drhinkle

Driver's window on my '98 A6 goes up and down normally for the first few minutes after car is started, then randomly goes up and/or down without touching the switch for another few minutes after that, and eventually won't move at all until I turn the car off and let it sit for an hour or more. There's a definite smell of overheated electrics while this is going on. I haven't been able to find this exact problem in the existing threads, so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas about isolating the cause other than replacing parts one by one.

jcman

Try removing the widow switch from the door panel and unplug the connector to see what happens, sounds like VCDS would find the problem too....do you have it?

pr0xZen

A solder joint gone bad..? Would explain why it works at first, acts up when it warms up and then finally conks out until it is allowed to cool again. No guarantee Vag-com/VCDS will pick it up - but if it loses function all together, I'd suggest connecting up, running the car until the windows stop working, then do an auto-scan before shutting the ignintion off again.

drhinkle

Finally got around to trying this and nothing at all happened - the window wouldn't go up or down. I thought I heard some clicking noises so I removed the door panel and discovered the clicking was coming from the motor. I disconnected the motor from the actuator and it began to spin and remained spinning no matter if I pushed or pulled the switch, whether the switch module was connected or disconnected, and if the ignition was on or off. The only way to stop it was to disconnect the other plug from the motor. I'm pretty sure I need a new switch module, but not so sure if the fact that the motor spins means it's really OK. I'm also at a loss to understand why there's power to the motor with the ignition off. Any ideas before I start replacing parts one by one?

kelisko

This is how I understand your problem:

1. There's definitely a problem with the switch. You may try to repair it by opening it or your may replace it to fix your problem.

2. I suspect something to be stuck or broken in the switch which keeps the motor spinning.

3. The reason why the motor keeps spinning when you have it off the frame is because it is not receiving the signal that the window has reached the top or the bottom of the frame which should produce some resistance hence would have it stop spinning.

4. There's power in the motor for a few minutes when the ignition is off. That's normal.

pr0xZen

If you're not in a hurry, a replacement master (driver) switch can be had from China (ebay) for ~$15. The acual mechanism and and electronics in there is really basic, so you get good value for money. I ordered one myself as I thought my issue was the switch - build and quality is pretty much up to VAG standards.

Airbag

never had any issues with my chineese window switches .. dirt cheap , works flawllessly and looks great