my door is apart and after the past two hours of bitching and throwing my tools i am now in tears and just cannot get the motor out.. someone out there please help!!!

 

help was found!!!!!! thanks drKane!

 

this is good to know, my passenger window stopped working a day after i bought my used mini, but the dealer fixed it for free... now i know this if it ever happens again...

 

You found a decent dealer, then. The dealer that sold me mine told me to stick some Fix-a-Flat in the tire that went flat overnight. I found a used tire to replace the one problem tire. The remaining 3 tires on the car lasted me from the end of October to the end of January when I had a blowout and replaced them.

My window wouldn't move today. I'm glad I found this thread, as the Fonzie method worked and got it moving again, which will get me through until I can get the door apart and clean the commutator brushes in the motor. I wonder if a squirt of Caig De-Oxit would work as well as the emery, and perhaps even keep them clean longer afterwards due to its coating properties--the stuff works great in vacuum tube sockets for restoring and protecting connections! (I occasionally build guitar amps as a hobby)

C ya,
Dutch

 

I used emery cloth just to sand the corrosion off of the commutator. I used some spray that i had to clean it all up. It has been over a year now and I have nto had another window issue.

 

It is good to see continued interest and value in this thread. I wanted to add some thoughts.

Emery paper certainly will not, at least initially, cause any damage, but long term it may prove conuterproductive. The problem does not seem to be corrosion on the commutator, but in fact a coating of worn materials that act as an insulator. I just used a solvent cleaner and that worked for a year. Emery paper will do the job, but I do not know how many times it will work before you cut through the very thin metal on the comutator. The product that Dutch recommended sounds interesting and less potentially damaging.

Good luck to all trying this fix...and good motoring!

DRKane

 

I have been rebuilding eletric motors for quite a while, started with RC cars about 25 years ago and presently have a strange infatuation with old fans (pre 1940s) I have always used emry cloth on my comutators. you shouldn't be putting enough pressure on it to grand away the copper but just enough to knock the corrosion off. The electric parts cleaner is nice but my window motor had a thick layer of corrosion and the parts cleaner needed help. light grit sand paper will work as well.

 

I have a 2005 Mini Cooper S and I have a problem with ds window not going down every now and then not all the time any suggestions?

 

The "Fonzie" fix has been working for me for now. Whack it good with the side of your fist right above the 5" stereo speaker near the bottom of the door. Another tip is to leave it ever-so-slightly open (even just a sliver will do).

The brushes inside the motor get dirty. The real fix is to take the motor off the window regulator and clean the brushes. There's got to be a set of instructions on here somewhere on how to do it.

HTH!

C ya,
Dutch

 

Remove the motor's armature while the window is in the up position and perform proactive reconditioning. If the window lift mechanism stops working in the down position accessing will be more complicated.

It's the commutator on the armature that becomes dirty; a light rub with 2000 grit sand paper will fix. Instructions at the beginning of this thread are good, except unscrew the armature shaft instead of wiggle to break free. More info on different approaches to the reconditioning process. http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-gen...ing-guide.html

 

Thanks again guys for a quick fix on the MCS! This forum as just about every great ideas related to the window fix. I successfully used the fonzie method for now. I do feel that the motor is slow and needs attention on the tracks and commutator and brushes. Is it possible to completely change the brushes like in an RC car?

Ryan

 

The motor can be disassembled, but I have not seen the brushes offered for sale. I found that by just cleaning all the surfaces I got more life out of the motor.

Good luck and happy motoring.

Damon

 

I just wanted to say a BIG thank you for this. I am a visual learner and this is exactly what I needed. Thanks again!

 

Well this is a huge PITA. It looks like i probably screwed up my brushes. Those things about drove me crazy. I have a new motor coming. My window is stuck in the up position now. What does everyone think about just replacing the piece of the motor I just pulled out? I would rather not have to deal with removing the window and getting it down. GRRRRRR...

 

Got the motor back in and everything worked as far as the motor. To only find out my regulator is bad. it will only stop halfway down now ;(

 

Thanks to Carl and Drkane I have succesfully removed the motor from my window, sanded the armature and replaced it without removing the window. It is very difficult to get at, but with much persistence it can be done. My only addition to directions above, to remove the armature you have to turn it clockwise as if you are tightening it. To replace, do the opposite. All the other info was right on. My window is now working perfectly with no visit to the dealer.

 

Just finished doing this to my 02' MCS. Been putting it off due to the heat here, but finally decided to pull the motor out and clean it up. It was not an easy task as you have to work through a mirror, but with persistence it worked out well.

It would seem if they had designed a small seal on the shaft it would eliminate some of this. But as a friend of mine who owns a BMW 330. " I never put the windows down on my car, your just asking for trouble, it's well know that BMW has always had problems with electric windows!". That says it all.

 

If this thread isn't stickied, it should be. I just did this on my 2004 today and my window is working great.

My notes:

1.) watch out for the brush springs. I lost one, which almost ruined the day, but I cannibalized a crappy 12v impact driver for its springs which work fine.

2.) the worm gear can be very sharp! I cut my index finger with very little pressure. It's fine now, but made the job more painful than it could have been. My fault

3.) A magnetic T-25 bit or screwdriver is helpful during reinstallation of the motor.

Thanks again!

 

Hi all,

thanks for this thread I am 75% there with it but just have a question with regards to the re-instillation. I have removed and cleaned the motor and a quick replug in to the power shows me that the motor is working.

My query is this though. The motor is back together with the metal housing back on and the brushes attached to the housing. I have tacked a bit of glue (from a glue gun) between the housing and the brush holder to keep it together while I reinstall the motor.

I'm not sure what I am doing wrong but I cant for the life of me get the motor to go back into the gear housing, is there a trick here? Please help if possible I am so close on this one.

Cheers

 

The drive gears may not be lined up correctly. Either move the window while putting the motor back on or twist the motor back and forth.

 

This thread has saved me from a visit to the dealer. My passenger side got stuck down and I had to drive home with it down. I made an appt with the dealer and then remembered NAM. Here was the resolution but since I was limited on time I just tried the Fonzi method and it got the window back up. Now when I have some time I'll clean the commutator.

Thanks for the great info.

 

Hey, anyone have any feedback as to how long this repair lasts?

 

I haven't redone mine since the post

 

Sounds effective, thx!

 

Just finished doing the job in my wife's 02 MC drivers door, every other day had to bang the door to make the window work. There was a layer of dark varnish on the armature, sanded it out with fine sandpaper and put it back togheter. The whole job took me like two hours, the window is working fine and I feel that it actually goes up and down faster, probably the residue between the armature and the brushes was robbing power from the motor. Hope the fix lasts long!