window regulator fitting

[De4n]

Hi, can someone help please, I've just started to change the window regulator, I am just about to remove the air bag but I cannot disconnect the wiring harness. I don't want to force it, does it just pull off or does it have a retaining clip? Cheers

[De4n]

don't worry all is ok. what a job!!! 3.5 hours

[lunny]

Having just done this job and struggled to find a how to, i thought id post my experience here as seems a logical place. No pics im afraid but ill try and list out what to do. Initially id say its an everage job but some basic engineering know how, tools and patience is all you need. No special tools are required

Tools req
Set of torx keys
10mm sockets inc a long thin one to get through the door skin
Flat blade drivers
Sharp knife
Torch is useful
Wirecutters
3 x cups of coffee/tea (plan on 2-3 hrs)
Replacement regulator. Mine was £156 from bmw
Door card Clips are 60p each if you break them

1. Prise out airbag plastic moulding from door card
2. Prise out circular screw cap behing door release
3. Prise cover off inner door handle
4. Prise while lifting mirror speaker cowl. Disconnect speaker connector and aside.
5. Remove 4 torx screws from handle, door opener and airbag motif hole.
6. Using flat blade driver ease door card away from door starting at the bottom
7. Door card is now held on by 5 clips at the top. Pull door card away from door, NOT upwards. Clips are tight so take care but it will come away.
8. Disconnect door release cable
9. Disconnect electric window and mirror connectors from door switch. Aside door card.
10. IMPORTANT. Now disconnect earth lead on battery. If you dont do this airbag warning light will come on.
11. Remove 3 screws holding airbag in. Ease of connecter and aside. Remove mirror wire clip from door.
12. The moisture cover is held on by good sealant. I went round mine with a knife to cut the sealant. Aside cover.
13. Remove sealing grommet from bottom of door to get access to lower regulator nut. Remove 5 nuts holding regulator in.
14. Unclip regulator cable from clip inside door in middle.
15. Remove regulator from window. Front is a ball joint. Pull retaining clip off and ease cup moulding off ball with driver. Rear is a torx bolt through the regulator bracket and plastic window shroud. To get easy access, window must be half way down so torx bolt lines up with access hole in door. If like me the window is stuck up you can cut the wires to allow it to drop down.
16. Remove window motor (3 torx screws) and swap onto new regulator.
17. Refit regulator and connect to window. I had to use the motor to turn the regulator to get the right height so the torx bolt lined up with the access hole for refitting.
18. Once the regulator is refitted you need to check the adjustment to the roof. To do this your going to have to reconnect switches and the airbag, then reconnect the battery. The golden rule is only connect the battery with the airbag connected and only disconnect the airbag with the earth lead removed from the battery. Test the window and adjust the rear window connection as necessary to get a good window/ roof fit. Once happy remove battery earth, airbag and switches again.
19. Refit moisture cover. Sealant should restick but use duck tape as necessary
20. Feed wiring through holes. Reconnect and refit airbag. Reconnect all connecters on door card inc door release.
21. