Ferrari F355 Window Lift Mechanism

Does anyone out there have any insight into repairing a window lift on a 1999 F355 Spider? The passenger side window on my car is stuck in the down position. It does respond to the switch but only moves up or down about two inches from the fully lowered position. I have removed the outer lower air intake on the outer door as well as the inner door panel but because the window is stuck in the down position I don't know how to access the door lever mechanism cable so that I could then remove the entire window lift mechanism to further inspect it. The mech is clean and has ample lubrication which does not seem gummy. I cannot see an obstruction which is making me wonder if something electronic is going on rather than mechanical. I have cycled the convertible top mechanism as well as disconnected power to the motor to attempt some kind of reset but it still only moves slightly in either direction.

 

Thank you for your input. I will try your suggestions and see where it leads me.

Thank you very much for your response.

I have read that thread and seen the photos but it appears that I have a different lift system. Mine looks like a bicycle brake cable pulley not a gear driven chain cable. I have examined the ones on ebay that are for sale and they appear to also be different from mine as well as the Ricambi drawing of that part. My car is a Fiorano and perhaps they used a different mechanism?

 

Thank you for the response. I appreciate your suggestion. It is well thought out and I will attempt to do that. I'll keep you posted.

 

Thank you all for your responses. They were helpful and gave me some ideas.

Let me give you all an update. I was able to work the window to the full up position by toggling the window switch up and down in short bursts while pulling the glass up with each up stroke. Kinda doing two steps forward and one backward with each cycle until I got it raised. Once I did, I could see that the cable that extends from the motor to the top front part of the door frame near the mirror had two problems (see attached photo). The first is that the plastic cable fitting that mounts the cable to a retainer on the window frame (at the top right of the photo) was broken off so the cable was not maintaining proper tension and orientation. The second issue is that this caused the cable to also come out of a guide coming out of the motor which whose tension is regulated by a spring encompassing the cable.

By lowering the window about 1/3rd of the way down I was able to release enough tension on the cable while allowing me to get my hands on the upper part to place the cable in the retainer on the frame and secure it with a zip tie as a temporary repair. I then compressed the spring on the lower end of the cable and inserted the cable into the guide at the motor and also secured its position with a zip tie. This has allowed the window to operate but with much drag and it still is grinding. I'm sure that part of the problem is that the zip tie holding the upper part of the cable in place does not prevent the metal cable housing from sliding up and into the upper pulley as the window rises. Since there is no longer a head on the cable to prevent that from happening. So, I hope to find a metal washer that I will cut a slot into to use as a sleeve or collar that I will place below the housing retainer and J.B. Weld it into place. I'm hoping that if I get the correct hole diameter on the washer that it will prevent the cable housing from advancing upward when I raise the window. Sound reasonable? We'll see. As you can tell from the photo the window track is clean. I mean this car has never been rained on since I purchased it in 2007. Never even washed. So, no dirt anywhere but I would like to add additional grease. Any recommendations on what type I should buy? If this repair doesn't solve my issues at least I can then release the door latch cable and remove the inner door frame along with the window lift mechanism and try cleaning and greasing the motor drive.
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