Recalibrating the Door Window Glass Auto Drop Positioning on an Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, How To

Aston Martin DB9 Door GlassYour DB9 has a cool feature that when you open either door the window glass lowers slightly (drops) to allow it to clear the opening.  When you close the door the opposite happens and the window rises the final amount to seal up tight.  If the windows loose power the calibration to know where top and bottom are forgotten, and this feature stops working until you reset them.  Fortunately the procedure is simple and takes just a minute.

Symptoms

This happened to me recently after a Dealer Service where my battery had been disconnected.  Symptoms of a window that has lost its calibration are:

  • The door is very difficult to pull open – you may not realize it the first time or two as you have to tug the glass out of the window seal and frame opening.
  • When you close the door, the glass ‘bangs’ against the chrome trim frame of the door opening, and may even settle on the outside of the frame rather than the rubber door seal.
  • You hear a lot of wind noise and have to lower the glass some then raise it all the way using the power window adjustment to get the window to seal properly each time you get in and out of the car.
  • Once you start to suspect this is the issue, you’ll easily see that when you open or close the door the auto drop feature isn’t working.

Details about what causes the issue

Anytime your DB9 looses power to the windows this issue will occur.  The DB9 has several control modules that loose their settings whenever power is lost even momentarily, namely the Window Glass Auto Drop, the Seat Position and potentially even the Engine Misfire Calibration.   Aston Martin released Service Bulletin SB153 “Re-programming Modules after Battery Disconnect” in December 2004 as the issues are so common.

Check out my other post and video on Seat Module Calibration if you are having that problem too.

For this feature to work, the door control module needs to know the precise position of the windows in its up/down travel path.   If it isn’t sure that the window is in the all the way up position, it won’t do the window drop.  End of the HallUsing the same anaology from the Seat Module Calibration, the window motors are kind of dumb (just move one way or the other) and it’s the modules job to keep track of the position using a position encoder.  Think of it as “Once I know I am at one end of the hall, I know it takes 27 steps to get to the other end”.  And in this case, the window drop feature only works if it knows it is at the end of the hall, and then it takes one step back as the door opens.

The problem is that they can loose their memory of where “the end of the hall” is.   ANY interruption in electricity to the door module will cause it to forget.  Unlike the memory storage in your cell phone, tablet or PC – if the memory in the door module loses power it’s instantly blank again.   Even a dip in the voltage (low battery) might cause it to forget.  Stupid design that would be rectified in later model years.

Aston Martin DB9 Battery Disconnect Switch and LocationYour window might lose power for several reason:

  • You disconnect the battery during a service
  • You accidentally drain the battery (dead battery) by leaving the lights on, etc.
  • Weak/old battery that needs replaced
  • You press the Battery Disconnect Switch (BDS) in the trunk (boot) – this cuts off the power to many of the cars systems including the seat modules.
  • You disconnect the electronics within a door as part of some service.

Early DB9’s may have experienced this issue simply because of cold weather.  Aston Martin released Service Bulletin SB209 in August 2006 acknowledging the issue and they released a firmware update for the door control modules to resolve it (that can only be installed by your Dealer). You can read SB209 here.

Tools Required

Just your finger!

Procedure

Aston Martin D9 Owners Manual Door Windows Reset Procedure
Owners Manual Door Window Reset Procedure

This is one of the easiest procedures to carry out on your own.   The issue is very common and they even include a section in your Offical glovebox Owners Manual on how to do this (click here to see it).   I also checked the Official Aston Martin Workshop Manual, and the procedure is exactly the same (click here to see it).

 

  • Sit in the drivers seat with both doors closed and both windows fully closed.
  • Turn the key to the On position so the power windows operate.
  • Press and hold the Window Down button until the window reaches the bottom, and then continue to hold the button for five (5) more seconds.  A few seconds in you should hear a faint click.
  • Press and hold the Window Up button until the window reaches the top, and then continue to hold the button for five (5) more seconds.  A few seconds in you should hear a faint click.
  • Open the door and check if the drop feature now works.
  • Perform the same procedure on the other window as needed.

