Power Window Master Swich Fix

[MR_Loyale]

Has your Loyale power window master switch quit working? Perhaps all but one of the switches(on the master panel) works slow in a particular direction. In my case, I couldn't get the windows on Ash (my red sedan) to go back up once they went down without reaching over to the sub switch. And when they did go up, they were slow. I had already greased the mechanisms so I was certain that wasn't the problem. Through a series of troubleshooting steps, including swapping in a good working unit from an identical Loyale (and folks thought me crazy for buying another one - who's laughing now???), I determined the master switch panel was at fault. Off to the junkyard I went and grabbed one off a Loyale wagon. Though it was a different interior color, at least it would work - or so I thought.

When I got home, I eagerly plugged it in only to discover that it too had problems such that some of the windows wouldn't go either way. Disappointed, I got on the computer and searched ROW52 for more Loyales. As I was just ready to head out the door, I thought to try taking the original one apart and see what's what inside. The fact is there was a good chance I would get another dud or soon to be dud. After all, these cars are at least 20 years old. I couldn't break the original by taking it apart since it was already broken. Turns out they can be fixed with about 30 minutes worth of effort and a little bit of patience. Here is how.

The contact plates inside the unit can get dirty over time such as say 20 years. Over that time grease, dust and carbon from the small arc generated each time the switch is used builds up on the contact plates increasing the resistance. This is one reason why some windows work slowly.  If you can get electrical cleaner into there, it might make it work again. This did not work in my case. The solution is disassembly and cleaning of the contact plates. This means removing the master switch from the car and taking it apart.


Removing the Master Switch From The Car

Begin by removing the door latch backer trim part. This simply clips in place with two clip forks molded into the part. Pry gently on the top and bottom left sides to remove.

Remove the two square hole covers from the arm rest by gently prying them off. Then unscrew the two Phillips screws and set the armrest, the screws and square covers aside together so they won't get lost. The door panel pops off by gently prying around the edges of the door panel releasing the plastic snap clips that hold the panel in place.

Unplug the connector on the master switch panel. Remove four screws on the metal backing plate holding the switch in place and remove the switch from the door panel. Set the door panel aside and take the switch inside to a clean work surface as there are lots of small parts that can get lost forever. DO NOT DO THIS AT THE GREASY WORKBENCH!! A cleaned kitchen table is ideal. Wifey will have to deal with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Switch Disassembly and Cleaning

 

At the work surface, using a small Phillips screwdriver, remove the two screws holding the insulator   sheet in place. Set the insulator sheet aside. Remove the six screws holding the switch body to the  faceplate. Carefully remove the body and laugh heartily as all the contact plates and other bits come tumbling out daring you to get them all back in the correct order.

After you have finished laughing, gather all the bits together and sort them as shown below. You should have eight screws, six small arch contact rockers, one large arch contact roller and a small see saw contact bar. You may also have a few small brass rollers that tumbled out. These go onto the back of the plastic switch itself and sit in a spring loaded fork like the wheel of a wheel barrow.





The contact plates are the metal pads on the rocker arms and in the body. You will need to clean these off using a combination of abrasion and electronics cleaner. In my case I used steel wool on the pads on the rocker arms and a phillips screwdriver on the ones in the body. I used MAF Sensor cleaner I had lying around to help clean out the body.
 

 

 

In the picture above, the rocker arm on

the left has been cleaned, the one on
the right is not clean.

 

Once the plates on the arms and in the body are clean, it must now all be reassembled. This is where patience will come in handy.  Get a set of tweezers or forceps to help in reassembly. Start by laying all the pieces out on the work surface as shown below. Note the orientation of the pivots on the small rocker arm contacts. The pivot arms are offset from center so that in its neutral state, the switch will make contact with either the top or bottom contact plates depending on whether or not it is offset top or offset bottom.  This is the heart of how the switch is able to reverse the polarity of the window motor to change directions.

Place each contact arm into its slot in the body. The pivot arms must sit properly in their slots in the body or the switch will not work. The dip of the contact rocker goes downward to create a valley inside the switch. The wheel sits in this valley when the switch is in the neutral position. Tweezers can be helpful for placing the contact arms into the body. Think of it as the Subaru version of the vintage child's game "Operation". Feel free to exclaim "HA! HA! HA!" as in the commercial.

 

 

Once all the contact arms are in place, the switch top plates can be placed.

This is where it can get tricky. Each plastic switch top must be carefully placed into its position in the body without the small brass wheel falling out. A small dab of Vaseline or proper electrical grease can be helpful to keep the wheel in place while inserting the switch top into the body. The switch tops have a spring loaded fork that can also fallout. I found that holding the body at about 40 degrees and then with the switch top at 40 degrees in the other hand bring switch top into the body while rotating to line it up, the fork and wheel were less likely to fall out of the plastic switch top. Once in place, the switch will be kind of floppy because they sit on springs that get compressed when the unit is assembled. Get each switch top into position and then carefully mate the faceplate on top to the body using the six inner screw on the body. Add the insulator plate and the final two screw. Operate each switch by hand to ensure they work smoothly as before. If they do not, then remove the screws and re-seat the switch that doesn't work properly.

Once they all move smoothly, take the unit out to the car, plug it in and verify all switches work correctly. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.


 

Edited October 19, 2014 by MR_Loyale

[wagonist]

Great write up. Should be stickied.

 

One thing to note is that the plastic surround on these are brittle. You need to be gentle undoing all of the screws. Use the smallest screwdriver possible, not the biggest. If the screw doesn't want to come undone, don't force it otherwise you'll snap the whole thing off. Work it a little bit at a time. Move onto the other screws & come back is a good idea.

 

But have some epoxy and tape on hand to make up new pieces where they do break off. Don't bother trying to reglue anything that breaks.

[MR_Loyale]

Excellent point about the brittle plastic.