Window regulator - repaired, not replaced

[AlexB]

Two years ago the drivers window stopped working. After some fiddling with the door connector and window switch it started working again. Recently it began to play up, then died in the up position. When operating the window controls there was some quiet clicking from the motor.

So, I read the manual, opened the upper door cover and realised that the door panel can't be removed while the window is up. Fine, removed the speaker grill, the speaker, the motor screws and the panel screws. Pulled the panel up - it became loose, but still hanging on cables. Through the gap I accessed the motor and unplugged the connector. One of two large blade contacts in the middle was corroded/burnt, dough! The rest is simple. Scraped the regulator contact with a small file, the cable side with a F1 drill bit, put two pieces of F1 wire on both sides of the harness connector contact (to make it tight), applied silver conductive paint to both sides and put everything together. The whole job took less than an hour.

The window works again, and I am celebrating!

Now I see why there are many reports on repeated failures of the same window. Garages don't bother diagnosing the fault, they just replace the regulator. The new regulator has a new contact, but the harness connector is still fried. So, the new regulator works for a short time and then fails.

[Paddy]

The reason for the corrosion is due to a short circuit created by the gell pad that is ment to keep water out.After a peiod of time it becomes damp and turns from insulator to conductor. I removed these pads and wraped the whole unit in celofane(spelling). No water is getting near them.

P

[triumph2.5man]

Excellent stuff you two. Thanks. Just the job - a problem with oven-ready solution!
We have not yet had a window failure (!) but your notes will come in handy when we do! May be worth getting the plastic sheet (I can't spell cellophane either!) fitted as a "pre-emptive" strike!
Cheers, Mike

[davelowe]

This could be the Holy Grail of window problems and the solution. Somebody sticky this post. Ace work Alex

[AlexB]

There is no gel pad. The plastic connector on the regulator opens downwards, the harness connector goes inside, there is a silicone soft ring seal on the harness connector. Water, in order to get inside, need to flow upwards, which it does not do normally. All other pins were clean and shiny. It was, probably, a combination of corrosion (positive electrodes tend to corrode badly) and thermal damage. I lubricated the seal with silicone and put an additional "skirt" made of a freezer bag on the regulator.

The reason for the corrosion is due to a short circuit created by the gell pad that is ment to keep water out.After a peiod of time it becomes damp and turns from insulator to conductor. I removed these pads and wraped the whole unit in celofane(spelling). No water is getting near them.

P

[Paddy]

Theres a gell pad alright between the conectors.

I tested it with a multimeter and it is conductive. Removing it solved my problem of unusable window. Ill throw up a photo if needed.

P

[AlexB]

Very strange, there might be different versions. There was no gel pad in mine.
I looked inside the regulator part of the connector - black hard plastic, the pins are pressed into it (male).
The harness part - black base, yellow top with holes, contacts inside the holes (female). The yellow part is plastic, hard for one's nail, not gel.
The seal looks like some very soft silicone resin, it is placed around the base of the harness part of the connector, far from the pins. It is not a gel pad.
Green sealant is injected somehow inside the harness part, it is not visible on the inside, only outside around the wires.

My car is BM0G, Megane II, 1.9dci 120bhp, hatch, 5 doors, built end 2003 (Douai, France). I am talking about the driver's door window regulator.

[davelowe]

Is it possible that the conductive gel pad was once an insulator which when exposed to water becomes conductive?

[Paddy]

Very strange, there might be different versions. There was no gel pad in mine.
I looked inside the regulator part of the connector - black hard plastic, the pins are pressed into it (male).
The harness part - black base, yellow top with holes, contacts inside the holes (female). The yellow part is plastic, hard for one's nail, not gel.
The seal looks like some very soft silicone resin, it is placed around the base of the harness part of the connector, far from the pins. It is not a gel pad.
Green sealant is injected somehow inside the harness part, it is not visible on the inside, only outside around the wires.

My car is BM0G, Megane II, 1.9dci 120bhp, hatch, 5 doors, built end 2003 (Douai, France). I am talking about the driver's door window regulator.

Its a gel pad about 2-3mm thick that sits around all the male pins. it can be seen if you look directly at the pins.

Mine is a 2005 2.0 136BHP Saloon. No idea where it was built. (is there a way to find out?)

[AlexB]

ulrich100,

I could have missed the pad, as it was impossible to pull the regulator out, and I was working in a narrow space. On the other hand, I was looking inside the regulator connector for while when cleaning the pins. In fact, I poked the bottom of the connector well with a small file a few times - it wasn't soft. It looked like the contact received thermal damage, as the male pin had a small play, as if the plastic was burnt around its base. Anyway, I can be mistaken. The next time (!) I will be looking for the pad.

Regarding the country of production. I looked at this issue when buying the car. Some information can be found on wikipedia these days. Saloons, if I am not mistaken, are built in Turkey.

[Paddy]

I had the regualar right out of the car when drying it. So it may have been possible not to notice it in the confines of the door.

If you have one its well worth removing. As above im 101% sure it was causing my short.

Yea I was lead to believe it was made by the christmas birds.

Thanks

P

[Paulp12]

we took the door apart today and checked the cause of the water in the door pocket. when a watering can was poured over the window it flooded inside of the door at both end of the exterior rubber seal. The seal can be easily lifted out and it looks as though the fit is terrible and there are gaps at each end where water comes in. Has anybody tried to replace the seal with a better fitting one to prevent any water coming in in the first place?
Paul

[AliasOmega]

Has anyone a picture?

Does anyone know why the door panel cannot be removed with the window up?

How do you remove the door panel.?



I sold my car to my mum, which now has in turn received this problem.


Initial reports were that 4x windows were not working, which we did the 10 second switch up reset thing with ensured that the passenger, and rear windows operated. Then the drivers window still fails to move.

All is reported through the telephone call, so not actually on the scene to look for more clues.

I wont be on site for another 3-4 weeks to address this, i know that renualt have quoted her alot to remove & replace the 4x faulty regulators.

Alias

[nejkov]

...scraped the regulator contact with a small file, the cable side with a F1 drill bit, put two pieces of F1 wire on both sides of the harness connector contact...

Can you please explaind that to me, so I can repair mine. I understand English language well, but not these terms.

Thank you.

[tomalamix]

well, he just toke off the rust and all the garbage that was on the electrical connector, all that garbage was isolating the contact between the car harness and the motor. he do it using a knife, you can use a small sand paper with contact spray, a stanley knife...