Check out this short video on the process.

Tip

Four SeasonsI have found with my car that as the seasons change (and the average daily temperatures increase or decrease), I occasionally get some slight wind noise from the windows not sealing tight at the top of travel.   My theory is that the rubber seal that the window glass seats against is softer or firmer as the temperatures shift notably.   When I notice the noise, I do a quick Window calibration (forcing the window to smash into the rubber seal to the best of its abilities in this season’s temperature) and it tends to eliminate the wind noise.  I guess it learns it can go just a wee bit further up improving the seal.

 

38 thoughts on “Recalibrating the Door Window Glass Auto Drop Positioning on an Aston Martin DB9”

  1. Pingback: Reconnecting the Battery in an Aston Martin DB9 – Aston 1936

  3. April Coley

    I found your vídeo to be helpful, but my situation is a little different. I can’t even close my door to follow your vídeo. How do I recalibtate the windows with the door open?

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  4. Chris Piazza

    My driver’s side window dropdown just stopped working the other day. The first place I went to was this website and was thrilled to see you had a procedure for recallibrating the system. I tried it and it worked perfectly the first time! As always this site continues to be a wealth of information. Thanks again for all your posts!

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  5. Alex Rogers

    I’ve had my 2005 db9 All of a week…….and I’m loving it……your site and videos have been excellent…….and today’s little window fix has helped immensely!!!
    So thank you very much!!!

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  6. Paul Michael

    Hi Steve, great YouTube channel for my recent purchase DB9. Do you have an avenue for us to ask for advice about stuff please. I’ve already used your videos to do a full service on the car but there’s a few issues I’ve cone across that aren’t explain too well in the manual or anywhere else that I’d like a little heads up on please if you’ve a moment to help.

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      1. Paul

        Thanks for the reply Steve. Problem is that when I press park I’m getting an intermittent success rate of it actually going into park and when it doesn’t go in I get a gearbox fault park lock fail message. Now from reading forums I see this is either a switch problem or the cable/wire routing problem to the gearbox being too tight and out of sync. So my question are please have you heard of similar? And have you ever seen where this park lock cable is as I can’t find it under the car? The problem screams to me it’s electrical and I’m about to change the battery anyway as I can see from service docs it’s 7 years old and we’re heading into winter here in the uk (although the DB is merely a luxury for me and lives in a big garage under a nice cover when not being used) anyway let me know if you’ve any ideas. Hope the track day was fun, keep up the good work.
        Paul

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      2. Hi Paul. I haven’t had the problem myself. I think I read about there being a wiring ground issue with the button switches in the ski slope dash that could be the culprit. I’d change the battery if you plan to do that, and then if it persists I think I’d get at the switches (taking off the ski slope) and check those electrical connections (clean, tighten, etc.) Sorry this isn’t much help.

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      3. Paul

        Thanks Steve, that was my thought process too and the direction I was going down as the car didn’t do it when I got it and I’ve been doing work on the car which sometimes meant doors open etc and battery run down. So I doubt it’s mechanical. The joys of Aston ownership eh, my last one was a DB7 20 years ago and that was no bother but DB9’s seem to have their problems and too many seem to source back to electrics. It’s number 99 and I’ve every bill ever spent on the car so it has been well looked after him it’s only 60k miles but I guess she’s getting old…aren’t we all. Whilst doing the filters I noticed a cracked coil spring so that’s another weekend job for me. Thankfully, like you, I can do these jobs myself.
        Thanks, I’ll let you know when I resolve in case anyone ever asks you similar in future.
        Regards
        Paul

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    1. Hi Alan. Sorry, no advice to offer on the process other than suggesting you get yourself a copy of the official Aston Martin Workshop manual by downloading it from AstonMartinTechnicalInfo.com. Check out my article on accessing their site.

