Honda Odyssey Rear Window Motor Repair

Honda Odysseys are notorious for having problems with the rear window motors. Fortunately they are fairly easy to repair. The problem is not the motor itself, but the connector to the motor. In this instructable I will show step by step how to remove and repair the passenger side rear window motor of a 2002 Odyssey.

Note: Thanks to member "itworks" at http://www.odyclub.com forums for information about the connector problem.

Step 1:

The window motor is behind this panel. To remove it you must remove the weather stripping that seals against the window. You also must loosen the lower panel. There is a hook that is attached with a screw. Use a thin blade as shown to pop the cover so you can unscrew the screw. The panel and the lower panel are snapped into place with panel clips.

Step 2:

The motor is behind the black duct work. The duct work is held in place by a couple of expanding clips. These may be removed by first removing the plastic screw in the center. The clips may then be pulled out. It isn't necessary to completely remove the duct, but it can be fairly difficult just to get it clear of the motor.

Step 3:

Unplug the connector for the wiring harness. There is a small tab that must be depressed to release the plug (see the picture with my thumbnail pressing the tab).

Step 4:

Removing the motor at this point is straight forward. Be careful not to drop the bolts. It won't be fun to retreive them from behind the lower panel. The lever on the motor shaft will pop out of the fixture on the window if you twist it a bit.

Step 5:

Remove the motor from the bracket. From here on we will be working with just the motor assembly.

Step 6:

Remove the cover from the motor assembly to expose the motor. Take note of the position of the motor. In this photo you can see the seam of the foam covering on the motor. This is important when it comes to re-assembly. If you get this backwards the motor switch will work in reverse. (Guess how I know.)

Step 7:

Remove the connector from the motor. Inside the connector there are two metal tabs. Remove the tab that runs across the center of the connector. I found that grasping the tab on the opposite side of the connector with a pair of long nose pliers and pushing worked well.

Step 8:

The tab is made in two pieces with a mysterous black substance in between the two pieces. This is the culprit. Connecting an ohm meter on each leg of the tab results in an initial reading of 0 ohms which quickly rises to 20 ohms. My guess is that the increasing resistance is intended as a mechanism to protect the circuit when the motor stalls. In practice it reduces the current to the point where the motors cannot function.

My initial fix for this was to simply wrap some bare copper wire around the connector to reduce the resistance. But, not wanting to completely over-ride the safety function, I decided to see if I could make the black layer thinner to reduce the resistance. I found that by heating the tab while squeezing it in the center, the black substance would soften and sqeeze out of the gap. This resulted in a maximum resistance of about 0.5 ohm. It is necessary to trim the excess material before re-assembling the connector.

Re-assembling the motor etc, is the reverse of disassembly.

Put it all back together and enjoy the whir-whir of you newly functional rear windows.