November 21, 2011 at 8:32 pm
filed under Car Care, Uncategorized
Tagged body work, brakes, car care, Electrics, filters, gearbox, lubrication, oil, steering
Electrically-operated windows are a refinement that adds an air of opulence to any car but they have other benefits that are often overlooked. They are labour-saving and can play an important safety role. At the touch of a switch it is possible for the driver to open or close both his own window and the front (and, in some applications, each rear) passenger window without moving from his seat and this alleviates any temptation for him to lean across the car when it is in motion in order to wind down the opposite window, an action which could result in loss of car control. Power window kits are now available on the accessory market and can be fitted to a wide range of popular cars.
For a long time, power windows have been a customary feature of expensive cars and luxury limousines and are easily recognizable when in operation by the smooth, gliding action of the glass receding into the body of the door. Operated by the push of a button, power windows were, in the past, only available as standard equipment or as a factory-fitted optional extra which meant that if you could not afford one of the expensive cars to which they were fitted then you had to forego this useful refinement. Now, however, accessory power window kits are available and some can be fitted, without problems, by the conscientious enthusiast. This, the first of a two-part article on fitting power windows, describes the basic equipment, the checks to be made before commencing the fitting procedure and the mounting of the equipment in the door of the car. The second part of the article describes how to fit the wiring harness, make the correct electrical connections and fully test the system.
As electrically-operated windows are a more complex accessory to fit than many others, there are fewer competitors in the market than is normally the case. With the two systems examined here a distinction is drawn, as one kit can be fitted by the DIY enthusiast (and is described in this article) while the other must be fitted only by an officially approved fitting station.
Smiths Industries: Manufacturing the Servoglide system, Smiths market a power window system in the UK through 180 approved fitting stations. For the price of a good stereo radio/cassette player, you can have a system installed in approximately one day after which you will be able to open either or both of the front windows of the car simply by operating a pair of rocker switches on a centre console on the fascia or, alternatively, by individual switches mounted in a suitable position on the doors.
Almost any car fitted with a 12volt electrical system and windows that are in good working order can be converted to use the Servoglide system, with the option of another unit being fitted to the rear of the car to control the rear windows should this be desired. The power windows are controlled by an electric motor mounted in the base of each door. These drive the normal window winding mechanism. Should your car suffer electrical failure, which would render the power windows inoperable, it. Is still possible to open the Servoglide units by removing a small panel in the door and inserting a manual winding handle. Autex International: For those who prefer to fit their own accessories, Autex International market the Normark power window kit. The motors mount inside the doors, behind the door panels, and the conventional window winding mechanism is replaced by the power switching unit. The driver’s switching unit features two controls, one each for the driver and front passenger windows, while the passenger can open his or her own window but not the driver’s. So that the system fits neatly into the interior of any car, the switching units are available in a choice of three styled inserts, wood grain, burled wood grain and brushed aluminium. If these styles do not suit the interior of your car, you can simply install the panel without an insert. To ensure long periods of maintenance-free operation, the motor and drive components are permanently lubricated and, with electrical safety in mind, the unit features a fully-automatic circuit breaker to protect the system from overloads which could burn out the entire wiring system of your car and possibly cause a fire. Should you experience problems with the Normark windows, each kit is covered by a one year limited warranty.
When buying any power window kit, make sure that you clearly state the make, year of manufacture and the model of your car so that you are supplied with the correct kit containing all the appropriate components. Once you have bought your kit, you will be ready to fit it, though you must first carry out a few preliminary checks to ensure that, once installed, the power window system will operate smoothly and with reliability.
For the power windows to operate efficiently, it is essential that the manual window winding system already works correctly without juddering and that the glass has full and free travel. Any faults that exist in the system, once the kit has been installed, will only place strain on the motor and increase its rate of wear. If there is any resistance to winding the windows manually the motor will not be able to sense this and, if it continues to push the window against excessive resistance, the glass may crack or the motor or mechanism malfunction.
Checking the operation of your windows is simply a matter of winding them up and down in order to note any unusual noises or whether any undue force is necessary to operate the winding handle at any time during the procedure. If your windows do not operate smoothly, then you must eradicate the fault before going on to fit the kit.