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  8. Hi Steve was wondering if you have come across this issue. replacing my brake pads and front coil springs after replacing cleaning and servicing both air filters as needed to remove both headlight units to fix the terrible washer mountings on the headlights. Basically battery was low and resulted in not starting and driver mirror motor running constantly. Have since disconnected battery and now charging it, but wondering how to reset the mirror module. Think will need to do door and electric windows. Thanks any help most appreciated

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    1. Hi Jonathan. The mirror module flips out when the voltage is low in the battery. Disconnecting batt was the correct fist step. Once battery is back to full charge, reinstall and the mirror will go back to normal. This has happened to me twice, both times low battery issue. A fully charged battery should be near 14Volts, 13.6V or something close to that.

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      1. Jonathan Cook

        Hi Steve thanks so much for the update. These cars are so temperamental. I managed to sort all the issues. I usually keep it connected to a CTS charger, but as I had reversed the car into my garage which is not as big as USA ones could not access the boot… Just replaced brake pads and now replacing both front and rear coil springs as front right had crack at bottom only Aston Martin picked up. Also had to remove and repair both headlight units as washer assembly mounts broke- terrible design and the hen had headache to adjust them to fit properly in the wings -but getting there. Thanks for doing such an amazing job in sharing your experiences and knowledge 🙏 truly amazing the detail and knowledge. I follow your guidance and did the diff oil change amongst many other services. My DB9 is a 2005 with 32000 miles on her now. Must meet up when I visit my sister in law in Sunnyvale near San Jose

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      3. Jonathan Cook

        Hi Steve just read your blog on miss fire correction process. So I need to do 5 uninterrupted runsi one go without touching the brakes and in normal mode without a/c on to be safe. Intend to keep the Aston though never used a OBD reader is it easy to use and worth the expense for the actual amount of use it will get ? On vacation at moment in Crete but intend replacing coil springs and pollen filter on my return. Chilling sadly reading your blogs and videos 😂

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      4. Wow, I am vacation beach reading! Nice.

        The OBDII tool is easy enough to use, and I think and essential element. Get the Foxwell NT520 off Amazon and activate it with Aston Martin codes.

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  9. Edmund Arthur Dickenson

    Hi Steve, good to know someone is available for help. I just moved on from Jaguar and the V12 XJS models…. they also have a super man there, Kirby Palm…. he has an online book compiled from enthusiast’s all over the world, it is called Experience in a book….Best Wishes… Edmund A Dickenson… BC Canada.

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      1. Edmund

        Hi Steve, are you coming through the mainland , or taking a ferry from the US… I am about 45 mins from Vancouver….on the East Side… about 20 mins from the Can/ US border…

                         Regards, Art..

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  12. mike2209

    Hi Steve,
    Strangely I also had a drivers door electrics failure about 3 months ago. Nothing on the door worked, mirror, electric windows, up/down on opening/closing the door and the window would not go up and down on the buttons.
    The passenger door (LH in UK) was still operating perfectly so my first port of call was the fuse box in the cabin where fuses 82 and 83 provide the power to the left hand door and right hand door respectively. I pulled fuse 83 expecting that the fuse had blown but it looked OK, I checked it and sure enough it was OK.
    At this point the battery was still connected and as I put the fuse back in all sorts of noises came from the drivers door. After about 5 seconds all the noises stopped and I was able to go through the reset routine for the window and readjust the door mirror position.

    What was wrong? ….. no idea it was a bit of an enigma ! I guess it was a “Ctrl/Alt/Delete” moment i.e. if all else fails switch it off and start again!
    The interesting thing was because I hadn’t disconnected the battery all other “battery off” set-up actions (including the radio and clock) were still there.

    I can’t really recommend pulling fuses with the power still on but it certainly worked and saved me all the other resetting.

    A tip when working with the cabin fuse box is to run a black marker over the row of fuse numbers as whilst the numbers are raised they are the same colour as the box itself so it is difficult to read them particularly when leaning into the foot-well.

