'98 Sonata Power Windows

  • Thread starter Thread starter leesun1
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leesun1

I posted the topic "Sonata Power Window Lift???" a little over a year
ago; the responses were, for the most part, unrelated to the original
query. Now, we have a related, but somewhat different problem, and we
would be most appreciative of any advice you all can provide.

We obtained a window regulator for our 98 Sonata through a Korean
company that sells new parts on eBay (they were very helpful and
cooperative) at a much better price than we could get locally (either
new or used). After installing the new regulator in the driver's door,
the window did not operate (this is the 5th one of these that I've
installed, so I know the problem was not with my installation
technique). The window had been fixed in a slightly down position for
several months while we shopped for a cheaper regulator, etc. and we
assumed water leakage from rain (yes, it does rain here in PHX once in
awhile, even though we just broke a record for days without), coming in
the window and leaking into the switch in the door panel.

We bought another switch panel from a salvage yard that was from a
Sonata with about 40K miles on it and they said it worked fine (it
looks like new), installed it and the window still does not operate...
All the other functions of the switch panel work fine, so we are
wondering, is there something we are overlooking in getting this window
to work properly?

Has anyone else run into a problem like this? Any suggestions on
things to look at or consider would be greatly appreciated.

Lee
 
We obtained a window regulator for our 98 Sonata through a Korean
company that sells new parts on eBay (they were very helpful and
cooperative) at a much better price than we could get locally (either
new or used). After installing the new regulator in the driver's door,
the window did not operate (this is the 5th one of these that I've
installed, so I know the problem was not with my installation
technique). The window had been fixed in a slightly down position for
several months while we shopped for a cheaper regulator, etc. and we
assumed water leakage from rain (yes, it does rain here in PHX once in
awhile, even though we just broke a record for days without), coming in
the window and leaking into the switch in the door panel.
Click to expand...

The first thing I would look at - soley based on what you write, is water
damage. Water and electrical things do not go well together. Take your
voltmeter and get inside the door. Look for voltage at the switches, at the
motor when you hit the switch, etc. You could well have a bad motor or even
corroded connectors inside the door.

Just out of curiosity - why 5 regulators? That's too much experience.
We bought another switch panel from a salvage yard that was from a
Sonata with about 40K miles on it and they said it worked fine (it
looks like new), installed it and the window still does not operate...
All the other functions of the switch panel work fine, so we are
wondering, is there something we are overlooking in getting this window
to work properly?
Click to expand...

Grab that voltmeter. Especially with electrical parts - always check before
buying.
 
Mike,
Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions. I'll work with the voltmeter
this weekend to see what I can find.

As for replacing the regulator 5 times, it was always a case of the
cable overwrapping on the grooved nylon pully. All but the first were
while our son was using the car, so it could have been from too fast
switching from down to up or something similar. My time the same thing
occurred but I was very normally lowering the window at a fast-food
drive-thru when it locked-up. In that case, the car was 4 years old
and had about 80K miles on it. It was probably about time for the
cable to frey and tangle itself as it went over the pully.

Lee
 
Mike,
Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions. I'll work with the voltmeter
this weekend to see what I can find.

As for replacing the regulator 5 times, it was always a case of the
cable overwrapping on the grooved nylon pully. All but the first were
while our son was using the car, so it could have been from too fast
switching from down to up or something similar. My time the same thing
occurred but I was very normally lowering the window at a fast-food
drive-thru when it locked-up. In that case, the car was 4 years old
and had about 80K miles on it. It was probably about time for the
cable to frey and tangle itself as it went over the pully.

Lee
Click to expand...

Man Lee - you're working too hard on this window. I was hoping you'd say
you'd done 5 regulator replacements on 5 different cars. I'd be looking
inside, or at what you're doing. I can't really suggest that you're doing
something wrong without seeing things, but you should be able to activate
the window in any direction as often and as fast as you'd like with no
problems. Something is definitely wrong inside there. I know - that's an
easy statement.

Absent a series of preceding problems the cable should not fray over the
life of the car. Of course, in your case you do have preceding problems.
Are you replacing the cable and pulley when you replace the regulator? Are
you ensuring proper alignment of things inside the door? I've never looked
inside the door so I really don't know if there are things you can
improperly install, but I have installed some regulators in my lifetime.
I'm assuming some standard stuff inside your doors. Gut intuition suggests
you've got an alignment issue with the regulator.

Do yourself a favor and stop by the dealer's body shop - or any good body
shop that you may know of. Talk to the guys in there and describe what
you're experiencing. The dealer has the advantage of most likely having
worked on other cars like yours and may be aware of some issues you should
know about. Or - may be able to suggest something based solely on your
description of things. I'm sure they'll chat with you for no charge. Can't
hurt. I do all of my own work on all of my vehicles and I've leveraged the
experience of the dealers on many occasions. It might not even hurt to take
the car to the dealer with the door panel removed already, and let the body
guys have a look inside. Again - I'm sure they'll give you a few minutes
for free and you might just discover the root cause of this problem.
 
