Fixing a 'Ratcheting' Power Window
   by Mike "a few bits short of parity" Miller
   millerm@henge.com
   http://spot.elfwerks.com/~mjmiller

   Do your power windows have that annoying "ratchet" syndrome where they intermittantly cease to function properly, and instead cycle between moving and making an annoying clicking sound? Call your Mazda dealer and ask for the replacement cog in the power window. It's a nylon cog that pushes a cable that has nylon balls on it to move the iwndow up and down. Mazda sells it for roughly $12.

1. Run the window down about a third.

2. Remove the screws around the perimeter of the door.

3. Pop the door panel off (there are about four plastic 'thingys' holding it on).

4. Remove the panel, disconnecting the plug for the window switches and night light.

5. Peel off the plastic moisture barrier carefully. It's attached to the doorframe using a heavy black tar-like material. Hang it up out of the way, and try not to remove it completely.

6. You should be able to see the screws that hold the window in place on the track (mid-point of the window, on the bottom). Remove the screws and carefully lift out the window glass.

7. The motor is held in place by four bolts, and has a rubber guiding tube that is attached to the door. Note: the tube often breaks. It acts as a guide for the 'beaded' line that pushes the window up.

8. Big Secret: now that the motor and lifting mechanism is loose, rotate it roughly 135 degrees (counter-clockwise on the driver's side, clockwise on the passenger's) and pull it out motor first through the only opening you can use with it at this angle.

9. The worn nylon cog should be obvious. Replace it with your $12 Mazda replacement part (sorry, don't have the P/N here. Cudgel your service rep until s/he finds it.)

10. Replacing the cog is left as an excercise to the user, as yours truly kinda mangled the job. Oh,well. It still works real well.

11. Reverse procedure to reinstall. Be sure to a) lubricate appropriately, and b) reattach the rubber guide tube so the door doesn't rattle. If the window is a little stiff, bar hand soap in the tracks can ease up binding.

   [Yes, folks 'cudgel' is a real word. I'm impressed, Mike! Rotary Rocket likes to think he has a respectable vocabulary, and you even sent him running for Webster's Ninth. Those who have ever dealt with their local Mazda dealer (parts or service) will recognize this word as a perfectly suitable choice. :-)  -RR]

cudgel:

1. a short, heavy club

2. to beat with or as if with a cudgel

3. cudgel one's brains:  to think hard (as for a solution to a problem)