OK, if y’all can’t help me I may have to turn to professionals. A week ago I was driving my car at night and I discovered the poer windows would not operate. This car has a lock for the rear windows only, and that was not engaged. It also has a breaker reset for all the windows, and of course I tried that, without effect.
My first thought was a blown fuse, so I checked them when I got home and couldn’t find a toasted one. So I thought I’d deal with it the next day and went to bed.
Next morning I was driving to work and, having temporarily forgot the malfunction the night before, put the window down. It worked! Obviously not a blown fuse. Anyway, that night they again failed to work and the next day…well, it’s been a week now and the pattern is well established - the windows work during the day and not at night. Lights on or off makes no difference.
Have you searched cartalk.com ?
Is it much colder at night than during the day when the windows are working? A connector could be contracting when it’s cold?
Once the electric door locks in my car started acting strangely. About every five minutes they would clunk like they were trying to lock the doors – which were already locked. When I unlocked the doors they would immediately lock again.
I finally traced the problem to its root – my briefcase was leaning on the button on the passenger’s door.
I contemplated environmental factors and I don’t think temperature is the cause - while it’ll be cool tonight, we’ve been having unusually mild winter weather (as in 75º during the day, 60º or so overnight low). Also, this phenomenon kicks in early - just got home and it’s been dark for about an hour. When I left my office @ 5:20 they worked. On the last leg of my trip (6:40-6:50, dark), they did not.
Maybe a bad alternator or voltage regulator?
At night, driving with lights, you might be experiencing a power drain – enough so that the window motors won’t run.
If this is the case, you’ll probably start encountering other problems.