforce it.
Drill a small hole from the top into the epoxy, and fit a self-tapping screw.
Remove the screw, separate the two halves, reassemble in the switch plate, rescrew it together.
A little semi-flat black touch up paint hides the fix.
The epoxy provides the anchor. The screw holds it together. I'll put up with a screw showing to save $124

 

that's not a bad job. thanks sureshot. i think i will borrow your idea.