Either bmwpartssource or ECS has regulators on sale Black Friday.
Either bmwpartssource or ECS has regulators on sale Black Friday.
Randeaux/Rando/John/jr - '06 Cic ZHP; Southern California
"ZHP or not, I still like you"
ZHP Performance Package, Cold Weather Package, Leather, Jet Black/Black/BlackCube, NAV, Anthracite Black "my individual" interior trim
ESS Stage 1 Twin Screw Supercharger, Sprint Booster, BMW Perf Intake, Magnaflow Exhaust, Dinan TB & STEP S/W, UCC Sway Bars, Apex EC-7 18x8.5 ET38
Suspension: AST 44100 dampers, Bimmerworld front adjustable end links, Swift springs (8K front, 10K rear), Vorshlag camber plates
Dynavin D99+, Hardwire V1 (w/V1 Connection), BSW Stage 1 Speakers, Kicker Amp/Subwoofer
BMW Performance Strut Brace, Orion V2 Angel Eyes, No-holes License Plate, SMG Paddle Shift Mod, Besian VANOS, Gold DISA, Fan Delete, M3 Side Mirrors
Note: Actual car no longer resembles signature picture
Can I ask exactly what is being zip-tied here? is it tying the silver carrier to the black track? Or tying the cable with it's little crimp-on stop to the silver carrier? My windows all work but the driver's front is slow to go up and down. Since that's the windows that gets the most use, wondering if it might have broken at the carrier.
Thanks for a nice writeup with great photos! One of these days I'm going to open up at least the driver's side door and put in two zip ties.
Edit: Just read the Skene page so now I understand what the zip-ties are holding. But don't know if that explains why my driver's windows is slow. Maybe the tracks need lubrication or the rubber seals where the glass slide need reconditioning. Does anyone know if the sliding parts are best lubricated with bearing grease, lithium grease, silicone spray, or... or... ?
Last edited by LivesNearCostco; 11-22-2011 at 07:02 PM. Reason: did some more reading...
There is a "bead" for lack of a better word on a metal wire cable. The bead sits in the carrier. The carrier ends up letting go at some point and allowing the wire to move without moving the track (usually on one side or the other, hence the slowness). You are reseating the bead in the carrier, and using the zip tie to hold the cable/bead in place in the carrier, so itbrings the carrier, and hence the window, with it as it moves. Ghetto? yes. Effective? so far.....
"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of"
09 135i Msport 6mt
04 330i ZHP (sold)
David
Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim
I followed this DIY yesterday and it worked pretty well. My regulator wasn't broken but I put two zip ties on each slider anyway. Now the window won't roll down all the way! It stops with 1/2" sticking out of the door. I think this is because I only drank a beer afterwards, not beforehand, so wasn't in the right state of mind.
Either I put something back incorrectly or the way I put the zip-ties on prevents the slider from going to the very end of the track. Window still goes up and down slowly but it's not due to a broken regulator. Maybe the regular is too stiff, or the motor is weak. Or the window switch is failing, as that switch no longer has the auto-up or auto-down function.
Interesting.....I've done this on my own car (obviously, lol) 3 times and have not encountered a problem. Did you cut the zipties off really short? Any other ideas? Even if the switch is bad, which it sounds like it is, I would think it would either not move at all, or allow full movement and go all the way down.
Interesting. keep us posted.
Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk
"No, Donny, these men are nihilists, there's nothing to be afraid of"
09 135i Msport 6mt
04 330i ZHP (sold)
David
There is a window adjustment procedure in the Bentley.
Call Me Dane l 2/2004 330i ZHP l 18x8 ET45 BBS CK's wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ @ 245-40-18 l KW V1 Coilovers in front l KW V1 springs w/ Bilstein B8 dampeners in rear l BMW Performance Rotors l UUC StrutBarbarian l Racing Dynamics Rear Strut Bar l Jim Conforti Shark Injector l Light Birch Interior Trim l Bimmian Celly Mount l M3 Trunk Mat l l e90 Performance E-Brake & Shift Knob l M3 Tri-Stitched Boots l AL Headlight Retrofit with ZKW Lenses l CobyWheel Wrap w/M3 Stitching l LCM sw 4.5 triple blink and rear fogs l Maple Interior Trim
Thanks, Dane and David! I thought I made the zip ties pretty tight but didn't cut them off super close. Also I had the "buckle" part of the zip ties inside the silver slider instead of on the outside as shown in MtnMan's DIY pics. Maybe that was my mistake. Should have taken pictures!
The lack of auto-down was there before, so has nothing to do with the zip ties. But I hadn't thought about electrical contact cleaner on the switch, and I might even have a can of it in the garage. Since I'm not sure if it's the switch, motor, or regulator, I'm thinking switch first since that probably controls the auto-down issue. Generally my front windows go up and down more slowly than the rear windows, and the driver's front is the slowest.
All in all I really liked this DIY. I read it twice on Tuesday then yesterday I did the whole regulator from memory without looking at the DIY again! Of course, that could be why I put the zip ties on "my way" instead of as outlined in the DIY. And if the regulator ever fails, I have the confidence now to replace it myself!
A few notes:
- Someone else had gone in before, so maybe it's not the original regulator.
- One trim retention plug was missing, it's either part 07149158194 (clear) or part 51458266814 (red). Mine were clear, but I'll order one of each.
- 3 of the door panel snap-in plugs were mashed for some reason, so I'll be ordering new ones. There are two colors of plugs, and the three near the motor (upper front of door panel) are gray and were the squashed ones, part 51418224781. They also come in natural color with washer (51418224768) and green (51418101204).
- Took motor out before putting window at right height, so had to put motor back and reconnect battery to adjust window height.
- After undoing the 8mm bolts holding the red clips on, of course I dropped a nut inside the door and had to fish it out with a magnetic pen. Then I forgot to release the red clips from the regulators so when I pulled the glass up, it lifted the sliders up too! Since the motor was out again, I wiggled the glass (and sliders) back down again to release the clips. Clips looked like they could break if not handled nicely. Replacement part is 51338218383.
- I pulled my glass completely out to avoid holding it up with tape, but did it with the red clips on, which wasn't too bright. I removed the clips to put the glass back in, then popped them back into the glass while it was in the door. That's when I was worried about breaking them.
- As soon as I removed the door panel, I heard a "clunk"; the speaker magnet was stuck to the door sheet metal!
Some photos of parts I plan to order:
Little update. Found out part of the reason my driver's side window goes down slowly is the inner rubber seal was rubbing on the window. Put a new one in last night and now the window goes down faster than before; now goes down about as fast as it goes up, though it still seems slower when it's cold out. The new one has a fuzzy felt type material on the inside of the rubber where the glass slides by; the old trim had lost the fuzzy stuff so the rubber was grabbing on the glass on the way down. Also added 3 of those gray round plugs shown above, replacing the squished ones.