Passenger window stopped working
 

Nissan Maxima '96.

Shotgun side, rear passenger window, electric. The motor or reel or wtf you call it isn't rolling the window up. It's constantly down. I can try and pull the window up, but if I let go of it, it'll slide right back down. The motor thing still runs and reacts to pushing the button, either way up or down.

All the cars I've had before have had those old-fashioned windows that you roll down yourself with a handle. I've fixed those before. I don't know if this is something I can fix myself. I'm not usually too clumsy. but I'd prefer to figure out what I am going to do before doing it.

I am really strapped money-wise and my experiences with car shops have been less than appealing. I hate the idea of my car standing outside with one of the windows down, day and night, especially in this neighborhood.

Any advice is welcome.

Well time to tear it apart, thats about the best thing you can do to find out what is wrong. Electric windows aren't that bad to fix. Usually they have plastic clips that mount the window the part that raises and lowers it, usually that goes bad. If you take it apart it should be a pretty obvious problem. It also shouldn't cost you a whole lot of money either. Worse come to to worse, take off the door panel and brace the window up with some wooden dowels, at least your window will be stuck in the up position.

Sounds like the window regulator is bad. We sell a few regulators for Nissan vehicles in general. NOt lots, but I'd almost bet that is what the problem is.

What does the regulator do? I mean if the regulator's bad, what sorts of problems usually occur?

Be it manual or electric, the mechanism of cables, gears, and slides that supports and allows window movement is the regulator. The name has always caused confusion. Lots can go wrong, be it bent slides, debris, worn gears or bushings or cables, bad motors, etc. Since you can freely lift the window manually I'd suspect one or another slide has jumped out of place.

Short term I'd use wedges to hold the window up. A rear window isn't usually too heavy so that should hold until you can disassemble the panel. With the panel off you should quickly see what's wrong. For old cars not worth the $60-150 price of a new regulator, I've known people to lock the window up by blocking/screwing/welding the damaged regulator.

Since you said you can hear the motor running, I'm seconding (or thirding) the regulator problem. I don't know how Nissan builds theirs but you might be able to MacGuyver it into working.

Definitely the regulator, and I will guess you will need a new one, probably a couple of hundred bucks. I have had similar happen, and it is always a bad regulator. Take the panel off and you can probably wedge it up for a short term fix.