Window drop issue

My drivers window was only just clearing the rubber when I pull the handle so I replaced the regulator but unlike when I did the passenger side a couple of years ago it hasn't fixed the issue. The passenger side drops 12mm when I pull the handle but drivers side only half that, any ideas? I've also done the window reset a couple of times, is there something that tells the window how far to drop? Other than the drop issue it goes up and down when it should.

Could be your motor worn or could be your window sticking in the rubber seals. Do it with the door open and see if that's any different - you'll have to con the car into thinking the door is shut by actuating the locking mechanism on the door with a screwdriver. You can then pull the handle slightly and watch if the window drops or not and by how much. Sometimes it can just need some fine adjustment of there the glass is clamped in the regulator or where the regulator is bolted to the door at the bottom. Sometimes it can be cheap aftermarket regulators too. They have an adjustment on them to make the cable tighter which helps. It'll either be a row of 4 spring clips in an aluminium block on it or a plastic thumb screw type adjuster next to one of the pulley wheel. I always adjust it as tight as possible.

Just tried it with the door open and it drops 2mm more so 8mm compared to 12mm on passenger side, I got a genuine regulator from Porsche but it does have a plastic nut adjuster on it which is different to the last one I got from Porsche, there doesn't seem any slack in the cable, could there be slack inside the motor?

The Porsche regulator has the metal spring clips in to tighten the cable but I think they come set at the tightest. Could be slack in the motor, I changed both mine last year (for Audi ones at around £40 each). Could also just be the window position needs adjuting.

I've adjusted the window position a multiple times, it matches how the passenger one sits in the door rubber when closed, could the micro switch in the handle have an issue? though think they just fail so window wouldn't go down at all. The regulator does have those clips and looks like you say set tightest.

Alex do you have a link to the Audi window motors as thinking could have slack in the motor gears?

Carl is my mate and we spent a couple of hours playing with it and like he said there seems to be nothing wrong on the regulator or adjustment side. It just seems like the motor on that side doesn't move as far, very strange. I've found a pic of the motor drive It uses a worm drive so seems unlikely for wear to be causing any appreciable slack. Even if the spline had some play and the big cog had some wear its still does seem enough to lose that much travel. Does anybody know how the drop works from the electronics side, does it just run for a set time, or is it more sofisticated and actually measures how many degrees its turned? It does seem pretty accurate going from the fact that with the door open and the window in the dropped position if you the lower and raise the window it stops again at the exact same dropped position! With the old reg you were very close to the window catching on the frame and now you're a couple of mm away so you have solved the problem for now. Maybe do Alexs £40 Audi reg mod and see if that makes a difference!

Read this: Thread 'All 996/986 window regulator motor - huge cost saving.' 27 Dec 2023 I'm currently having an issue with my driver's side window. The other month the regulator failed so I replaced it. Now the window doesn't drop as it should when you open the door. Upon further investigation the issue seems to be with the motor, which is strange because everything worked perfectly fine before the regulator cable snapped. Anyway, I'm reluctant to pay nigh on £500 for a new motor and I've also been struggling to find a 2nd hand one for under £100........until I stumbled on a replacement motor on amazon and once I checked out all the part numbers it replaced, I noticed it's... Alex Replies: 42 Forum: Porsche 911 996 (1997-2005)

In that thread someone mentions that there's rubber shock absorber in the motor between the big cog and spline, maybe thats past it's best and that's where your loosing the motion!! We could take the motor out and see how much the spline moves to see if that's the issue.

Looking at the pic from Alex of the circuit board you can see it has sensors at the end of the bit that sticks out, so it does measure the rotation of the motor. I can't see the circuit board will have forgotten how much to move the motor when the drop is activated so that means to me that play in the buffer must be the problem! Get an A6 motor ordered!

Thanks guys, will try an A6 motor and cross everything lol

Little fella - you just need to study the photo of what your buying and make sure the main body is the same colour and shape, also the correct side as they're opposite in design to each other. Mac996t - They're not sensors sticking out, they're the brushes for the motor and they're the same on both of them. Each type of motor has a different circuit board on that's programmed for the model it fits - A6, A8, Boxster, 911, etc. The software is dependant on what signals the ECU send to it and how it operates on the car. Even the 996 coupe and 996 cab will be different as they operate in different ways. So as long as you swap the circuitry over from your old unit (as described in my post) you'll be fine. I find the best way to find the correct motor is to put a year in rather than a model, e.g. search for Audi right window motor 97 .....and hey presto: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=Audi+right+window+motor+97

Well I still think they're proximitry sensors to feed motor movement back to the circuit board rather than brushes, I've never seen brushes with white printing on them 66A 647! I know the circuit boards are model specific. I did search for A6 motors and found it brings up a very similar but slightly different design and it wasn't until I put an older model year like 1998 as you did that I found some that looked correct. The next problem is to find one that isn't as worn as the original but for £30 it's obviously worth a go. I was surprised how few second hand 996 ones there are, and most are for the passenger side. There are more for 986 boxsters (you would think the circuit board change would work in these?) still £150 though and much much better than £600 for a new one, so another well done for finding the A6 part!

Trust me it's the brushes for the motor. I know as I've tore one of my old ones apart. It they're not the brushes, how else does power get to the motor from that socket block? I bough mine brand new for under £40 each. You just have to bide your time and wait for someone who's acquired some new old stock. This was the seller I got both mine from and he's constantly getting new old stuff: original-teile | eBay UK Stores Welcome to our new Original Teile ebay Shop . We are a UK Company based in norwich and our established business sells original OEM and some good quality aftermarket vehicle parts. All our parts are new unless otherwise stated and we have containers full of vintage and NOS Volkswagen and Audi... www.ebay.co.uk He has a new passenger side for £89 at the moment: VW Passat B5 (1997-2000) GENUINE Left Rear Window Motor Regulator 3B0959811A | eBay UK Passat Synchro // 1997 - 1999 //Restrictions 3B-V-000 001 >>. Genuine OEM >> Window Motor Regulator >> Rear, Left. Passat/4Motion/Satana // 1997 - 2000 //Restrictions 3B-V-000 001 >>. Volkswagen Germany. www.ebay.co.uk

Well I'll admit I was wondering how the power got there from the circuit board, but they do also look like sensors especially with them having 3 pins connecting them to the circuit board, and on the circuit board the same track connects to both, I'm wondering if they do both jobs and we're both correct. They certainly don't look like any traditional brushes I've ever seen before What ever it doesn't need to turn into argument. Carl is in the process of ordering one now, and we don't think the one you've linked to is the same side as his drivers door motor? Could it be that you need the passenger one from Audis?