Bongo Fury

Posted on behalf of member Alan Redman:

The driver's and passenger's doors electric windows have packed up. After some investigation and a look at the wiring diagram, I am fairly certain that it is a broken cable (the +12V feed) in the bundle which goes through the driver's door hinge. If I operate the window switch and then waggle the cable at the hinge, I can hear the window motor trying to do things.

I have been unable to find a fact sheet but found reference to the problem in the August 2007 Newsletter under "Intermittent Window" and the fact that the wiring can be a bit "brittle".

With rubber boots at each end and a corrugated plastic tube over the wiring itself (plus loads of sticky tape), I cannot see how it would be possible to get at the wiring to check for a break without physically cutting away the corrugated tube. Doing this would then leave the bundle exposed and probably not up to the rigours of opening and closing the door.

Has anyone any suggestions as to how to tackle this and how to effect a repair? Any help would be very much appreciated.

Exactly the same as mine, plenty about it HERE and easy to fix in the end.

I just re-read my post on your link muz... I still haven't removed the other plastic clip/clamp ya know!

If your that bothered about the corrugated tube you can always tape it back on, but IMO, that's half the problem, scrunching the wires up too much. No other way of doing it really.

missfixit70 wrote:If your that bothered about the corrugated tube you can always tape it back on, but IMO, that's half the problem, scrunching the wires up too much. No other way of doing it really.

I'm inclined to agree kirsty. the wires rubbing against each other under the pressure of the tightly taped convoluted tubing might just be the cause of the eventual failiure of he insulation on those individual wires.

Thanks to Ian for posting my original query - why do I never think to use the Forum??????

Nice to hear that I am not the only one with door hinge wiring problems and that it's potentially solvable. Thanks to everybody for loads of good ideas and now all I have to do is pluck up courage to rip the loom apart - preferably on a warmer day when I don't end up with white fingers again!

At least my windows were all up when they stopped working!

alang4kuf wrote: why do I never think to use the Forum??????

Same here mate!

If you do get stuck with the windows down alan, Keep the switch active WHILST jiggling the wires (as it were), chances are the window will haphazardly start raising again...

The hardest part of fixing the chafed wires is removing the convoluted tubing, and the oblong snap clamp, there is a way of removing it without breaking it, but i couldn't work out how to do it.

I cut mine off.(the clamp, not the wires) It is fiddly to access the wires to re-insulate them, but will save on the cost of an auto sparky.

Its been said before, but there's a small nich market for someone who is prepared to remake the looms, as I believe (from what someone said) it has plugs either end so the whole section could be replaced with a 'reconditioned' unit.

Oh and alang4kuf (Alan) - I'd make the forum your 1st thought henceforth as the response on here is usually quicker than the RAC - I kid you not!!!

Thanks for all the good ideas...

I spent a very cold and fiddly two hours sorting the door hinge wiring out and I now have working windows! Three wires had parted - Black (0V), Black/Red (12V) and the Green/White feed to the passenger door - and all at the clamp (in the middle of the loop). It's hardly surprising the windows were not working.

Joining them was no easy task as water had got into them and made them very difficult to solder. I ended up with makeshift crimps using short lengths of 4mm copper tubing (model shop variety) and soldered them as well. Each core then had one layer of PVC tape followed by heat-shrink and then a layer of PVC tape over the complete bundle. No way was the corrugated plastic tube able to fit back on so that stayed off.

I agree with other people's comments about the plastic clamp. All of the bending happens between the clamp and the car body, with the half of the cable loop to the door hardly bending at all. It's not surprising that most breaks probably happen there and I have left my cable out of the clamp so that it can flex over its entire length. The PVC insulation certainly is very "brittle" and stiff (and has probably lost its plasticizer over the years). It's hardly the sort of cable I would expect to be used for going through a door hinge but, unless someone comes up with a more flexible replacement wiring harness, I suppose we are all stuck with it!

Let's hope this lasts for a while - a second repair would probably be a bit more difficult.

hi,
just seen the post about a niche market for aftermarket window looms.i work for a company that manufactures classic vehicle wiring looms.one thing they do is make exact copies of customers original looms.do you think they could help anyone with window problems?
thanks
jamie

Well done Alan, that sounds like a comprehensive repair you have done there!

Hogggman, i'll see what i can do to try to get hold of some original looms to make copies from if that's any use to you? I'll keep you posted.

bigdaddycain wrote: Hogggman, i'll see what i can do to try to get hold of some original looms to make copies from if that's any use to you? I'll keep you posted.

Good man BDC

If we are to preserve these Bongos, then a reconditioning service for these looms could be invaluable.

Good man too Hogggman for rising to the challenge (hope you got my PM last night) No-one is going to get rich doing this but it could be useful pocket money plus something that is 'fun' to do. And look what happened to Haydn when he did something similar. Aaaaah, if only every car in the world were a Bongo.

Hear, hear... It's not about making a quick buck mike, it's about keeping outr vehicles working properly to a budget. That's what owners clubs are all about... A collective jack of all trades!

bigdaddycain wrote:Hear, hear... It's not about making a quick buck mike, it's about keeping outr vehicles working properly to a budget. That's what owners clubs are all about... A collective jack of all trades!

And making an honest buck to boot from making and mending stuff - nothing wrong with that. The Big Economy could do with getting the hang of it - hey ho!