Faulty Electric Windows with 4 Mechanics Saying Different Things

[Lambo1]

So I have a Roomster (56 plate) which I have owned for 4 years.  About 2 years ago both the electric windows stopped working (the rear windows are mechanical). A few days later they both started working again. This went on like this with them both not working and then both working again for several months. I thought that it was related to the moisture levels in the car because there was always condensation on the inside of the windows.
 

Eventually I took the car to garage 1 and they said they needed to replace a wire in the driver door and so I paid them £140 for that. A few months later and the problem came back but because of covid I wasn't able to take it in. 6 months later I went to a second garage for a service and asked about the windows - they said the entire loom needed replacing - costing £400.

I rang a third mechanic who owns a Fabia and asked what he thought. He was convinced it wouldn't be the loom as he said those looms last for years. He needed to have a look to know more but he is a bit of a distance away so I thought I would try someone nearer.

 

Then today I went to a 4th mechanic who specialises in electrical repairs. £30 later he said the diagnostics showed that it was the body control module and to put in a second hand one would cost £240. He said there were no error codes coming from the module even though the windows were not working. I asked him if looms break often and he said they break all the time.

 

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? This is doing my head in :-)

[Breezy_Pete]

Hi Lambo1, whereabouts are you based?

 

Loom problems are very common, especially in the section that flexes every time the door is opened, I guess that's where the repair was done? A new door loom bought and fitted shouldn't cost £400 though, that sounds very pricey indeed. 

It could be moisture related, and corroded connections between loom and motor module, but inspection and cleaning are the only way to test that really. Could also be water ingress into the connector(s) at the a-pillar, as it's only the rubber bellows/boot that waterproofs that area, and they can be misfitted easily if removed for inspection/rework.

 

Check fuse number 11, if you haven't already.

 

However: the window motor modules in your car are from an era where they have a poor reliability record, in my experience. 

The same types are used in very early mk2 Fabia, late mk1 Fabia and VW Transporter and Polo 9n3 models, all of which suffer similar problems.  The units in drivers and passenger front doors communicate with one another down a single-wire 'LIN bus' data connection, which doesn't connect in to the car's overall diagnostic system, so errors/faults in either module are 'invisible' to the car at large.  I'd be very surprised indeed if the fault is with the body control module, as it has very little to do with the window motor operations.

 

The driver's side module is the master and the passenger side is a slave unit, problems most often seem to be fixed by replacing the master unit (unless loom/fuse causes are to blame, obviously).  They tend to be correspondingly more expensive secondhand, and with fewer available.

 

I expect yours to have part number 6Y1959801. There's a suffix 'SK2' in the parts catalogue, but its not clear what this means, and they don't print it on the part number label on the product, only on the box it comes out of; so secondhand purchases can be a bit 'hope for the best' unless the seller is crystal clear about which vehicle the part was removed from.

 

@Bertie90 has recent experience of this stuff, in a similar age Roomster, so he may be able to offer some tips that haven't occurred to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Lambo1]

Thanks! Fuse 11 is good.

 

I just got the electric windows working by taking out some of the fuses in a particular order as follows.

 

1. Take out fuses 51 and 52
2. Put them both back in again 
3. Tried windows but no luck
4. Then take out fuses 51 and 52 again
5. Put back in just fuse 52 and passenger side window works (but only with the switch on that side)
6. Put back in fuse 51 and both windows working again.

I did this trick just a few days ago when the windows got stuck down.

 

The following day I think I repeated the same steps but no luck, but today it got them working again.

 

Does any of that shed any light?

 

I'm in N London

[Lambo1]

Is there a youtube video of how to replace the window motor module?

[Breezy_Pete]

22 minutes ago, Lambo1 said:

Thanks! Fuse 11 is good.

 

I just got the electric windows working by taking out some of the fuses in a particular order as follows.

 

1. Take out fuses 51 and 52
2. Put them both back in again 
3. Tried windows but no luck
4. Then take out fuses 51 and 52 again
5. Put back in just fuse 52 and passenger side window works (but only with the switch on that side)
6. Put back in fuse 51 and both windows working again.

I did this trick just a few days ago when the windows got stuck down.

 

The following day I think I repeated the same steps but no luck, but today it got them working again.

 

Does any of that shed any light?

 

I'm in N London

That's a fairly common pattern I think. There's something causing one or both modules to shut down instead of 'staying awake'.

Some people have fixed such faults by replacing a capacitor and sometimes also a relay within the driver's side motor module, think there may be threads on a few forums relating to that. I've tried and so far failed to repair any, sadly.

 

Replacing the module is fairly easy I think, door card off, couple of electrical connections to unplug, 3 screws to undo to free the module from the door. Again @Bertie90 is the man with model-specific recent experience. Not sure what youtube has to offer.

[Lambo1]

I'm seeing 6Y1959801 parts from Polos and Beetles etc, - will these work? Or does it need to come from a roomster or fabia?

[Breezy_Pete]

I wouldn't be confident of anything that wasn't from a Roomster.  That SK2 suffix I mentioned earlier would be a different suffix in any other model.  You might be OK, but there must be a reason for the different suffixes or they wouldn't exist.

[Lambo1]

I found a Mk I Fabia window motor module on ebay for £80  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334091736992?hash=item4dc96b57a0:g:qREAAOSwx1NhABdg

 

Is this part compatible with a Roomster 2006/7?

[Breezy_Pete]

No, it has a different part number for a start, but if you look at the photos you'll see it's also got the wrong 'handedness' compared to a 6y1959801.  The installation orientation is different on mk1 Fabia compared to all other applications of these parts.

 

You need exactly the same part number as your existing one. The part numbering is very confusing, and ebay sellers often over-generalise about which part numbers fit which models.

This seller at least doesn't do so; tells you which model it's from and tells you to check for part number match:

2005 SKODA FABIA 1.2 12V Ambiente 5DR (VRM: NM05RZB)

DRIVERS FRONT WINDOW MOTOR 

PLEASE MATCH THE PART NUMBER BEFORE BUYING:

6Y2959802 

 

 

 

Don't be tempted by units where the part number starts 6Q... or ones with a suffix F on the end of the base 9-digits, they have different connectors, and wiring. Can't seem to font size match this back to normal, sorry.

 

 

 

[Lambo1]

I'm thinking of buying this one - does it seem compatible with my Roomster (56 plate)? thanks

Just now, Lambo1 said:

I'm thinking of buying this one - does it seem compatible with my Roomster (56 plate)? thanks

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165055944605?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11021.m43.l3160&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=78e6a17ca85e4407962d78240c52ee0b&bu=43122934893&ut=RU&osub=-1~1&crd=20210906030734&segname=11021&sojTags=ch%3Dch%2Cbu%3Dbu%2Cut%3Dut%2Cosub%3Dosub%2Ccrd%3Dcrd%2Csegname%3Dsegname%2Cchnl%3Dmkcid

[Breezy_Pete]

If the part number in the title is correct, that's a passenger side module. Edit: Ah, no , now that I've seen all of the pictures, it is the right part number unit, but wrong in the title

 

Might be worth reading the last line of my signature. 

Edited 6 September, 2021 by Wino
Saw more photos

[Lambo1]

I'm finally getting round to sorting out this electric window issue. Would the following be a compatible with a roomster? https://cars245.co.uk/item/audi-volkswagen-6Y1959801VW4-motor/

[Breezy_Pete]

Not ideal, the VW4 in article number and VW240DDRS on label means it's from a Polo. I think up and down may be reversed if fitted to a Fabia or Roomster.  Expensive too compared with a repair.