Installed a new backup camera this weekend and accidentally stumbled upon the reason my back window quit rolling up/down. At first it started failing intermittently, then finally quit altogether.

In the main wiring harness from the roof into the tailgate I found not only the power wire for the rear window (heavier white with black stripe), but also TWO others that were broken.

Both green wires, one with a white stripe and one with a reddish brown stripe. Anybody know what those two wires do?

Anyway, if your back window quits check these wires out. Just pull the boot up where it comes out of the roof. Looks like the motion of the tailgate opening finally broke a few.

Updated: I had added this photo, no idea where it went.

Attached Images

 

Thanks for posting this - mine is fine, so far. I'll keep this in mind when it isn't....


Luck and enjoy those Toyotas. : ^ )))

Very typical of older vehicles. I been warning people for years if windows and locks are not working properly to check the wire boots for broken wires. If I remember tonight. I will post the Electrical wiring diagram for the tailgate.

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please do!

Im having the same issue and opened up all of the looms/boots yesterday to check them. All intact so i started testing and can get the motor to move if i skip the control unit so i supsect its the culprit.

Thanks brillo, that would be very helpful. I did look through the service manual PDF, but Im not all that good at finding the right schematics. I was just about to start looking for a new window motor because I could hear the relay clicking, but turned out to be practically free to fix instead.

Well the EWD is busted into circuits mostly. I looked through all 1996 thru 2002 years quickly and found that the 1996-1998 look identical and the 1999 thru 2002 look identical which is fairly common as 1999 was the hybrid year.

So here is a 1998 EWD for the rear power windows and rear wiper
and here is a 1999 EWD for therear power window and rear wiper

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	PowerWindow_Rear_Wiper_Washer98.pdf (75.9 KB, 193 views)
	Power_Window_Rear_Wiper_and_Washer_1999.pdf (88.6 KB, 120 views)

looking like the Green White GW is your 3rd High stop light on your tailgate.
Rear defroster in the tailgate possibly brown.

I didnt locate the Green reddish brown strip wire.

Much appreciated!

W/B is always ground. I was tired of staring at screens all day so I gave up looking for the Green red. I would say you are correct. The other green wire I found in the stop light circuit. I just didn't include the diagram.


If you ever see cracked insulation in these joints that section of wire is done. It may not be broken now but in 6 months to a year it will be.

I could never figure out way they didn't put in replaceable wire joints in all these boots. So you could just unplug the wire in both sides and plug new section in but that would cost more.

I had my share or broken wires or shorts in the jams over the years.

Mostly it's the drivers door and your tailgate boots that get you.

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What is the best way to fix any broken wires here? How far back can you get to allow a good splice? And how much is usually bad? Do you just have to replace an inch or two or do you need to do a few feet?



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Just get a foot or so of automotive wire in the same gauge and splice in. (Westlake/Ace Hardware sells it by the foot) The wire really isn't bad, although the insulation does get a bit tired and brittle. The problem is that it's been bent back and forth many 1,000s of times and finally breaks apart. You don't need to splice in much, just a couple of inches. Remember, you've got to be able to tuck it all away and pull the boot back over.

What you cannot do is try to pull the broken ends of the wire together and solder that. Excessive pulling on the wires will just cause another break somewhere else in the harness. In this particular area the space is very constricted and you won't have very much wire at all to work with. Pull the boot back as far as you can and if at all possible get some heat shrink over all the joints.

Hi ,I was wondering if someone could help me on this forum, i have a problem with my liftgate window rolling itself down , and it will not roll itself back up. Neither the dash switch or the key on the liftgate will get it to go up again, im assuming its a short wire somewhere, maybe from the ecu? so I read about hotwiring it with a small 12v battery. So long story short I have the panel off and located what I think is the plug for then motor and it has six wires, which ones do i have to apply 12v to to get it to roll up? I have pictures of it below. My goal is to get the window back up and leave the motor unplugged, I dont ever use the liftgate window anyways, any advice would be appreciated, tia




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Check the wiring bundle that goes from the body into the liftgate- they have a history of broken wires.

You will have to unwrap and then reconnect/repair whatever wire damage that you find. I found 4 broken wires in my bundle that made my window defogger inoperative -

@TheSaturnV is correct. The only issue when you have to splice in the same area as were it broke is it will break again where the soldered it together at either end that can flex. Matching the gauge of wire is very important.

However, it's a very long time before it will break again.

I mostly splice the wire on both sides of the flexing area. By doing it this way. I shouldn't have to replace it again. As I tend to hang on to vehicles a very long time.

Granted, at times it's not easy to do and to get to both sides of the wires. So you can just do the best you can to fix and and resinsulate that wire.

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Little update here if anyone still cares, got mine fixed but had no actual broken wires. I do however have a bad rear wiper motor and, surprisingly, the window down function grounds on the wiper motor. Once i figured that out, i removed the bad wiper motor and just replaced the ground. works great now and i would not have expected that at all.

thanks again @brillo_76 for the wiring diagram