I tried to roll down the passenger window on the Corvette a few days ago--and it did not work. I could hear a "click" when I pressed the down or up side of the switch--but the window did not move. Nor did it even try.
Groan. I started looking around for information on the failure mode. The click tells me that there is power getting to the door--but is it the motor, a relay, the regulator, or a gear that is jammed? If the dealer fixes it, $400 - $600 was the consensus.
Then I found some "percussive car repair" instructions here. Generally, I do not trust the "bang it until it works" approach, but the instructions are quite detailed, and are based on the claim that this failure--which rarely happens on the driver window and rarely on the convertibles (where drivers roll down the windows frequently) was caused by lack of use and corrosion building up in the contacts. There are similar theories to explain the expensive failure of the EBTCM--that you need to really use the Corvette's brakes hard to keep everything working.
I did not go so far as to take out the panel, slip in the screwdriver, and bang it. But I did slap the door with my fist in exactly that spot--and what do you know? Now it works! Reading the comments by the poster of the technique--and how well it works for others--has made me a believer.
And yes, I will roll the passenger window down every day now.
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