89 bronco backglass?

[Ron G]

om the bronco all the switches are messed up,even the keyed one on the tailgate,i hotwired the glass motor to get it to work and it worked fine the last couple of times i messed with it,but it went down and now i cant get it back up,the motor runs but the glass doesnt move.how in the world do ya get in there to see whats going on?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

Pull the access panel. Get the glass down and open the tailgate. Now lock the latches with the tailgate down and work your switch (2 people required) and have the glass supported by a lawn chair back (about the right height). <br /><br />The bronco tailgate glass is only held in by 4 bolts or rivets along the bottom edge. The edge has rollers in a channel that gum up and the side supports are famous for rotting away. There is hardly room to work but it can be done via the panel. I had removed my glass to do inside work to the gate.<br /><br />Below would be the very first step.... to do<br /><br />The two most common wiring failures are near the back left hinge and under the bronco at the harness connection by the fuel tank. Corrosion runs rampant under the bronco. I just gave in and cut away the connectors that were horrible and soldered each wire. Once you do this there is a good possibility that the dash switch will work.

 

[Ron G]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

Thanks Bob,but the windows already down inside the tailgate,cant get it come back up.will do on the wiring.

 

[POINTER94]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

Depending on the specific model you might have a carpet piece over the acess plate. It is just held in with press in fasteners. <br /><br />Nothing against ford but the tailgate on a bronco is possibly the worst example of accountant driven engineering ever. I would have to say that over 50% of the bronco's don't have the rear key working the motor. If in doubt, run a separate wire from the dash switch back to the motor. The design of the tailgate was a bad derivitive of the standard tailgate used on a ford pickup truck.<br /><br />I cannot add anything to what Bob provided except that I found not a lot of room but enough to work with inside the tailgate. Getting at the motor specifically can be a bear. I would make it a yearly ritual to grease the runners (slides) or it will eventually begin to overtax the motor and cause premature failure. Water intruding from the window seals rusts it out quickly.<br /><br />Maybe Bob can confirm this, but in the drivers side aft panel there is a plug connection that you should be able to disconnect and hook jumpers to to bypass the switch and actuate the motor. Just use aligator clips and an extra battery. I believe it is a four pin connection...

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

The tail gate wires run down behind the taillight on the drivers side and the connection is actually under the truck near the fuel tank. No need to open the panel.<br /><br />I the window is down... open the tail gate and latch the latches with the gate open and try the switch. It could be the safety interlock wire is faulty or broke.<br /><br />Either way pull the interior panel and even with the glass inside you will have some access to the wires.... they ride in the bottom of the tailgate.<br /><br />If I remember right the motor uses 2 hot leads and a ground. One lead runs the motor up and the other runs it down.

 

[Ron G]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

Okay Bob,ended up pulling the switch plug off the motor and using a hot and ground the motor runs but the window still want move.The window is all the way down in the tailgate for this to memorial day im working my hinny off on two different things.

 

[DJ]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

The transmission (gears) on the motor may be stripped. You can buy a gear set. (Ford dealer).<br /><br />If the gears are stripped, the window will not stay up unless you wedge something under the window regulator.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 89 bronco backglass?

DJ is right. The gears are only nylon and easy to replace. You might have to power the motor and lift the gate at the same time. Wedge a wood block in (to hold the glass) so you can reach the motor. The entire motor & the regulator bars come out as one assembly.