Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (2013) 179–188

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Engineering Failure Analysis

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/engfailanal

Automotive power window mechanism failure initiated

by overload
Y. Prawoto ⇑, M.A. Yusof
Dept. of Applied Mechanics and Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Due to its nature of usage, typically automotive power window mechanisms fail due to fati-
Received 14 February 2011 gue. However, many of them could have been prevented because its initial crack is caused
Accepted 20 January 2013 by overload. This paper outlines simplified manufacturing process and common failures of
Available online 9 February 2013
the mechanism. It also discusses about representative after market failures. Of the hun-
dreds of after market returned products, representative ones were selected for metallurgi-
Keywords: cal evaluation. Combined with comparison with newly manufactured product, a case study
Automotive
was performed. It was concluded that the failure was due to overload although the crack
Power window
Microhardness
propagation was through fatigue loading as the mechanism was installed and used.
Overload Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Power windows or electric windows are automobile windows that can be raised and lowered by depressing a button or
switch, as opposed to using a hand turned crank handle. It is a standard feature on most automobiles and is controlled from
an array of switches located on a console either on the driver side door or a console between the front driver and passenger
seat. In a typical installation, there is an individual switch at each window and a set of switches in the driver’s door or a
frame pillar, so the driver can operate all the windows. These switches took on many different appearances, from heavy
chrome plate to inexpensive plastic [1]. Power windows for automotive vehicles are a popular option on a large number
of vehicle models and are standard equipment on the higher or luxury models. The drive systems for these power windows
is usually contained in each door assembly and includes a drive motor, a complex mechanism for converting the rotational
movement of the drive motor into longitudinal movement of the window and a window assembly including a sheet of glass.
In addition, power cables leading to the drive motor must be routed through the body of the vehicle and into the door assem-
bly to provide power for the motor. The routing of these cables must allow for the opening and closing of the door adding
more to the cost and complexity of the system.
As vehicles become smaller and stylish, the space available for housing these drive systems continues to decrease. In addi-
tion to size and styling concerns, the automotive industry is already moving towards side impact standards (in many wes-
tern countries already a norm), which require the vehicle structure to withstand a specific amount of side impact in order to
protect the vehicle occupants. In order to meet these side impact standards, additional structure is being added to the door
assemblies. The additional of this additional structure further limits and further complicates the incorporation of power win-
dow drive systems into vehicle door assemblies. These space-limiting considerations are leading to smaller and more com-
plex drive assemblies, which increase the costs to the manufacturer, which are then passed onto the customer. In addition,

⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 167 279048; fax: +60 755 66159.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Prawoto).

1350-6307/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2013.01.035
180 Y. Prawoto, M.A. Yusof / Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (2013) 179–188

Fig. 1. Simplified process of manufacturing. Also shows main child parts.

Fig. 2. Power window mechanism after being assembled and ready to be mounted to the car. It shows LH and RH sides.

the complexity of the mechanism of power window would then leads to malfunction of this device caused by the failure of
the parts [2].

2. Problems in power window mechanism

More car manufacturers tend to produce cars with interesting and creative design. First impression of the customers is
one of the important elements in car sales. Dimensions and design of the regulator would affect the performance of this com-
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Fig. 3. First type of failed parts.

ponent and in order to support the design and enhance the effectiveness of power window, the best and suitable material is
needed. All these issues would cause the manufacturing of power window becomes more complicated and require high
skilled workers and engineers to develop the component. As a result, certain power window failed to operate well and a
lot of cases involving different types of failure of this component had occurred. Hence, complexity of the design is a very
good element to be considered, as it is the main factor that would attract the customers. Unfortunately, the design itself
could ‘kill’ the performance of the car because a lot of parts and components need to be designed according to the space pro-
vided for housing the components or parts such as window regulator [1]. Typical power window is scissor-type power win-
dow that consists about more than 80% steel material. The heart of power window mechanism is the gear and pinion
installed in the motor, which attach to the window regulator. The gear is attached to the linkage, which acts as the lifting
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Fig. 4. Second type of failed parts.

mechanism of this device. Typically, the operations of pinion and gear always become the origin of power window failure
because the gear cannot sustain the force exerted by the pinion. Similar results also reported by other researchers [e.g.,
2,3]. As the gear is attached to the linkage, this would then affect the lifting mechanism of power window due to formation
of cracks on the linkage, which then leads to fracture.
This study revealed the origins of the failure of power window. Basically, this is an analysis of failure and the purpose is to
investigate the failure of power window and try to come out with suitable solution to this problem. The objects of the inves-
tigation were chosen randomly from lots of market failure. The result of this study shows the behavior of the failure, how the
failure started, where the origin of the failure such as crack and fracture are, what the causes of this failure are, and what kind
of solution should be taken in order to avoid this problem.
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Fig. 5. Flow chart of the metallurgical root cause analysis.

