I knew my rear electric window was on it's way out a while ago when it started to really struggle to move up or down. As itisn't worth much or going to last the next 3 years I decided just to leave it alone... until I jabbed the wrong button in the dark and dropped the rear window three inches with the last bit of strength the system had. With the window now down, people could hear my groan of anguish for miles around...
So two questions - simple one first, is it's slow death a sign of a dead motor? Secondly, is there anyway I can manually get the window back up? I took off the interior door panel but couldn't find a way of releasing the motors hold on the window. Any advice on what I would need to do just to get it back up? I'll fix it in the summer when windows down is more important than windows up...
Thanks

 

If you can see the end of the motor that turns, just rotate it by hand. The motor turns many times to raise or lower the window a little bit. You will be there awhile raising the window. But that's how you can raise the window if the motor isn't doing the job.

Usually with electric windows the regulator will break. Some piece of plastic or gear that connects the motor to the turning shaftsnaps or strips and you just replace the whole regulator.A window that is slow to raise or lower means there is some kind of binding or rubbing of the regulator or glass.

 

Just wanted to polish off this thread with an explantion for anyone with a similar question in future and a thanks to G3Ds: Your idea got my window up.
So for those who may search the forums for quick fixes to broken electric windows on a '94 model Mazda 626;
One screw in the door handle secures the panel. There are 4 or 5 Pop fasterners around the edge of the interior panel and the whole lot can be pulled out to an angle. Unclip the connector lead for all the electrics which is located near the hinges behind the panel. Pull out the door handle, angle it back in and push through the hole where it resides. Push the panel upwards to unclip it from the windowsill then slide the whole panel toward the front of the car. Door panel off, strip back the water seal - go slowly and you can save the tar to reseal the whole thing again. Don't cut it off. Locate the motor - it has three nut and bolts holding it in. The motor and mechanism is all one peice and it drives the window by cable - the whole thing is a sealed unit and it is tough to manuover in a way to access the motor itself. The motor is held in a steal cylinder which whose edges have been bent around the edges of the mechanism to hold it in place, prise back the metal with a screwdriver and carefully pull back the casing. The connector leads for the motor end in two metal cubes that slot into the motor, slide them out gently (they aren't fixed in place) and the casing will come free. Use needle pliers to pull out the rubber o-ring, freeing the motor locator, freeing the motor-coils from it's casing. The magnet stays inside the casing. The spindle ends in a box spanner fashion. Locate this back onto the hex inside the mechanism and use the coil block to handturn the window back up. Rebuild the door until you have the time to find the actual problem! Keep back the motor and try testing it (12 volt I think) to see if that is the cause.
This should hopefully save you $70+ on getting a mechanic to just close the window if say, it's the middle of winter, it's freezing cold and snowing...
Thanks G3D