348 Window Repair

You need to make sure that the connectors inside the door jam are clean and connected properly. They are the cause of most of the bad wondow symptoms. Just open the door, unscrew the connector between the door and the body, you can do it by hand, clean off the insides of the two connectors with a good electrical connact cleaner, hook it back up and see what happens. Make sure that the pins on the male and female plugs are good and clean so that they can make proper contact. If they aren't making good contact the window motor isn't able to get the proper current need to make the window go up and down. Also look for broken wires on the back of the pins. Others in the past have found a broken wire/s that turned out to be the culprit. Good luck.

 

The door panels just snap on and off, use a plastic spatula to pry between the leather and door frame, be careful not to break the snaps, as they are not a standard door trim item. I had to order mine from a F Dealer,
(I broke 'em) they are cheap though don't let that stop you.

 

I'm in need of replacing some of the pins in my connection blocks as the wires have snapped and I want to rewire the door side of the loom using the original connector block. (Hope you get the picture!)

Is it possible to source both the male and female pins? This will allow me to complete a proper and professional repair. If so, can anybody give me the details of a supplier?

Many Thanks

 

It could also be the connection to the drivers side window switch. I had the same problem and it turned out to be that. There is a bundle of very thick wires on that side that can put a bit of pressure on the plug. It's easy to check by just removing that panel and shorting across the appropriate pins. If the window goes up, problem found.

 

The ground could be the problem as well. These cars are known for having grounding issues.

 

Jim, I think you can access the motor by removing the outer side strake panel. It comes off just by removing the allen screws, and 2 hex bolts at then inside end of the door. It is far easier to remove than all the stuff on the inside of the door.

 

Oh shame on us. Here you are tearing the door apart and it just dawned on me that you haven't checked the fuses. Like DUUUUUUHHHH. Have a look at the fuse pannel in the passenger foot well. Just pull down the cover and you will see the fuse pannel. Check to make sure that the fuse hasn't blown. Man did we get ahead of ourselves or what?!

 

yes, it is nice of you to do so, and not trivial at all. this site encompases a wide range of expertise. some are just beginning with their cars, and they are not "your old chevy" with it's small block and 4 barrel carb.

i have slow motors, and your pictures will help me greatly when i need to tear into mine, so thank you.

 

Well Jim since you are in it this far you could do what some others have done, and just by pass the stupid door connector altogether. I forget who, but one of the guys direct wired the connections to the motor. He kept the connector and just ran the wires through the holes. Then he soddered them in place. He said that the window worked like new. Have a look in the archives, you should be able to find some info. Also look in the old fchat archives. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

That person was me! All I did was remove the pins, drill the holes a bit bigger, then I ran new clean wire straight thru the holes. It worked like a champ. Since you already have it all apart, now is the time to do it. You will also have to remove front wheels and wheel well covers to access the other side of the connector. Let me know if you want a complete break down and I will be happy to assist.

 

Hey Charles that would be a good idea to post a "how to". Alot of owners, me included, run into the stupid connector problem, and a permanent solution to the problem is greatly needed. By the way, how are your windows holding up since the fix?

 

Ernie, they have been perfect. The whole process is quite easy when you think about it. All you do is take the doors apart, remove front fender well covers (so you can acess back of connector and feed wire into interior), remove connector and pull pins out, drill the pin holes out to fit size of new wire, and run new clean wire thru holes. I even ran a non stop connection from left door switch to right door switch. I put all the wire connections inside the door and replaced any going to components like the motor itself, with new ones. Believe me when I tell you it is amazing what this does. The wires going to the window motor are 14 gauge and the others are a mix of 18,20,and 22 guage. The only thing even remotely difficult about the process is making the solder connections between wires under the dash. This could probably be done with crimp connectors but I felt it would be better to eliminate future problems by making a permanent connection. I just soldered the wires together and covered them with heat shrink tube. The connections in the door are done with bullet crimp connectors so that if the door ever needs to come off, they can be unpluged and slid thru the hole in the door. If you decide to do it let me know how it goes and of course I will be happy to consult!

 

Right on Charles. That will be one of my next projects. I'll let you know when I get around to it.

 

well, all of this talk got me going so....

Sunday, i got my coffee, went out to the garage, and was determined to get my connectors clean as step 1 and went to work...

after about 15 minutes of carefully twisting the lock off and then gently pulling back the connector so as not to damage any pins....... guess what i found? someone had already been in! there were ALREADYwires running directly through the connector!

i considered getting out my meter and figuring out which pins had been bypassed, but i was only planning a for short project (like going to the store to get bread, and reaching the checkout with more than you can carry, LOL) so did not want to even START!

guess its on to step 2.... off with the door panels! maybe next week

 

well, all of this talk got me going so....

