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Hiya Joseph in Cowld New Mexico!
Happy Christmas!
All these are great suggestions in troubleshooting pokey power windows in your mighty and powerful 1991 Volvo 240. Hope it helps with your investigation.
The power window regulators (motors) are a wee bit pokey through 1991. In 1992, these seem to have become much faster on 240.
Remember, the window regulators are electrically isolated as DC polarity reverses to control window up and down. Full system current travels through the switch. The window regulator motors do not ground through the frame.
1. If sloe (gin) in cowlder temps, I'd consider in your review the battery condition (how much charge it holds - load test, volts disconnected at full charge, or age). Though if the engine turns sprightly, or nearly so, like at temps in the 60s F, the battery charge may be fine. (A cause for all power windows.)
2. In the front driver door arm rest are them switches. Four allowing driver to open and close each of the four windows, and one toggle to enable, disable the remaining three armrest doors so you can allow them pesky passengers, all of them (bastardly - no doubt) holiday merry makers this day, to be able to open or close a window as you wish.
If one window is slower than others, suspect that switch. If all windows behave in such same slowness, slowness may systemic in cause. See other items by number.
The well-treated (on this and other forums) are the contacts inside the each of the four power window switches in your driver door armrest. As well treated here and other forums, the contacts inside the switch that touch to open or close a windows eventually become pitted. It helps to disassemble each of the switches, and use a fine emery cloth or fine file to clear teh surfaces of black carbon and pitting. You then use a dielectric grease (SuperLube Silly-Con NLGI or DeoxIT low volt DC lubricating dielectric corrosion melting and preventing grease) to lube the switch innards.
Analogous to this are the wire harness connector terminations at the driver door armrest power windows switch console. Corrosion can form. A disconnect / reconnect dislodges corrosion and allows a better electric contact bond. A great place to treat with the dielectric DeoxIT grease is stuffing some into the round connector harness.
You may want to treat the passenger door switch enable / disable switch likewise.
Writing procedure to disassemble, clean, treat, lube, reassemble these switches is a rather long thing and treated elsewhere on this and other forums. Find the procedure to do so elsewhere.
3. Systemic is the wiring at the power window system relay, secured to the horizontal center console metal frame support. The square metal relay contacts, that close as you or a passenger (as you allow) may be pitted inside. Opening these canned relays for an inspect and cleaning, lube and treating, is a bit of a bother. Try a spare.
Inspect the wiring at the relay connector. A disconnect / reconnect action may see new metal to metal contact at the electrical bond. If the connector appears melted or heat distorted, electrical--resistance--causing corrosion at this connection can cause heat. The plastic connector gets distorted. The relay may also suffer.
One lead out of the connector is a black insulation color wire that terminates (ring term crimped to the wire end) at the ground terminations of termination on 240. If you have performed dash-center console disassembly, such as removing, or loosing, the chevron-shaped center dash console (with the hazard button-rear demist button other buttons, ashtray, lower radio cubby), you will encounter the center dash console metal frame. At the upper left of that metal frame is a machine screws with many ground wires going to it. A loosen and tighten can allow new metal to metal contact for a better ground. Yet it can help that you ensure all hardware that the dash and center console metal frame are well secured to the body for a good ground. (The 240 does not use a ground loop wire or wiring. -12VDC comes through the body with connect between the engine block and those braided ground wire between the valve cover bolts and bulkhead.
When we say to check grounds, it means to check where ground wires secure using self tapping metals screws or machine screws or bolts to the body. It also means to inspect the end of the wire termination, as they can break or corrosion forms where the copper conductor crimps to the termination (lug, spade, ring term). More to it. Yet a highlight.
4. The fuse box. Corrosion on the fuse side and the wire harness termination at the back side.
I get to cite my own images here, again, to cause chagrin in some, if any? Hope not. The power windows on my 1990 240 DL li'l red Wagon halted like November 2015.
(It was telling me it hated moving back to St. Louis, in the malodorous riparian zone in the Mississloppi river valley with the Misery River confluence and malodorous summertime humidity coming from the Mexico Gulf toilet.)
Soooooo, it was systemic, yet went through it, door card by door card. Some of the window regulator motor assembly securing hardware, to secure the regulator assembly to the interior door sheet metal, was loose. Indeed, a few windows regulator motor assembly machine bolts were missing. Replaced. Clean the door interior and cleared the drains. Cleaned and lubed up the window regulator slides with a heavy grease.
Checked each door power window control and wiring. No issue. (I never have passengers in these three 240s. Like I can count on both hands the number of passengers in the last 15 years.)
See Uncle Art's image of the Volvo green manual wiring diagram:
http://cleanflametrap.com/91wdm100.jpg
Took apart the center dash console. Checked the ground point so aforementioned here. I had replaced the HVAC motor and tighten everything up some years before. All remained at proper torque. Yet I gave a twist to loose a bit and tighten. Relay was good as was the wiring to it. Disconnected and reconnected the connector to the power window relay. Still some dielectric grease in there.
So, stupid me, the last item. The fuse box. Well, I did spin the fuses as the first step. I did treat the fuse holder springy bits, by, after battery disconnect, some brass brush clearing of the corrosion. Fuse inspection meant the best fuses went in.
Windows still did not work, or intermittently.
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, with dental tools in hand, and battery disconnected, I removed the left drive leg side foot well kick panel and loosed the two screw to secure the fuse panel to the door sill.
And while focused on the power window fuse position, found corrosion on the fuse panel back side where the spade terminators lugs secure to the spade terminations on the back side of the Volvo 240 fuse panel (or fuse box). Really more of a panel that looks like a box.
(Compounding my problem was a very poor wire-up after the 1990 240 had a front end collision in a St. Louis, Misery ice-storm. Dash works, speedo head, and wiring was poorly repaired. The fuse box door had a 1993 240 legend on it. Though hopefully not your problem.
So, what we did was (loves this part with mad 1992 HTML skillz):
The load side wire termination was so corroded as to halt power window operation. So, I removed each of the spade terminators, cleaned with brass brush, treat with, as you see, the SuperLube! silicon synthetic dielectric grease. A few of the spade terminator broke on removal 28 years of vibration and what have you. The spade terminators are / were zinc led coated to thwart corrosion, yet after 28 years, some heat and humidity, some years in dry and high Colorado, and nearly 200k, well, there you go.
The windows move up and down almost as fast as that on the 1992 240 we green beastie GL.
I've not had to lube the motors. They are sealed, though at some point a disassemble, inspection, clean, and lube may work.
When inside each door, give a good look at wiring for worn insulation. Lube up the big window gear and the slides and hinge points and anything inside that moves, just don't use sloppy grease or oil near the windows. Check for loose securing hardware. The door handle securing hardware comes loose in time.
Check for rust and clear the drains. Also, be a good time to replace them exterior window scrapers if not already. Water intrusion into the door through old, unsealing window scrpaer, means it can freeze, and the bottom of your door can rust.
Yet you are at 5300 above mean sea level feet in Albuquerque, NM, so rust should not be as problem. Yet corrosion effects all bonded electrician connections in time, like the power and the engine control wire harness.
I'm unsure the type lube you would use. Our Uncle Arty B. would know.
Hope that helps.
Questions.
Abstain from the Eggnog, MacDuffed.
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