3. Brief about the manufacturing process

While the manufacturer of these particular parts remain confidential, it commenced operations in the early 1980s, and is
listed on the Second Board of Malaysian Stock Exchange. It was spurred by the national aspiration to accelerate development
of Malaysia’s automotive components manufacturing sector. Through strategic investment and collaborations, the company
has the vision to transform from a homegrown automotive parts company into an international OEM supplier. Over the
years, the company has cultivated and established strong and supportive working relationship with wide network of local
and overseas contacts. It includes technological, engineering design, research and development resources, market intelli-
gence resources, corporate and private investors, and financial institutions.
The mechanism for the automotive power windows are as follows:

A. Rod-linkage regulator mechanism: The drive motor pinion engages with a quadrant gear, which is connected to a rod
linkage. The use of this type of window regulator mechanism is decreasing due to failure caused by the rod linkage
such as bending and cracks.
B. Flexible cable mechanism: The drive motor turns a cable reel which operates a flexible cable mechanism. The use of this
type of mechanism is increasing as it requires less number of metal components.
C. Stiff operating cable: A gear-driven, torsion and pressure-resistant stiff operating cable provides the connection
between the motor and the window.

While the detailed manufacturing is also confidential, typical process is shown in Fig. 1. It mainly assembling several child
parts namely: Shaft, Gear, Plate Body, Channel Guide, Motor, Main Arm, and Gear. The assembled parts that are ready to be
mounted on a car are shown in Fig. 2. The figure shows a pair of the units used each on the LH side and RH side.
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Fig. 6. Macro fractographs of both samples. LH is the first type and RH is the second type.

4. Common failure modes

Just like other components, in the power windows mechanism, the selection of material is always the most critical part in
product manufacturing as well as the design itself. Wrong material selection and imperfection in design could lead to failure
either during the manufacturing or operation. This analysis focuses on the scissor type window regulator. It consists of a pin-
ion mounted on the motor, which is in mesh with a sector gear in the window regulator to provide movement of the glass on
window. Generally, the failure modes are of different types from noise to not operating. As the gear and pinion are the hearts
of the window regulator mechanism, most of the failures of window regulator are due to the malfunction of gear and pinion.
This will then leads to the failure of road linkage such as bending and cracks. Typically, there are several problems encoun-
tered in this type of gear. Typical problems encountered in spurs gears are shown below and majority of the problems seen in
spur gears are classified as follows:

A. High backlash: (Radial clearance between mating gears) at prescribed center distance leading to noise, vibration and
impact loads on the system.
B. Center distance mismatch: Can result in high tip load on the gear tooth and promote wear.
C. Poor contact ratio: (Area of contact of mating gears in space at any given time) resulting in noise.
D. Inadequate root clearance: Between root diameter and crown diameter of pinion and gear again resulting in abnormal
noise.

5. Failure description of after market failure

The after market breakage chosen to be the object of this analysis of failure is scissor type window regulator for certain
car model. Most of the failures were the crack on the guide rail and deformation of gear attached to the guide rail including
 Y. Prawoto, M.A. Yusof / Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (2013) 179–188 185

Fig. 7. Fractograph of the broken samples viewed with SEM. The upper picture is sample 1 and lower is sample 2.

bending and gear tooth deformation. This type of power window consists of a pinion mounted on the motor, which is in
mesh with a sector gear in the window regulator to provide movement of the glass on window. A motor with pinion operates
this window regulator. The pinion is manufactured by cold forging, while the gear is by stamping processes. Figs. 3 and 4
show the representative failed samples; respectively, first type and second type. For first type of sample, there are several
failures shown. Circles with magnified photos indicate them. The main failures are gear tooth deformation, bending on gear
and the major failure, which is fracture. On the second type of sample similar failure failures are visible with different degree
of failure. Further analysis determined that they both are caused by the same reasons.

