Hi. Last week (10/30) I had the windows on my '98 XJ8L tinted. During that process, a lot of steam and water was applied to the windows. After the tint was applied, I was told not to use the windows for one week--so far, so good--but now for the problem.

On my drive home, I noticed that the two rear interior lights were on; however, they turned off as normal when I shut the car off. The following afternoon, when I started the car, the outside mirrors went haywire, moving in and out on their own. At the same time, the right rear passenger and driver's windows starting going up and down on their own. This lasted for several minutes, until finally the driver's window stayed down, while the passenger window stayed up (button controls on the driver's door would not bring the driver's window up). I drove to the tinter's shop, and told them what was happening. Their response was hostile: "That's an old car." "The window electronics probably aren't well insulated,"and blah, blah, blah. "Give it a week to dry out, and it'll be okay." All right I figured, I'll park the car inside, and wait a few days.

As of today (11/5), the windows (except the driver's) work okay, and the mirrors work fine. The seat memory function is dead, and the driver's window buttons won't activate any of the windows (driver's window is still down).

I've taken the door apart, looking for moisture, and there was none. I've taken all of the electrical connections and switches apart and given them a blast of warm air from a hair drier, and I've put everything back together with dialectric grease on the connection points. I looked at the control module in the drivers door, and it appears to be a sealed unit--BUT, my guess is that it's been damaged by moisture. I also noticed that the rear interior lights come on and stay on when the car is running now, although they do turn off as normal.

Any thoughts on what might be the problem? Any recommendations on what to test, and how to test it? Thanks for your responses.

 

I have replaced DOZENS of X308 driver door switchpacks after a 'window-tint'.

They use water and 'squeegees' for application. They don't cover the switchpack and water will damage the electronics.

You can try a battery 'hard-reset' to see if the swichpack can be reset.

You will likely need a new swichpack. Please disconnect the battery before the driver's door swichpack is replaced or the driver's window button will probably operate the right rear window only!!!!

A good used part will work fine.

bob gauff

 

Thanks to those who read my post, and special thanks to Bob for his response and suggestion. I have a replacement driver's door switchback coming, and I'm confident it will fix the problem. My next step is to attempt to get the window tinter to pay for it!