Mike,
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I'll insert responses/comments
between the lines of yours.

Absent a series of preceding problems the cable should not fray over
the
life of the car. Of course, in your case you do have preceding
problems.
Are you replacing the cable and pulley when you replace the regulator?


Yes, in each case, the whole regulator assembly was replaced which
includes the cable, pullies and the rigid parts.

Are you ensuring proper alignment of things inside the door? I've
never looked
inside the door so I really don't know if there are things you can
improperly install, but I have installed some regulators in my
lifetime.

The regulator assembly attaches to the door with 4 metric bolts that
look like about 1/4 inch diameter that are fixed to the regulator frame
and come through holes in the door and are affixed with 10mm nuts and
lock washers..

I'm assuming some standard stuff inside your doors. Gut intuition
suggests
you've got an alignment issue with the regulator.

There's very little movement through the holes in the door, so
alignment issues are almost non-existant. And, when the window goes up
and down smoothly and there are no air leaks, I'm quite sure the window
is aligned properly.

Do yourself a favor and stop by the dealer's body shop - or any good
body
shop that you may know of. Talk to the guys in there and describe what

you're experiencing. The dealer has the advantage of most likely
having
worked on other cars like yours and may be aware of some issues you
should
know about. Or - may be able to suggest something based solely on your

description of things. I'm sure they'll chat with you for no charge.
Can't
hurt. I do all of my own work on all of my vehicles and I've leveraged
the
experience of the dealers on many occasions. It might not even hurt to
take
the car to the dealer with the door panel removed already, and let the
body
guys have a look inside. Again - I'm sure they'll give you a few
minutes
for free and you might just discover the root cause of this problem.

I've done that too, and am told by my local dealer's bodyshop staff
that they experience this quite often on this model. It seems that the
plastic used in the pullies does not handle the high heat of the desert
very well (interior temps. in cars can easily exceed 200 degrees (F)
when the windows are up and summer temps. are in the 115 range...
Apparently Hyundai recognized this problem after 1998 and started using
a plastic that withstands high temperatures better.

Again, thanks for your helpful suggestions.
Lee


--
 
I've done that too, and am told by my local dealer's bodyshop staff
that they experience this quite often on this model. It seems that the
plastic used in the pullies does not handle the high heat of the desert
very well (interior temps. in cars can easily exceed 200 degrees (F)
when the windows are up and summer temps. are in the 115 range...
Apparently Hyundai recognized this problem after 1998 and started using
a plastic that withstands high temperatures better.
Click to expand...

Ahhhhh... the plot thickens. Or the thot plickens, or something like that.
Now things make a bit better sense. BTW - I likes the way you think Lee -
did every one of the things I would have done. Either we're a couple of
brilliant thinkers or you're in some deep trouble my friend, because we
think too much alike.

I guess at this point I'd be looking for a regulator out of a later model
Sonata. Aren't they the same right up through 2005? Hell - take one of
your old ones apart and have a local machine shop machine one out of
aluminum - that'll fix it dambit!

But Lee - what the hell are you doing with your windows down in the desert
anyway? Aren't you supposed to keep them up and the air conditioner
blasting out there?
 
But Lee - what the hell are you doing with your windows down in the desert
anyway? Aren't you supposed to keep them up and the air conditioner
blasting out there?>>

Thanks for your suggestions Mike; I think your ideas are good, and
worth while. Since I have so many of the old ones, I think I'll try
the machine shop route first.

As for your question on the windows being down, a week after spending
$1,300 on new axels, tires and brakes, our a/c compressor and some
related parts went out. Our budget was busted at that point, so we had
no choice but to proceed without a/c for the summer. Right now we're
looking for some used parts so we can get it back in working condition
before our high temps. arrive (we're only at 83 degrees today).

Hope you have a great weekend.
Lee
 
But Lee - what the hell are you doing with your windows down in the desert
anyway? Aren't you supposed to keep them up and the air conditioner
blasting out there?>>

Thanks for your suggestions Mike; I think your ideas are good, and
worth while. Since I have so many of the old ones, I think I'll try
the machine shop route first.

As for your question on the windows being down, a week after spending
$1,300 on new axels, tires and brakes, our a/c compressor and some
related parts went out. Our budget was busted at that point, so we had
no choice but to proceed without a/c for the summer. Right now we're
looking for some used parts so we can get it back in working condition
before our high temps. arrive (we're only at 83 degrees today).

Hope you have a great weekend.
Lee
 
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