Windows won't open

[meek.tv]

i ahd the buzzing on the drivers side and no passenger side openage at all. I took the switch out and cleaned all the carp and fuzz out of it and it now works fine

[Muzorewa]

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

On ours, you could eliminate the power & fuses etc from the argument because even when the passenger window wouldn't work off the driver's switch, it would off the passenger's switch. Similarly, you should have two switches for each blind, so next time it goes dicky you could experiment with the other switches to help isolate the cause. With the blinds its difficult to see how the wiring has gone bad as there are no moving parts as such.

The window situation arises due to the frequent flexing of the cable as the door is opened, hence the driver's side gives more problems than the other side as it will undoubtedly get used more. Plus, as has been mentioned above, the cable tidy seems to do more harm than good.

Sods Law will dictate when you get the next malfunction. The first time our windows went was as we pulled up on a campsite at the beginning of the Easter weekend - I had lowered the window to pay to get into the site, then as I pulled up onto our pitch I couldn't close it again. This was a Saturday morning so it was possible to get to WheelQuick or similar, I left the kids and another adult putting the awning up while I sped off to try to get it fixed. About 200 yards down the road it started working again

BDC, DBO and dabs had a look a week or so later and proved it was the wiring because it could be made to work or not by prodding the loom back into the door, as it would under the normal door closure operation. This was also when I learnt that the windows should indeed work even with the door open.

The only other time it recurred was as I pulled up on the Low Wray campsite in the lakes. Now knowing the script, I just opened & closed the door a couple of times and it was ok again. Then Monday this week it threw its hand in altogether.

In total it only took about half an hour, to strip the door card (unnecessarily, as it turned out), destroy the cable tidy and then figure out how it comes apart in one piece , examine the cables, repair the defect and tape it all up.

At least the blinds aren't a big problem as you can operate them manually, exhausting as it is . But the windows are a pain (pane? ), especially when you arrive at the Mersey tunnel toll plaza

[bigdaddycain]

Glad it's sorted muz, sorry i didn't get back to you, that cable does appear to have a plug at each end, so is a loom extension of sorts, i checked on that broken bongo (eventually) but the loom was missing.... ( i sort of expected that)

Was your broken cable out of sight? We had a good old delve for the offending wire, but it couldn't be seen on the roasting hot dry day we had a dabble...

[Muzorewa]

I've looked on 'locate-a-part' type sites and the door loom is about £70.00 secondhand, and not guaranteed to be any better than the one that's already on there. Looking inside the door, the door loom seems to branch away onto several connectors but I couldn't easily get to the one inside the body.

The break was right at the bottom of the 'V', not at either of the grommets. If you recall, you would only have been able to look at the grommet points because the cable tidy was still attached. Having butchered the cable tidy and prising the corrugated sheath away, it was all too clear where the problem was, so an easy fix in the end.

Until next time....

[bigdaddycain]

Ah!...Right...that's good. Remember how you did it for when mine packs up!

[mikeonb4c]

Thanks for the tips Muz

All very interesting, becuase the cable tidy is I think missing on my drivers door side and there is some insulating tape instead, suggesting its been investigated before. I can quite see why it goes over time.

Just so I understand, are you all saying that these wires are actually a loom extension with a plug on either end, and if so how practical would it be to unplug and remove it. Because if so, there could be a useful niche market in taking old ones off breaking Bongos, refurbishing them and flogging them to troubled owners. I'm struck by this thought time and again, as with Moonshines great tip for repairing starter motors on the cheap. It would be great to have a 'pool' of repaired ones ready for members to swop over on a new for old exchange basis. Help keep the Bongo fleet running. It'd be a fun hobby/interest for someone in retirement and wanting something to do for a little pocket money (wish that person could be me!).

Mike

[NickC65]

The first time the window seized up we were parking outside our hotel in St Malo after a 1,500 mile 3 day journey and the car was stuffed full of everything - Luckily it decided to work 5 mins later otherwise it meant unpacking everything and stripping the car down to lessen beady eyes

[bigdaddycain]

Thanks for the tips Muz

All very interesting, becuase the cable tidy is I think missing on my drivers door side and there is some insulating tape instead, suggesting its been investigated before. I can quite see why it goes over time.

Just so I understand, are you all saying that these wires are actually a loom extension with a plug on either end, and if so how practical would it be to unplug and remove it. Because if so, there could be a useful niche market in taking old ones off breaking Bongos, refurbishing them and flogging them to troubled owners. I'm struck by this thought time and again, as with Moonshines great tip for repairing starter motors on the cheap. It would be great to have a 'pool' of repaired ones ready for members to swop over on a new for old exchange basis. Help keep the Bongo fleet running. It'd be a fun hobby/interest for someone in retirement and wanting something to do for a little pocket money (wish that person could be me!).

Mike

I thought exactly that mike, however, exploration of the broken bongo (my arm wedged up the pillar) determined only that the loom/wires were no longer there, it wasn't conclusive that there is definitely a loom there, although you'd think so for ease of production at the factory.