Servicing the window winding mechanism is more tricky than difficult and requires access to the interior mechanism followed, usually, by a strip down and service of all the components. Should you fail to eradicate the problem by servicing the mechanism it may be that the body of your door is distorted, preventing normal operation of the window. If this is the case, there-is little that you can do apart from obtaining and fitting a new door. If you do not wish to buy a new door, buying from a breakers’ yard can provide you with a suitable alternative though you will probably need to respray the second-hand door to make it match the colour of your car.
With the preliminary checks completed and the front door windows working smoothly, you can begin to commence the fitting procedure for the kit.
The power window kit utilizes most of the standard window-winding components, the only alteration being that the manual winding handle is removed and an electric motor is incorporated into the system to replace it. As the motor and its wiring harness are positioned inside the body of the door, it will first be necessary to gain access to this area on each of the two doors. This is achieved by following the same procedures as that described for servicing the window winding mechanism under Preliminary checks, remembering that as the door panel is basically a piece of decorative trim any retaining screws for it, or for the handles and arm rest, are likely to be concealed.
Look carefully for all these and remove them. Normally, a Phillips screwdriver will be necessary. Some window winding handles are retained by a circlip or a roll pin behind the body of the handle instead of a screw so if you cannot find a screw, look for the circlip and prise it out of position or drift the roll pin out. The door handle itself may also be retained by similar methods so remove it in the same manner. The door panel can then be pulled away from the door but, if it is retained by clips instead of push-fit studs, you will need to disengage these first. The position for the electric motor can now be selected prior to the motor being fitted inside the door.
The amount of space in which you can position the motor can be one of the few restrictions as to whether or not you can fit power windows to your car. If you already have speakers for a stereo radio or cassette unit installed in the door, these may have used up all the available space but, on a few cars, space within the door area is restricted anyway simply by the standard window winding mechanism. For this reason, the positioning of the motor is critical to the operation of the system.
First, determine a good site for the motor in a door and place it temporarily in position. Then, temporarily, replace the window winding handle and turn it through its full range so that the window is wound fully down and up again. As you do this, check to make sure that no part of the window winding mechanism comes into contact with the motor and that once actually secured in position the motor will not be able to vibrate excessively or become dislodged. The motor requires at least four screws to hold it securely and, possibly, the use of a mounting strap in addition to the bracket supplied. The mounting bracket in the Normark kit is sufficiently firm in construction to hold the motor in position but flexible enough to allow you to bend it to shape in order to fit the doors in your car. Also, you can drill more holes if those that are already drilled are not sufficient. This gives you a high degree of flexibility when choosing a site for the unit.
When you have chosen a prospective site for the motor, check that there will be sufficient clearance behind any part of the structure of the door you will be attaching it to for locating the fixing screws and then mark the location of the holes carefully with a scribe. Do not actually drill the holes at this stage, however, in case you have to change the site in order to satisfactorily accommodate the window drive cable in the correct manner.
The next stage is to position the window winder gearbox and then check that once the drive cable is in position its path to the motor is not curved too sharply.
The purpose of the gearbox is to alter the drive from the motor to a suitable speed for operating the windows. The connection from the motor to the gearbox is made using a flexible drive cable. Although flexible, the cable must only be curved gradually otherwise it will not be able to transmit the drive and the windows will not work.
The gearbox as supplied with different model kits is identical but an adaptor is supplied with each unit so that the window winding crank stub does not have to be altered. It is for this reason that it is important to state exactly to which car the unit will be fitted.
