Window motor repair
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
From: Richmond Hill Ga
Window motor repair
I'd like to thank JasonC and his thread on rebuilding the window motor
:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...uild-pics.html
I did this job several days ago and it worked like a champ!! I only have several comments / lessons from doing the work myself:
1) I'm a moron when it comes to working with electricity - only thing I can use my multi-meter for is to tell how many volts my battery has (something I always say I want to teach myself to add to my skill set in the garage, but never do). It does matter which way the motor casing goes back on. If it is turned around 180' the motor action will be reversed in regards to the switch (eg up will put the window down). So I got some practice at ripping it all apart again. If I would have read Jason's post entirely he even mentions this near the end
2) I didn't mark the regulator mounting position before removing - this made reinstallation a maddening process of adjusting the window to get it positioned just right. Granted I'm a little OCD, and that doesn't help, but it was a never-ending process of roll window down, loosen clamp, adjust window, tighten clamp, roll window up, shut door, unhappy with how window fits, repeat. Again, Jason mentions this in his write up, but if you just skim for high-lights, you'll miss it.
3) Lastly, when I switched the motor housing, it was very difficult to get back on. When I finally got it to fit on, I noticed something rattling around inside the case. So I removed the case and found that I had cracked one of the brushes (kind of like mounting motorcycle tires by hand - it's all technique; if you're struggling there is something wrong with your technique). I now knew why the case was difficult to get back on - the brush was in the way!! Expecting the worst, I was surprised to find that it works just fine. Actually it is faster and smoother than my driver's side, which has never gotten stuck.
I have no idea how long the fix will last, but it's already better than it was before (totally frozen). And at the very least, if it does fail again, I'm no longer intimidated about ripping into the panel to replace the motor. Thanks JasonC
:http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...uild-pics.html
I did this job several days ago and it worked like a champ!! I only have several comments / lessons from doing the work myself:
1) I'm a moron when it comes to working with electricity - only thing I can use my multi-meter for is to tell how many volts my battery has (something I always say I want to teach myself to add to my skill set in the garage, but never do). It does matter which way the motor casing goes back on. If it is turned around 180' the motor action will be reversed in regards to the switch (eg up will put the window down). So I got some practice at ripping it all apart again. If I would have read Jason's post entirely he even mentions this near the end
2) I didn't mark the regulator mounting position before removing - this made reinstallation a maddening process of adjusting the window to get it positioned just right. Granted I'm a little OCD, and that doesn't help, but it was a never-ending process of roll window down, loosen clamp, adjust window, tighten clamp, roll window up, shut door, unhappy with how window fits, repeat. Again, Jason mentions this in his write up, but if you just skim for high-lights, you'll miss it.
3) Lastly, when I switched the motor housing, it was very difficult to get back on. When I finally got it to fit on, I noticed something rattling around inside the case. So I removed the case and found that I had cracked one of the brushes (kind of like mounting motorcycle tires by hand - it's all technique; if you're struggling there is something wrong with your technique). I now knew why the case was difficult to get back on - the brush was in the way!! Expecting the worst, I was surprised to find that it works just fine. Actually it is faster and smoother than my driver's side, which has never gotten stuck.
I have no idea how long the fix will last, but it's already better than it was before (totally frozen). And at the very least, if it does fail again, I'm no longer intimidated about ripping into the panel to replace the motor. Thanks JasonC
