Tailgate window not lowering enough when opening door

I have a 2000 Xedi. Normally the tailgate window drops approx. 1 inch when you press the latch to open the door. Lately it only drops a very small distance.... just enough to open the door, but not enough to close the door. I can push it down to the correct mark easily by hand. And it will go back up again normally when closing door. But one must first push the window down, otherwise it will close on the outside of the top sill (and maybe break the glass).

Windown opens and closes fully as per normal when using the FOB or button on the console.

I removed the door panel, and sprayed some silicone lubricant on the rails that the window mechanism slides up and down on. Has improved, but not sure it will stay that way. It seems like the mechanism is spring-loaded that pulls the glass down...... and either the glass is not sliding as easily as it should, or there is something wrong with the spring. Bit difficult to see in there.

I have bought some graphite spray-on lubricant to see if it will help (silicone collects dust, so will not work long-term.... too much dust on our roads here).

Has anyone any better idea what I can do? Did a search on the forum but did not find anything that helps.

Greetings,
I also use silicone spray as you have I also polish the silicone into the rubber areas which contact the glass. The window mechanism relies on a thin bowden cable (bicycle brake cable) to pull the glass up/down. This cable is prone to corrosion and then snapping.If you look carefully you will see exposed sections of the inner cable. Perhaps some lubrication on the cable will help everything to move more easily.D..

Have you tried recalibrating the window ? the procedure is on this forum and is quite simple, and may help.

the lubrication thing is good advice for all the windows, even if they seem to be okay.

good luck.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the inner cable is exposed, but there is a spring holding the cable outer cover to the slide mechanism. I thought maybe this was by design..... as a sort of shock absorber...???

I will lubricate the cable as will and see if it helps. I did lubricate the rubbers as well. Not sure if a grahite spray-on lubricate will work better than the silicone.

Is it a mission to remove the cable? Is this in the Rave manual? I will also lubricate all the other windows as well. I did it on my Izuzu LDV and it works well there.

Hi,
The spring does act as a shock absorber partly but the main purpose is keep the cable mechanism under tension to allow for cable stretch etc.
Rave only describes the procedure for changing the window lift mechanism as a unit.
The cable can be removed, lots of folks here in Europe have replaced corroded and broken cables successfully using bicycle brake cable as a replacement unit is quite expensive. I use a light penetrating oil and graphite grease mix to lubricate the cables and prevent corrosion but I understand your problems with dust and grit in the atmosphere.
Good luck.D..

Thanks Dann. Corrosion is not a problem major for us here seeing as it is a dry climate. However dust is, especally when driving on dirt roads. The dust gets in everywhere and clogs up the mechanisms.

I will take my time and lubricate everything over a weekend, but with cold weather and snow forecast for this weekend, I will focus on a cold starting problem (suspect glow plug relay is faulty, as I have changed glow plugs, and plenty of smoke so fuel is not the problem).