Position the gearbox over the window crank stub and estimate the best way of securing the unit in position. Mounting brackets are supplied with each kit and, in common with the motor mounting brackets, they can be bent into shape as required. On some cars it will not be necessary to use the gearbox mounting bracket as the gearbox can be attached directly to the metal panel surrounding the crank stub but this will depend once again on the type of car. One factor which will determine how you mount the gearbox is the fact that it must be aligned carefully in both the vertical and horizontal planes with the crank stub to avoid undue force being exerted on it. If the surrounding panel is not aligned with the stub in this way, you will need to attach the bracket to the panel and then shape it to ensure that the correct alignment is achieved. Whichever method you use, either scribe a position for the gearbox directly on the panel or a position for the bracket on the panel. Do not actually fit the gearbox at this stage, however; simply hold it in position and then locate a path for the drive cable back to the motor. When you have done this, enlist the aid of an assistant to operate the window mechanism manually once more to ensure that no part of it will foul the drive cable. When locating a path for the cable, ensure that it runs behind sufficient bracing bars in the door so that you can secure it at regular intervals using the clips supplied. If necessary, you can route the cable through any panel that would otherwise obstruct a direct path but you will have to estimate the best position for an access hole.
When you have selected a site for the motor and marked the location of the mounting holes you will be ready to drill them. Drilling within the area of the door requires care for two reasons. Firstly, it may be awkward actually to get the drill into a suitable position so there is a chance that the drill may slip and, secondly, if the drill does slip, it could puncture the outer skin of the door which would then require extensive repairs to the door.
To secure the motor, first indent the locations marked for the bracket and then cover the area with masking tape. The motor securing screws supplied are small so there is no need to drill a pilot hole first, especially if you have indented the drilling site correctly. Drill the holes and then secure the bracket in position having ensured that it is the correct shape to accommodate the motor. The motor can then be attached to the bracket in any of the three ways shown in 8. Remember to fit the motor the same way round as it was tested or the route of the drive cable may be adversely affected, and make sure that each of the mounting screws is fully tightened. You can then move on to secure the gearbox.
As mentioned above, the positioning of the gearbox is criti-cal if undue wear is to be avoided. There are several ways of securing the gearbox which will depend on your particular car so choose your method carefully.
The best method of securing the gearbox is to mount it directly to a portion of the door panel that surrounds the window winder crank stub as this eliminates the need to use a mounting bracket. Check, therefore, to see if the panel is aligned correctly with the stub as detailed above and, if it is, indent the hole positions previously marked, using a ccntrepunch. Cover the punch marks with masking tape and then drill the holes using an electric drill and a suitably sharpened bit. Again, there should be 10 need to drill pilot holes first. When you have drilled both holes, secure the gearbox to the door panel carefully with the two screws that are supplied with the kit and, when they are fully tightened, check the alignment once more. If this is incorrect you will have to remove and re-position the gearbox and then start the fitting process again.
If you cannot secure the gearbox directly to the panel and need to use the mounting bracket supplied, shape and cut this as necessary and then attach it to any adjacent part of the door, ensuring that the hole cut in the bracket for the gearbox adaptor to pass through is accurately aligned with the stub. Also ensure that the mounting face of the bracket is flat and that once the gearbox is attached to the bracket it is at the correct distance from the stub to enable the stub/ gearbox adaptor to be engaged properly. This depth can be gauged by fitting the adaptor to the stub and then adjusting the position of the bracket as necessary. Take your time as you carry out this stage of the procedure.
With the gearbox secured in position, run the drive cable along your pre-selected route to the motor and secure it in position. When tightening the cable securing nut do not use excessive force; simply turning the nut several times to ensure that the cable is properly located in the motor will suffice. If it is necessary to pass the cable through any of the bracing bars or panels which form the structure of the door you may have to drill a suitable access hole. To do this mark the position of the access hole and then indent it with a centrepunch. Cover the area with tape, drill a small pilot hole and then enlarge this with a larger bit. When passing the cable through the access hole, use a suitable grommet to ensure that the outer cable cannot chafe. You should now secure the cable along its route wherever possible, using the clips provided. To do this, mark the positions for each clip and then drill a small hole. Wrap the clips around the drive cable and then push-fit them into the holes. Use as many clips as possible along the route of the cable and make a special effort to secure one as close to the gearbox as you can. This will support the cable as it leaves the gearbox and will also prevent it exerting strain on the unit.
At this stage you will have completed the first part of the installation procedure for the power windows. Before pro-ceeding further, check all securing screws to ensure that they are tight and, once again, as a final test, operate the windows manually to ensure that there is no obstruction to their movement. The concluding part of this article moves on to describe the electrical connections that must be made and how to detect and cure any faults within the system, should they occur.
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