Power window switch(?) issue.

[MichaelRS]

So, my car is a little older (signature) and I have an issue that does not seem obvious to me;

When I or somebody goes to roll the passenger window down and hits the switch on that side, about 70% of the time it initially will not move.
To get it moving I have to hit the switch on the driver's side, even for a fraction of a second and then the one on the passenger side works just fine.

This usually happens when the window is fully up and hasn't been utilized for some time, say overnight.

So I'm not sure what the deal with as most other times the switch and motor and so forth work per usual.
At this point it's not so troublesome that I want to replace anyting, but I'm curious if anybody has any thoughts as to what the deal might be.

 

[eljefino]

Bad contacts in the driver's switch. They are basically like 3-way switches in that the current has to go through everything. (Barring a modern car that has a computer control things.)

When the switch is in "neutral" it's in "pass-through" mode. A wiring diagram might help.

 

[atikovi]

I assume the switch connects to a module and not to the window motor directly, so if you have an bidirectional scan tool, you could activate the windows from the tool. If the they then work normally, probably the switch is bad.

 

[mk378]

What eljefino said. Also current must flow through the driver's door when the passenger uses their switch, so broken wires between the door and the frame can be a problem. This happens on the driver's door first since it is opened and closed a lot more.