    Mike (Aston 2209)

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  13. Lamar Heyward

    So, I got at an ’05 DB9 a couple of years ago and have been PLAGUED with this window drop issue. I’m pretty sure I searched your site to find a solution when it first happened years ago so I must not have been using the right search terms. That said, my battery died (left the keys in the ignition!!) but I found some good resources so I’ll try a jump start in the morning. The irony is that it was me reading your post about fixing my BATTERY and that’s where I saw you mention a window drop feature and I was like…👀 could it be…and YES!!! YES YES YES!!! So happy that, after I have power in my AM again, I will no longer be plagued with this window drop issue!! It has been the one problem with my otherwise wonderful car. I would never be able to resolve it. It seemed like it would just randomly start working again whenever it felt like it.

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  15. JAMES FARMER

    OK, I have a problem. 2009 DB9 the passenger side (UK) window does not drop when the door is openned. Tried reset to no avail. I then disconnected the battery and after reconnection the window dropped as it should when opening the door. This worked only once, now I am back to same problem as before. As is stands everytime I open the passenger I need to disconnect the battery and reconnect to reset the window, which is obviously no solution.

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  16. Mark

    Hi Steve,
    My 08 DB9 volante rear quarter windows are giving me problems at the moment. The near side window won’t go up or down when lowering the roof, the off side window lowers fully with the roof bur only comes halfway back up. I have just had it serviced and then this happened when I tried to lower the roof.
    Any ideas would be appreciated,
    Thanks Mark

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  17. Peter Sanders

    I recently gave myself a big challenge by buying a bit of a neglected DB9 2004. It had a decent dealership history until 2019 and was then stored for 3 years. Since i’m a mechanic myself I wanted to take up this challenge. Of coarse it had a flat battery and a lot of things where not working anymore (radio, electric boot, fuel cap etc) thanks to this site and I gathered a lot of info and bought all the maintenance items diff, trans, engine etc but now I’m looking at the windows.

    My windows had 2 issues to start with. When opening the drivers door, the window went all the way down and when closing the door the window goes all the way up.
    The drivers site did nothing. After a reset described here the drivers site worked perfectly but the passenger site did nothing. Then I pulled the fuses 82 and 83.
    After a few minutes I placed them back and relearned the up and down like described.

    Now I have 2 issues:
    1. the driver site goes down a few mm when pulling the handle (like it should) but it does not go up when closing the door. When opening again it does not go down anymore like the function is broken. After doing a recallebration it again goes down once but not up. Same thing for the passenger site.
    2. second issue: The passenger site goes down only a few inches at a time, I have to release the button and press it again it goes a few inches again, I need to repeat this until it is down, and the same thing when going up.

    Do you have any clue what I can do to fix this?

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    1. Peter Sanders

      I actually fixed it and i would like to mention the solution.
      Both door had the same rootcause but different symptoms. In both doors the electronicts inside the window motor was oxidized. The passenger window was so bad that i ordered a second hand motor and swapped the print. The driver side I fixed by bringing the print to a local electronics repair shop who fixed it for 10 euro. Both windows work perfectly again.

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  18. mark klarzynski

    Hi Steve,

    Thank you for this video, as with all your videos it is extremely useful, although in my case i would like to ask a related question.

    On my 07 DB9 (UK), I have an issue on the driver side window, it does not drop when opening the door. This has been intermittent in the past couple of years and I have had previous success with pulling the fuse / resetting etc. but recently none of these help and after a couple of months i feel i need to resolve this before my luck runs out and i break a window.

    After googling, info seems to suggest that ‘some’ models have a micro switch somewhere on the handle to detect when the handle has initially been pushed, and others suggest that early models detect movement from the strike plate.

    however, on the passenger side, i can hold / push the door to not allow movement and i can see that the window drops the moment i push the handle without the door moving whatsoever (just slight press of the handle with no friction). Suggesting to me that it must be detecting the handle has been pushed (i cannot think how else this would work, but could be wrong).

    however, i cannot find anything online or in the workshop manual that shows the actual switch / sensor that picks this up.

    Before i stripe the panels, i just thought i would reach out to you given your experience and amazing support you offer the db9 community.

    If i know there is a switch, then i can hopefully test this easy enough

    Once again, i appreciate any advice

    Mark

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