stupid window problem

[sKunkman]

I know this is a common problem in e36's, but I have the same one. I did the recommended solution, replacing the white plastic connectors from the regulator to the window, and my window is still not closing right! It also jiggles alot when its all the way down, and it will fall off the track if I close it with the window down.

I changed the plastic connectors, regreased the slider tracks with white lithium, and it didnt help at all - I can close the window if I move it up slight amounts at a time and pull the window back towards the back of my car - if I just push it straight up the plastic connector pops off the track and i have to take the door panel off again!

I was thinking I had a bent regulator arm, since when I roll the window down at full speed, it pops (or catches on something) about 5/6 of the way down but then keeps going. If this is the case (I hope its not) then how much would it cost to replace one regulator arm?

[motorsport]

you are right, you do have bent reg. arms. when you roll it down it catches on a little gold colored bolt that i think holds the window motor fastened, you can bend them, but their is no guarantee that it will work permenantly.

[BMWDRIFTER]

you have to buy the whole regulator and get new clips. Make sure the tracks on each end are not bent and soak the tracks with SILICON SPRAY.

[azs318ti]

I kinda have that problem...my window only goes down an inch everytime you hit the button. i though it was becaue it was being caught bu ti think it might be the motor. What do you guys think, should i just buy a new motor? or will teh plastic connectors do the trick. thanks for your help

[sKunkman]

Oooh actually I found out when playing around with the motor and connections, that there are 2 power connectors to the motor.

One provides all power, and the other seems to only let teh window go down an inch or so at a time, like you said.

I'd say thats your problem, open up your door and see if the connector to the motor is slightly disconnected, or completely disconnected. The bottom bigger one provides power, the other one is the one-touch thing. Hopefully its not broken or damaged and you can get it plugged in again.

[///M318ti]

about your window falling off when the window is down your window is not squared if you open your door card there is a slot in the bolt that is closest to the door jamb the arm can be pushed up or down or left in the middle make sure when you find the right spot that its tight

[mith]

i recently purchased the 318ti, i had a problem with my window i got it fixed but now my interior door handle is broken and i cant seen to find any website that has replacements. if any body has any info plz pass it on.

[Slynke]

^^Dealership.. wasn't too much, and was a quick 5 minute install...

[mfryc]

Again, like many of you, my window also stopped rolling down. I opened up the door panel and was in no suprise to see that my regulator arms were bent as *^^%. Now does any one have any recommendations on how i should get this fixed? Shall i buy a new regulator, or bend the arms back into place??????? Thanks bimmer lovers!!!!!



Green 95 ti

[aceyx]

If you bend it back, it will fail fairly quickly. Decent short-term solution though. It's best to replace the entire thing, and use nuts instead of rivets.

[myblueTI]

How much does the dealer cost to replace it?

[cali-ti]

Originally Posted by aceyx

If you bend it back, it will fail fairly quickly. Decent short-term solution though. It's best to replace the entire thing, and use nuts instead of rivets.

i haven't looked at the regulators closely so i'll ask this out of ignorance and as a possible cheaper fix: can the arms of the regulator be strengthened in any way?

[aceyx]

I've thought about this: and I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.

If the regulators were reinforced (you could easily weld on some alumin(i)um to make a box-frame) you might have a problem with the window then creasing the door tracks, or burning out the motor.


I did look into retrofitting it with the E46 cable-type window guides, but I decided that's not a project I want to take up.

[cali-ti]

hmmmm ... so what starts to go wrong that causes the regulator to end up getting bent? we need some good root-cause analysis to determine the weak point and then a possible course of action.

[aceyx]

Actually, it might not be a half-bad idea. The problem is that the window glass is too heavy for the regulator, since the ti uses sedan regulators, but the glass is near the size of coupe glass.

The question is, how much reinforcement is necessary?


The problem that I see is that the regulator is trying to lift from the wrong points, e.g. too near-center. This allows the glass to pivot either forward or back, getting it stuck, and then the regulator binds (and bends).

If there were a way to extend the regulator arms (and strengthen them for the increased load from leverage) and somehow change the max and min articulation of the arms, you might have a solution.

But I'm content to just deal with it for now.