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

[Paul Weimer <pjweimer@domain.elided>]

Hal,

After getting the motor/gearing mechanism out of the door and onto the
workbench, I removed the motor portion and found it to be assembled as two
end plates and uniquely shaped tube in between.  The end plates were sealed
to each end of the tube, I removed these but using an Exacto knife to cut
through the sealant.  Apart it came!

Reassembly simply consisted of a bead of one of 3M's sealants (sorry, but I
have multiple tubes of this stuff and can't recall which one I picked [may
have been the one for weather sealing]) on each end plate, sticking them on
the tube and everything back as found.

I will be interested to see why this failed as all was cleaned up prior to
reassemble and the car has not been caught in a rain storm since.

Paul

Hal Taylor wrote:

> 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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