Windows will not work unless bypass switch is pressed

[TonyC]

I'll tell you. The reason you don't know about that feature is because you don't have it on your respective cars.

The BYPASS switch is a feature built into the master-lockout toggle; it was first used in the '65 Lincolns and was deleted after the '69 model year (huge mistake, but that's another argument). The lockout still worked like before, snapping into place and cutting off power to all but the master control. Flipping that same toggle in the opposite direction and holding it there (it won't lock in that position) feeds direct battery power to all the windows and switches, even with the key gone. This allows the driver to power up the windows in the event of a failure in the main circuit. Also, the driver can operate the windows without the hassle of getting back into the car, turning the key on, opening or closing windows, turning the key off, and getting back out. It's as much a convenience feature as it is an emergency feature.

General history: Some people back then did not care for the idea of not operating the windows with the car off. Some would even have the main circuit rewired to be hot at all times, increasing the risk of battery drains or even door and dash fires. Cadillac and Lincoln (can't speak for Imperial) came up with the 3-way toggle to provide a safe bypass to the main circuit in the event of failure, which apparently was common enough for them to think of the bypass idea; Cadillac even labeled theirs "EMERG." Caddy did away with it after their '68 models; Lincoln followed suit after '69. Nobody ever brought that feature back. Big mistake, in my opinion.

There are some people who have that feature on their vintage Caddies and Lincolns and aren't even aware of it; at a car show last year, I schooled a '67 Caddy owner to the purpose of that switch (no, he didn't know what it did until I told him).

---Tony

[Lee]

Thank you, Tony. I had no idea. I don't even recall reading about it.

[frasern]

The '67 schematic shows a 14 amp fuse with **, which, in turn, says 14 amp fuse in fuse box, also used for turn signal. The owners manual shows a 15 amp fuse for turn signals, middle of bottom row. I don't know if '66 was the same, as my '66 shop manual has a rear window schematic where the front window schematic should be, but I'm sure that's just MY shop manual, they can't all be like that, right?
If the turn signal is working, that fuse is not at fault, however, I would check the accessory wire clump on the back of the ignition switch for burns or looseness.
As for the radio fuse, has the radio been changed? Cobbled radio wiring plagues older cars!

[TonyC]

You're welcome, Lee. That feature was unjustly underrated to me; I use the bypass more often than the window lock. On the other hand, I don't taxi brats around, so I don't need to use the window lock. I really wish Lincoln dared to keep the bypass feature when Caddy didn't. Plus, just out of curiosity, I'd like to know whether (and if they did, when) Chrysler employed something similar to the Imperial's windows.

I'm sure there were changes to the fusing between '66 and '67. When I last re-read the footnote I made in my '67 manual regarding that fuse tap to the windows, I tried pulling the corresponding fuse in Frankenstein to see if it affected the windows. It didn't. Other things I have noticed: Frankenstein's clock has its own dedicated fuse. My grand's car ('67) did not, the clock being tapped to the fuse for the interior lights. Also, on Frankenstein, the fuses for the cigarette lighters are wired left/right, not front/rear as in my grand's car.

---Tony

[DrDonut]

Thank you all so much for the responses. I will resort to old fashioned wire tracing of the power wire to the source. The wires are original so the color codes are intact. The radio issue should be much easier to fix. I will report back with updates.

On a side note I replaced three power window couplers last week so I am well schooled on motor and regulator removal and replacement. Cleaned and greased all the tracks and windows fly up and down.

Thanks again for all the help.

[TonyC]

Glad to see that! I can actually say the same thing myself. For years I'd had to deal with my driver's window jamming halfway up (no issues with it going down, only up). Every trick I picked up here would offer only marginal relief, if any. Then, after fixing a dislodged door hinge on the right-front door almost two months ago, the window on that door started doing the same thing!

A few days ago I decided to do something about them, starting with the driver's window; made sense as I had to remove the armrest to clean out all the switches, some of which were crackling on their own after a storm that blew over. I fiddled with the alignment of the mechanism, including the triangle frame, and somehow I got that window right into its sweet spot. Now it zooms up almost as fast as it zooms down, with no hint of slugging out midway-up anymore, even with the door closed! With that success I did a similar fiddling to the right-front door with the same results. I still need to do more to that window because I see it too close to the B-pillar; but for right now it's so nice to have smoothly-running windows at last.

---Tony