Windows won't open

[NickC65]

OK, I had my windows rewired 2 years ago as they stopped opening and closing - All I am currently getting is a buzzing sound - Should it need replacing this quickly??

Or is it just a bongo thing?

Cheers

Nick

[Muzorewa]

That sounds just like mine does, intermittently. It's the wiring between the body & door, for sure.

[jaylee]

Hi Nick,

Mine was temperamental & made the buzzing noise, it's been good since i fixed the black earth wire in the loom between the door & body panel.
It's a common problem, there will no doubt be more ideas soon!!

In my opinion the cable management clip on the lower hinge seems to cause the problems it's meant to solve, i did away with it..
It is a Bongo thing!

J>

[NickC65]

Bit of a bloody nuisance!!!

[NickC65]

Jaylee - How long ago did you remove the clip and have any other wires "gone" since you did it?

Cheers

Nick

PS I ask because I am wondering if I should get it done? Anyone else done this?

[jaylee]

Jaylee - How long ago did you remove the clip and have any other wires "gone" since you did it?

Cheers

Nick

PS I ask because I am wondering if I should get it done? Anyone else done this?

OK, I've had the Bongo just over a year.
I had a variety of inconsistencies with both windows, IE; passenger would not go down from passenger switch, but would with drivers.. but you could raise it again with the passengers side!
The drivers window would not work with the door open (i thought it was a safety feature)..
I sourced a used drivers switch & fitted.. the original had been pulled apart, i assume by the previous owner (japan) the passenger fader pots were shot!
I did that about six months ago.. they both worked fine!!

Then about four months back i noticed the windows ether buzzing & not functioning or nothing at all.. it was intermittent, i found jiggling the wire loom between the door & body solved the problem if the windows were caught down & a couple of days later the problem would manifest itself again.

It's a common fault & there are other threads on this forum concerning this subject. (which i studied & gained useful tips from).

I set about checking the wires in the loom between the door & body (Which i believe was the source of the original fault, (the previous owner didn't need to dismantle & butcher the original switch!) I cut the cable tie to the lower hinge removed the black cable management tubing separated the wires & the black earth just came loose.
It had frayed & snapped at the point the wire loom comes out of the body & bends down to the clip..
I rejoined the wire with a crimp connector & shrink wrap checked the others, took up the slack in the body panel cut the cable cover in half (it was splitting there any way) and refitted..

The cable tie causes the loom to bend in three places at an acute angle with the door opening & closing, & to be honest two other wires were starting to chafe there) it's only a matter of time before something snaps.
Now the loom moves freely with the door there's a large enough cavity to accommodate.
I've had no trouble since..

If you need a pic, i can zap out with the camera & show you how it looks.

[NickC65]

Picture would be great

Cheers

Nick

[jaylee]

Picture would be great

Cheers

Nick

Here we go Nick,
The loom moves free with the door & the slack was pushed through the gromit in the body panel.. it comes out the other side where all the beeping stuff is in the foot well.
It's a tight space to work, i was lucky it broke where i could get at it relatively easy.
The arrows illustrates where the loom was before making a V shape, the main amount of wire stress (on mine) was where clip held it to the hinge & the body panel gromit, which was where i found the earth wire broke and must have been just touching Because by the colour of the bare wire it had gone for some time, giving the temperamental buzzing symptoms!

I'm currently about to embark on fitting an alarm immobiliser i've had new kicking around since my last vehicle, (it was never fitted) a remote locking mechanism & a self closing window unit just for the hell of it...
Wish me luck, there are a lot of wires!!

J>

[NickC65]

How much should I pay roughly for this?

[jaylee]

Hi Nick,
I don't know what an auto electrician charges, i did mine my self.
It only cost me the price of some heat shrink wrap & some butt crimp connectors From Hellfords. (a few quid).
It took me about an hour, but most of that was down to uming & ahing about the taking up of the slack in the loom!
I actually found the broken wire within seconds of removing the loom protector.
It's just a question of finding the break in the wire & re joining, which on the whole most Bongo's that have the buzzing window symptom happens between the door & body.. (from what i've read).

J>

[bigdaddycain]

You are right Jaylee, i had my passenger door loom stripped out today as i had an intermittent speaker connection,after snapping of the cable tidy (i discovered the technique for removal,once i'd broke it off ) I noticed that it had been stripped down at some stage in the past.... Curiously, the actual loom had not been touched,but it had been re-done in convoluted tubing,and re-taped. I left the cable tie off, as i thought the wiring was being squished (the wrong way) as the door was being closed.

I'll remove the drivers side plastic cable tidy when i think on...

[jaylee]

I shall be adding about three more wires to the drivers door loom BDC..
I'm in the process of fitting an immobiliser alarm & i got a remote servo to fit plus a window self closing unit should the windows be left down!!
I put the internal sensors in this afternoon, unfortunately rain stopped play regarding fitting on the main alarm unit.
I assume you can use an immobiliser on a diesel?
Cuz i'm making it up as i go along...

[NickC65]

My mechanic changed the wire over, as it looked like last time, when I went to the mechanics behind Imperial, they just soldered a couple of bits together and it was basically a bodge job.

£35 to put a new one in and check all the others for 1 hours work. New clips added as he felt that I should probably leave my wires as they are and just reclip them and insulate with proper tape around them all.

Thanks for your help though guys

Cheers

Nick

[Muzorewa]

Following on from this, I've had a very intermittent fault with the windows where sometimes the driver's door switches won't work anything yet the passenger's door switch always worked fine. The driver's door switch would never work with the door open which I, too, thought to be some bizarre safety feature

It failed completely last night so I set about a repair, the wiring as it passed through both grommets seemed fine, but at the bottom of the 'V' at the cable tidy there looks to have been a previous repair and the black/red wire was hanging in by a thread.

Having identified that it's a simple repair, I will tonight demonstrate to the juniors how my windows now work with the door open

[mikeonb4c]

Very interesting Muz. I've had one or two similar episodes and suspect trouble will arrive on my doorstep to stay, sooner or later. The funny thing is, it's only happened once or twice and I've had a similar episode with the electric window blind switches so I am left wondering whether its the switch or the wiring. With the windows, I think all switches failed to operate either window for a short period then normal service was resumed.

I got lucky with the electric blind switches and won two spares for something like £4 so have those handy just in case!

Don't relish tracking down broken wiring though