Anyone change the window cable tensioner springs | FerrariChat
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Anyone change the window cable tensioner springs

Discussion in '308/328' started by rtking, Jun 18, 2007.

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  1. rtking

    rtking Formula Junior

    Mar 5, 2006
    703
    Huntington Beach, CA
    Full Name:
    Bob King
    #1 rtking, Jun 18, 2007
    Has anyone tried to change the window's cable/pulley tensioner spring? I was trying to improve my Mondial's window operation and installed the "window accelerators" from eBay. Those work as promised and lowering the window was indeed noticeably faster. But the motor struggled going up.

    I disassembled the gear drive for the motor (take a picture of the cable routing first! Argh...) and cleaned out the hardened grease as others had advised in another thread) and everything moved very nicely. As I was trying to figure out the cable routing, I tried the window without the tensioner spring and it moved very well. But after I tensioned the cable with the spring (too tight in my opinion), the window again struggled, but was indeed faster than before.

    My thought: Is it possible to fit a longer spring (maybe 5 - 8 mm longer) to reduce tension on the cable and allow a freer-moving window system? That should still provide enough tension on the cable to keep it on the pullies.

    Bob
     
  2. Verell

    Verell F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    May 5, 2001
    7,022
    Groton, MA
    Full Name:
    Verell Boaen
    #2 Verell, Jun 22, 2007
    No one's reported using longer springs, but it's worth trying.
     
  3. rtking

    rtking Formula Junior

    Mar 5, 2006
    703
    Huntington Beach, CA
    Full Name:
    Bob King
    #3 rtking, Jun 23, 2007
    Thanks Verell. I've located a spring manufacturer and, while my mom takes my wife and son on a 2.5 week trip (thereby giving me quiet weeknights and weekends), I'll fit the new springs and report results.

    Bob
     
  4. show time

    show time Formula Junior

    Jan 5, 2006
    670
    Scottsdale AZ
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #4 show time, Jun 23, 2007
    Ricambi also has what looks like a relay pack to improve wondow speed for $80 per window (I think that is the correct price). I will be ordering these next week....if you want I will post the results...
     
  5. rtking

    rtking Formula Junior

    Mar 5, 2006
    703
    Huntington Beach, CA
    Full Name:
    Bob King
    #5 rtking, Jun 23, 2007
    I actually purchased a pair from eBay and they do work as described. I think Ricambi's may function the same. The windows will lower more quickly (got to love that "Gravity Assist) but rolling up the window will still be a bit strained.

    As mentioned in other threads, cleaning the hardened, near-epoxy-like grease from the cable spool's gears is critical. Once I cleared that gunk out and re-lubed it (using automotive grease instead of white lithium grease - it's not quite as thick) it worked noticeably better. What I noticed though (as I was trying to figure out the cable routing) the motor actually didn't have as much resistance when the cable wasn't being tensionsed so tightly. The window actually went up and down fairly quickly. After tensioning the cable, the motor was working harder and the window went up more slowly (but definitely faster than its original state.)

    I am going to try a slightly longer spring to reduce the overall tension on the cable (but not enough to have it slip off the pullies.) If I can find the right balance, I think the windows will be faster, the motor won't have to work as hard and everybody/thing will be happy.

    Bob
     
  6. Paul_308

    Paul_308 Formula 3

    Mar 12, 2004
    2,345
    #6 Paul_308, Jul 28, 2007
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Yes, Bob. I added a long spring and greased the pulley track. Note the action in the referenced video.

    As long as you are adding 2 relays to your door, you just as well wire in 12V from the fuse panel and really improve the window performance. My up time is 3 seconds and 2 seconds down. With the new-found performance, I didn't care to have the window slam into those tiny rubber pads which results in use of the motor's integral high current limit switch turning the motor off. So I added a mechanical limit switch at the bottom of the window. When the window gets to the bottom just before touching the rubber pads, voltage from the console 'Down' switch is interrupted by a microswitch and the motor makes a precision stop without that characteristic bang grunt stop. The motor stop at the top isn't violent and was left as initially designed.

    The added spring could be called a screen door type but isn't. It is 5" long and of unknown spring rate. I bought half a dozen different springs at Ace Hardware and the first one worked fine. I fabricated a short pulley bracket for the bottom and drilled a hole above for the top end of the spring (see picture). The spring was stretched close to double it's resting length. I was gratified with the performance 'out of the box' and didn't experiment with other tensions or springs. Note that the spring cannot go straight up directly above the pulley as the pulley bracket is spot welded to the door there. Given the angle involved, at one point of my thinking I was willing to use 2 springs to 'even' the tension but the pulley moves freely and the spring is surprisingly effective at keeping slack out of all cable sections under all conditions.

    VIDEO file - yahoo ferraritech group has the 7 seconds action movie of the window in the files section. Sorry, I am unable to post it here as it is greater than I am allowed to post. It is a 1 MB .wmv file and I suggest using Windows Media Player using repeat (cntrl T).
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