Is this definitely a window regulator problem?

[Multibeemer]

Thanks; yeah, I suspect it isn't my motor, since it drives the window down just fine, and I don't see why the motor would become too "weak" over time to drive the window back up. I suspect as you say that either there's some sort of obstruction on the tracks, or the regulator itself is binding for some reason. I should know by tomorrow; I'll keep everybody posted.

[Ricky Bobby]

Clean up the tracks while the regulator is out with some cleaner, I'm sure years of grime, dirt specks, grease etc are on there. Lubricate with a bit of Teflon spray (I use the DuPont stuff from Lowes). Should definitely help run smoother. And if your zipties are working, and cable is staying securely clipped to the cable clips, perhaps just a thorough inspection/cleaning and replacing of worn window clips may be all you need.

I only needed a new window motor once on my old 2000 VW but it was because I stripped it out when the regulator busted for the 3rd time.

[Ricky Bobby]

Please do. Mine rolls up slower on the passenger side compared to the drivers so I have been meaning to check mine as well

[Multibeemer]

If you roll your passenger side window all the way down, does it make it all the way up? I can roll mine down no more than a couple of inches - any more than that causes it to slow to a crawl. No way it can make it all the way from the bottom to the top.

[Ricky Bobby]

Yes mine has no issues rolling up. Its just slower compared to the drivers side.

[Multibeemer]

So here's what I found. I took the regulator/motor out, and noticed that when I did my zip-tie repair a couple of years ago, I seem to have left the heads of the zip ties in a position where there's sticking out far enough to bind up the regulator mechanism. Thinking I had it solved, I removed the zip ties, and installed new ones, taking care that they ended up in positions where they wouldn't hit anything as the regulator moved.

So I put the regulator back in, and ran it up and down before I attached the glass. No problem - very smooth, fast operation in both directions. So this definitely ruled out the motor as the culprit. But when I tried re-attaching the glass, I ran into a major problem - after struggling for nearly an hour, there was no way I could get both the front and back clips (the ones that hold the glass to the regulator) to simultaneously align with the positions in the piece of the regulator to which they attach. So, my theory now is that somehow, the regulator has become "non-symmetrical" - maybe something internally stretched, wore, or moved in some fashion on one side of the regulator, creating a situation where the front and back parts of the regulator are out of alignment relative to each other. I can't visually see anything wrong with it, but I'm pretty sure the "non-symmerty" is what was causing it to bind as it was trying to raise the window. So, unless someone has any alternate theories, I'm going to go ahead and order a new regulator.

[David.X5]

Someone had suggested that perhaps a cable jumped a pulley- perhaps that could cause the change in path length. Hard to believe it wouldn't jam tight or get really sloppy though. The regulator isn't too pricey - I put in a dorman regulator from Amazon. Around $50 from what I recall. Has been going strong.

[Multibeemer]

I checked all four pullies - the cables are securely contained within each of them. There just isn't any visual sign of a problem with the regulator, but it's definitely off-kilter, which seems to be causing it to bind as it goes up. It's true that regulators aren't very expensice, and now that I've been through this troubleshooting experience, it should take me no time to install a new one.