Moved to Hudson Forum

Jim-

I am still in the learning phase with Hudson Hydraulics, myself as I recently finished plumbing my convertible and am working out the bugs.

If your window goes down, when you push the button up, you either have a leak in the system (look under car for puddles) or, the system is low on fluid. The way this system works is the fluid pressure makes the window go up, as window cylinders are 1-way operating units. i.e., windows go up when the cylinder is filled with fluid. They go DOWN when the cylinder is emptied of fluid and the spring that resides next to the cylinder pulls the window down. That is why when you lose fluid, say on the ground, the windows will start going down on their own.

How old is the fluid in the car? It should be changed either every year or every other year at the least. Fresh fluid in these systems make them last considerably longer and operate better.

A few more scenarios to add:

The top seals of these cylinders go bad over time and leak. You see bubbling or fluid sitting on top of the cylinder.

Switches can get corroded inside. Basically all three wires must make contact when the switch is push up for the window to roll up. If the "motor" wire of the switch is not making good contact. it goes down because the "cylinder" and "BAT" wires always make contact if the switch is push up or down. And when you push the switch down the "bat" and "cylinder" are only making contact so the window will go down. So the switch is acting the same way whether it is going up or down if the "motor" part of the switch doesn't make contact.
Copper filaments get corroded and must be cleaned with sandpaper

Motor gets weak. The windows take more pressure about 260 psi to function correctly, top need around 250 PSI. So if the hydroelectric motor is going out, it would explain slow speeds

Long ago, I had a friend who had a 1946-7-8 (one of those) Ford Sportsman convertible. It had power windows with a backup winder to raise and lower the driver's window if needed, which it was. Needed, that is. Ford power windows were hydraulic, just as described above.
The poor guy spent much of fall and winter getting his windows up, and much of spring and summer getting them down. They didn't work too well. I have read at least one horror story about spurting hydraulic leaks when the car had a new broadcloth trim job. What a mess.
I wish Jim and Russ no experiences like those my friend had so long ago, and no horror stories.

Back in the day, brake fluid was the fluid used. Now we use ATM fluid. The stuff is not as corrosive to the paint etc. It does cause slow "down" mode due to the added viscosity. Wish I could fix that.

Found the leak and now looking to replace a hose, Thanks

[quote="Russ & Lisa Maas" post=11803]A few more scenarios to add:

The top seals of these cylinders go bad over time and leak. You see bubbling or fluid sitting on top of the cylinder.

Switches can get corroded inside. Basically all three wires must make contact when the switch is push up for the window to roll up. If the "motor" wire of the switch is not making good contact. it goes down because the "cylinder" and "BAT" wires always make contact if the switch is push up or down. And when you push the switch down the "bat" and "cylinder" are only making contact so the window will go down. So the switch is acting the same way whether it is going up or down if the "motor" part of the switch doesn't make contact.
Copper filaments get corroded and must be cleaned with sandpaper

Something to add to Russ' reply. When you push the button down, it opens the valve at the bottom of the window cylinder. This is why the pump does not run when you are doing this, only opens the solenoid valve to allow fluid to return. The springs pull down the cylinder/window, and the fluid flows back to the reservoir. Also, make sure that you DO NOT over fill the reservoir. Fill only to the fill line inside the reservoir/cup . If you run the top up and down a few times, then check the fluid. Run all the windows up and down, then leaving them all down, check the fluid. Most all of these procedures are in the '48-'54 body manual.
Changing over to ATF. This is highly recommended, but it is NOT recommended to mix the two. It will only cause more trouble. If you could successfully flush the system of all the old brake fluid, this would not be a problem, but the likeliness of being able to accomplish this is slim. You should consider removing all the panels and pieces and closely inspect all the components.

* A side note, make sure that the battery is fully charged,as well as the electrical system functioning properly.