Sunday, i got my coffee, went out to the garage, and was determined to get my connectors clean as step 1 and went to work...

after about 15 minutes of carefully twisting the lock off and then gently pulling back the connector so as not to damage any pins....... guess what i found? someone had already been in! there were ALREADYwires running directly through the connector!

i considered getting out my meter and figuring out which pins had been bypassed, but i was only planning a for short project (like going to the store to get bread, and reaching the checkout with more than you can carry, LOL) so did not want to even START!

guess its on to step 2.... off with the door panels! maybe next week

 

Did you ever get a solution to your problem? I just fixed a tricky window on my 348 and I've got a lot of experience with the dreaded door connectors, but they are easy to fix without taking wheels off, etc. Also, it is really easy to check the motor, etc. with a simple lantern battery, which can save you a lot of time and worry. Let me know if you've not fixed it yet and I'll throw out some ideas.

D.

 

Please throw in your ideas as the drivers door switch refuses to close the passenger window, although the passenger switch works fine. Ive cleaned all the door contacts but I must admit I know very little about testing for resistance's etc.

 

Before I get started, I appologize for the long post. I want to be thorough, and it's difficult to describe this kind of thing in just a few words without pictures.

If the driver's door switch won't close the window, but the passenger switch works, then that's pretty good news. It rules out power issues (including the fuse) and any problems with the motor. That means that it's either the switch (which would really surprise me because they're so simple they usually work fine) or the driver's door jam connector. So here's what you do:

1.) check the switch: pop the switch bank out of the drivers door and unplug the back of the passenger door switch and plug it into the switch for the driver's door (which we know works perfectly). If you then use this switch (one for the driver's window) which is now connected to the circuit for the passenger side and the window doesn't move, your switches are fine.

2.) the dreaded door connector: There's really no need to be an electronics expert here, and no particularly fancy tests are needed. The problem with the connector in my experience has not been that the contacts (pins) are bad. Especially on the car side, because they are subjected to very low forces. But on the door side, the wire harness as designed by Ferrari doesn't have adequate strain relief - the harness wires are too short. Repeated opening and closing of the door can cause wires to pull out of the back of the door (female) side of the connector.

So unscrew and disconnect your connector and then pull back the rubber accordian cover that protects the wires and the back side of the connector (it just pulls back). You should pull it back as far as you can so that you can see the wires going into the back of the connector (there are around 36 wires). Make sure when you pull the rubber cover back that there are no wires that are stuck back in it (if they previously pulled free, when you slide the cover back, the end of the wire can get lodged in one of the accordian folds and get pulled back with the cover - they are easy to see, so if you don't see one right away, you're probably OK).

Now inspect the wires where they go into the connector. They should all be crimped into the backs of the female pins and not be hanging out. Many times the problem will be obvious where a wire will be dangling.

I suspect that's where you problem is. One of the wires is probably no longer connected or is just barely connected. It should be obvious from visual inspection. Provided there is not more than one wire amiss, you can then reconnect the wire to the appropriate pin (the one with no wire going into it). If there is more than one free, let me know and I might be able to help, as I put together a pin diagram of my car when I had it apart.

A word of advice - the easiest way I've found to reconnect a pin is to use a small punch, or something else that will fit into the front of the connector, to force the pin out the back side. Then you can recrimp the wire (although I solder a short extension on the wire - don't want to go through this again - and then solder the wire to the pin) and replace the pin. Also make sure that the female pin is not expanded too much - a loose fit with the male side means a bad connection and a non-functioning window. Also, be careful with the connector because Ferrari won't sell you another one - at least not without all the door harnesses already connected so it costs $950.

By the way - does the back of your window switch in the door have only three wires coming out of it? If it does, it doesn't work the way you think and the schematics provided by Ferrari in the workshop manual are completely wrong - I have a '94 Spider and so I'm in that boat. If you've only got three wires coming out of the back of that switch, then the wire in the center is NOT a ground wire. Don't make the mistake of thinking it is because you will get unreliable readings. It may APPEAR to be ground, but it is in fact a logic return to the power window ECU and returns either +12V or -12V to tell the ECU whether to roll the window up or down. It's known as a ground pull down in electrical engineering, and can appear to be a ground when the switch is open (not in the "up" or "down") position.

Well, that's probably enough to get you started. Let me know how it goes - I've been through this more than once and would be happy to give you more information once you narrow down your problem a little bit.