Power Window blues

[74RivGS]

On my 74 Riv, the power windows just up and quit working. I removed the window switch, and with a multimeter found out that there is no power to the switch. I confirmed this by running a quickie wire from the fuse block and by touching the terminals on the switch and got the windows to work.

My essential question is, "where does that main power wire go to? and is there a common place where that wire may have broken? and how hard is it to replace?"
Also,she starts with no problem every morning, so I don't suspect the wire is chaffed away and grounding somewhere.

 

[74RivGS]

Well, I tore into the door, found that the wire was not shorting anywhere, so i continued to trace it into the passenger compartment. As soon as it entered the pass comp, it went to a relay. I pulled the plug out of the relay, and put power to the plug from the fusebox. Viola! The windows now worked.
My question is, can I continue to run this direct power wire, or will it be a constant drain on the battery; and if it is a no-no, where can I even start to look for a relay that could replace that?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rcull]

Yours sound like the classic broken wire in the door hinge area. Check out the relay carefully, it may not be the problem.

Often from years of opening and closing the drivers door constantly flexing the wiring harness at the hinge area, one of the wires to the window contol breaks. You can isolate the wire and run a short repair wire from the kick panel into the door.