Recommissioning a 480: 5. Windows

From CEM to VEM, from LED to lightbulb and more. If you have an electrical problem, like a broken info-centre, search for answers in this category. This is also the place to be when you expect the problem to be of an electrical nature...

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davekit
Started learning about 480
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 11:16 am
Location: Bradford, West Yorks

Recommissioning a 480: 5. Windows

Post by davekit » Tue May 17, 2022 4:48 pm

Part 1 is under ‘Secret Life’.

The passenger (left hand) electric window was not working. The door trim was not fitted correctly, showing once more that someone had already been in there and failed to fix the fault. The door trim and window regulator were removed, and the problem was obvious. The motor drives a cable which pulls the window in each direction, but one end was broken and the slack cable had tangled in the motor. The broken end was not repairable, and even if it was, it would be difficult to reattach due to the tensioning springs.

A replacement Volvo regulator was not available, and secondhand may be prone to early failure. Checking the driver’s side (RH), I found that had already been replaced with a Valeo regulator of different design, but which worked nicely. A Valeo unit for the passenger side was also unobtainable! I eventually found one made by Elta, which looked identical to a Valeo unit. Fitting was straightforward, once one mounting hole had been elongated.

On both doors, the plastic waterproof membrane had gone brittle and had been mostly removed. This was likely to be contributing to rain getting in the car. The Volvo membrane was one piece, glued in place. As much as possible was removed, and several smaller pieces were cut from a sheet of polythene as replacement. These were fixed in place with a bead of butyl sealer all around each piece. Butyl sealer is like very sticky black plasticene or Blutak, and has loads of uses. Some mainstream car manufacturers use it on their doors. The only source I know is Car Builder Solutions, who sell all sorts of things you never knew you needed, and are much loved by kit-car builders.

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