Re: '89 Spider Power windows in alfa-digest V7 #1146

[Hal Taylor <taylor@domain.elided>]

Paul:

AHA!  I have seen EXACTLY this behavior in my '86.  My passenger side
window died one day.  Pounding on the door panel would make it work, for
a while.  Eventually, I pulled the motor and shot some penetrating oil
into it, and viola!  Problem solved.  For about three weeks.  Then it
died again.  I wanted to make sure that it was indeed the motor and not
a problem with the regulator assembly, so I swapped motors with the
(working) one from the driver's side.  This motor worked on the
passenger's side as well.  What's REALLY interesting, however, is that
the passenger's side (bad) motor WORKED on the diver's side!!!  It seems
that it was happy if it was flipped "rightside up", as the driver's side
mechanism holds it, but not "upside down", as required for passenger
side installation.

So, swapping the motors resulted in both sides working (for the time
being, at least).  I'm wondering if it has to do with how the bearing
surface wears.  How did you get the motor apart?  I got the little
circlip off the end, but couldn't get inside far enough to do any
serious cleaning/lubrication...

Hal Taylor
'86 spider veloce "Strega"


Paul Weimer wrote ( here, paraphrased):

I am also challenged by the power windows in my '88 Spider.  The
driver's side just flat quit...  Nothing.  Nothing, that is, until I
rapped the body of the motor rather sharply.

Up started the window!  ...Now I suspected the motor itself...Once I got
the mechanism out, I pulled the motor off the rest of mechanicals and
opened it up. And therein was the problem!  Rust, corrosion and
generally in a very nasty state.  Cleaned it all up, touched up the
armature, checked the brushes, sealed it all back up and installed all
back from whence I found it... went for the window switch.  The window
jumped to life, not with the speed that I had hoped (figured I may need
to adjust the tracks; binding up, I thought), but it traveled up and
back down rather smoothly.

...My wife drove the car the following Saturday morning.  When she
returned the window was down and has once again refused to come up.
It's still in the garage, with the window down.

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