6. Metallurgical analysis

The flow chart of the analysis is shown in Fig. 5. It starts with manufacturing process evaluation as well as other data
collection, such as customer usage. It is followed by visual evaluation and other standard metallurgical evaluations.

6.1. Macroscopic examination

Both samples were cut near the region of fracture in order to ease the analysis on the fracture surface. Subsequently light
fractography was performed. Fig. 6 shows the fracture surfaces. For both types of samples, although the outside appearance
looks different, they share similar fracture surface and even fracture origins. The fracture origin was known not from the
edge but about the center and emanates to the left and to the right (or, to the upper and lower sides in the figure).

6.2. Microscopic examination

Both samples were sectioned and put under the scanning electron microscope. Fig. 7 shows the fractographs taken with
SEM. The figure shows the initial points. Fig. 8 shows the higher magnification of the fatigue area. Both surfaces share similar
fatigue surfaces with the striations being not so distinct.
At the initial breakage point, the samples were than sectioned for metallography. The metallographic analysis revealed
that significant plastic deformation accompanies the initial breakage. Fig. 9 shows the metallographic results. In addition
to the main crack, there were also secondary cracks. To evaluate if there is any foreign substance that may have contributed
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Fig. 8. Higher magnification of fatigue fracture surface. The striation was not so distinctively shown for both sample 1 (upper) and sample 2 (lower). The
arrows show the fatigue crack propagation direction.

Fig. 9. Metallograph of the samples showing grain distorsion as a result of plastic deformation at the initial points (upper sample 1 and lower sample 2).
 Y. Prawoto, M.A. Yusof / Engineering Failure Analysis 31 (2013) 179–188 187

Fig. 10. Chemical composition analysis at the secondary cracks. It shows no foreign material contributed to the initial cracking.

Table 1
Result of GDS compared with standard mill sheet provided by steel supplier.

Element Specification (wt.%) Sample 1 (wt.%) Sample 2 (wt.%)

C 0.22 0.212 0.208
Mn 0.44 0.453 0.459
P 0.04 max 0.021 0.018
S 0.05 max 0.0366 0.0291
Fe Balance Balance Balance

to the fracture, the EDS analysis was performed. Fig. 10 shows the EDS analysis results. It was concluded that no foreign ele-
ment was found.

6.3. Chemical examination

Chemical composition analysis were done both at the base material using GDS (glow discharge spectroscopy) and using
EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) at the initial points and secondary cracks. It was concluded that chemical composition
for base material for both samples were normal (Table 1). Furthermore, the secondary crack was also proven to be not con-
taining any foreign material. There were some foreign element that was the result of mounting and polishing, which can be
excluded from the analysis.

6.4. Microhardness evaluation

Table 2 shows the measurement result of the microhardness near the initial crack point. It was obvious that near the ini-
tial point, the microhardness was higher. This was another proof that indeed the initial point underwent plastic deformation.
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Table 2
Result of microhardness evaluation.

Point Microhardness
Sample 1 Sample 2 New sample
1 212 231 169
2 198 189 182
3 177 167 166
4 166 169 175
5 163 171 172
Note: arrow is initial point

4 5
X X

1 2 3
X X X

Strain hardening was suspected to make this hardness increment. This was also found by many other researchers too [e.g.,
4,5].

7. Conclusions

Simple yet careful metallurgical analysis here was able to narrow down the problem. Bulk chemical composition analysis
using GDS revealed that material was normal. Similarly, local composition analysis using EDS also revealed that no foreign
material such as inclusion present near there. Evaluation of the manufacturing and packaging was the main key here. As it
was found that there was one point where stacking and manual packaging could potentially introduce crack right at the sus-
pected location. Along with metallography, microhardness was able to assure that the initial point was caused by over load-
ing. The grain elongation at the initial point was completely different with the rest of the area where almost all were equifax.
Microhardness was capable also to pinpoint to the same thing with the strain hardening effect. The analysis was able to sug-
gest some change in standard procedure for stacking and packaging, which no failure was reported since then. In the two
representative samples evaluated, after the parts being installed and used, extensive use of power window could trigger
some fatigue loading capable to emanate crack initiated previously.

References

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[3] Meissner E, Richter G. Vehicle electric power systems are under change. J Power Sources 2001;95(1–2):13–23. 15.
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2008;56(17):4771–9.
[5] Shinohara K et al. Universal method for evaluating work-hardening exponent of metals using ultra-microhardness tests. Acta Metall Mater
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