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2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2019 C3 of Year Finalist (appearance mods)
Remove the door panel and GROUND the power window motor and apply 12 volts to one side of the two prong connector on the motor, one side goes up, and the other connector makes it go down.
It that works your motor is good, next check the wires in the conduit that goes from the door to the body.
There could be a bad wire in there.
It isn't that hard to replace the motor. You have to drill out the three (3) rivets holding the motor in place. Or you can use a dremel tool to grind off the heads and tap them out.
This job is not particularly hard, but it does take some time and patience. If you are going to do it yourself, you will need a vice and basic hand tools. I'd replace the rivets with locking nuts and bolts, the motor and the coil spring. Normally, when one motor goes out, the other side isn't far behind. In my humble opinion trying to salvage a 40 + year old electric motor is an exercise in futility. Check your wires with a volt meter to make sure you have power/ground. The motor simply plugs into the harness. If memory serves me right, the ground is up under the passenger side dash.
You can check online for how to remove your door panels, again, this isn't difficult.
The following link is a pretty good example of how this job is done. My only caution on this video is that he doesn't remove the nut holding the front of the side window in place. He leaves it in and tilts the window. You have to lift the window almost all the way up to get those two nuts/bolts, and the window will lift up out of the way.
In case you need to source a used regulator motor, you won't need to confine your search to Corvettes. A very good point is made about the likely low use of rear window motors in these models -
If/when you decide to take the motor off of the regulator make sure you install the bolt to keep the spring from flying off and injuring someone before you take the motor off.
Thanks again for all the feedback. The wires all had power/ground. It had been addressed and accessed before, and the prior work had removed the rivets. The existing gear appeared 100% intact, with no missing teeth. He plugged a new motor with a new gear in, and it functioned. So, I'm left with probably the fastest driver's side window in the west.
1976 Drivers Side Power Window
