Chimaera Electric windows
Discussion
Hi Guys. Over the last sixteen years I've owned five TVR's. Three of them Chimaeras. And they have all has the same annoying problem.You know what i'm going to say....Is there a cure for the slow opening,and even slower closing damn lekky windows ffs?
I've tried every lube there is. Had both the door cards off. What a bl**dy job that was!! I'm still picking out the filaments of glass under my finger nails. Was it a Gibbon or orangutan that thought of mounting the door cards like that, You need arms like match sticks and fingers like ET to get to all of the nuts on the inside. Even then you may not be able to undo the nuts, As TVR Used mild steel nuts bolts and washers That will have rusted away to rusty dust. I'm wondering if there is a later type of window motor from another make of car that wood fit. Please help,as the colder it gets the slower and stiffer its getting.(the windows that is)
Dave
I've tried every lube there is. Had both the door cards off. What a bl**dy job that was!! I'm still picking out the filaments of glass under my finger nails. Was it a Gibbon or orangutan that thought of mounting the door cards like that, You need arms like match sticks and fingers like ET to get to all of the nuts on the inside. Even then you may not be able to undo the nuts, As TVR Used mild steel nuts bolts and washers That will have rusted away to rusty dust. I'm wondering if there is a later type of window motor from another make of car that wood fit. Please help,as the colder it gets the slower and stiffer its getting.(the windows that is)
Dave
Drives me mad as well...I've tried all sorts of stuff to speed them up but to no avail....so would be interested to know if there is something out there as well.
The first time I took the door cards off it was a pig....It took a bit of courage to go in beyond the elbow and I wondered if I'd ever see my arm again. They have been off a few times since then and now I know where the studs are and I've fitted wing nuts it makes life much easier.
The first time I took the door cards off it was a pig....It took a bit of courage to go in beyond the elbow and I wondered if I'd ever see my arm again. They have been off a few times since then and now I know where the studs are and I've fitted wing nuts it makes life much easier.
Would we be better off with wind up windows? Cars in the 60's would have mostly had them and the chimaera was based on 60' designs. Just a thought if no cure can be found.
Good thing is they work with the ignition off. So you don't have to pull up home fans blasting away because engine is ticking over and you are waiting for the windows to close.
Good thing is they work with the ignition off. So you don't have to pull up home fans blasting away because engine is ticking over and you are waiting for the windows to close.
The solution is one or combination of all of the following .....
Replace the felt in the runners, as over the years the felt wears away leaving only the rubber backing which then acts as a brake.
Previous lubing of the felt/rubber in the window channels has collected dirt/grit etc, replacement of the felt is the only real solution here
Lube the motor
check the electrical connections/supply to the motor as these corrode given the connections aren't waterproof and are often found at the bottom of the door in a pool of the stuff. Poor connections & marginal wiring decrease the supply to the motor so adding a relay and good clean supply to the motor will help.
Check the connections at the switches too
Check the window moves freely in the window channels, if it binds at any point adjustment of the window runners is required
It can be a tedious process and lots fettling to get it right, but it is achievable
Tie a length of string to end of 10mm ratchet spanner, so when you drop the spanner in the door retrieval is sooooo much easier!
Replace locknuts with wingnuts as this will make removal easier next time.
Replace the felt in the runners, as over the years the felt wears away leaving only the rubber backing which then acts as a brake.
Previous lubing of the felt/rubber in the window channels has collected dirt/grit etc, replacement of the felt is the only real solution here
Lube the motor
check the electrical connections/supply to the motor as these corrode given the connections aren't waterproof and are often found at the bottom of the door in a pool of the stuff. Poor connections & marginal wiring decrease the supply to the motor so adding a relay and good clean supply to the motor will help.
Check the connections at the switches too
Check the window moves freely in the window channels, if it binds at any point adjustment of the window runners is required
It can be a tedious process and lots fettling to get it right, but it is achievable
Tie a length of string to end of 10mm ratchet spanner, so when you drop the spanner in the door retrieval is sooooo much easier!
Replace locknuts with wingnuts as this will make removal easier next time.
I sympathize. I've tried no end of sprays and had the cards on and off. I now can't get the windows more than half way down without having to help them back up. Removing the rear part of the frame from the inside of the door and adjusting it is probably next.
Annoyingly, on mine, the glass catches on the hoop rubber at the top corner too. If I wind them down, I can only wind them up the last inch by opening the doors first!
There are replacement motors available but they may be expensive. Bosch part no 0130821070
I believe they were fitted to Fiat 131 and Maseratis amongst others:
http://infopart.org/bosch-0130821070-part
Ferrari Mondials too so I've read.
Annoyingly, on mine, the glass catches on the hoop rubber at the top corner too. If I wind them down, I can only wind them up the last inch by opening the doors first!
There are replacement motors available but they may be expensive. Bosch part no 0130821070
I believe they were fitted to Fiat 131 and Maseratis amongst others:
http://infopart.org/bosch-0130821070-part
Ferrari Mondials too so I've read.
Argent said:
If you dow a search on this you will find the solution which is basically to beef up the thickness of the wiring and put the window motor load on relays.
A
Surely whether you need to do that depends on what voltage you are seeing at the motor connector block. Mine has the original wiring AFAIK, and I was getting battery voltage at the motor, so there was no point in upgrading the wiring.A
There is a tip out there somewhere that suggests greasing the curved metal rod that comes out the motor - it has a slot in it and a spring thing runs inside that which you pack grease into - I did that and whilst the windows aren't Usain Bolt rapid, they do go up and down a bit quicker than they did before.
ou sont les biscuits said:
Surely whether you need to do that depends on what voltage you are seeing at the motor connector block. Mine has the original wiring AFAIK, and I was getting battery voltage at the motor, so there was no point in upgrading the wiring.
There is a tip out there somewhere that suggests greasing the curved metal rod that comes out the motor - it has a slot in it and a spring thing runs inside that which you pack grease into - I did that and whilst the windows aren't Usain Bolt rapid, they do go up and down a bit quicker than they did before.
Wouldn't disagree with that as long as the voltage is measured under load, I just found the mod made an amazing difference on my last Griff, window speed on my keeper, a late model is fine though. LThere is a tip out there somewhere that suggests greasing the curved metal rod that comes out the motor - it has a slot in it and a spring thing runs inside that which you pack grease into - I did that and whilst the windows aren't Usain Bolt rapid, they do go up and down a bit quicker than they did before.
A.
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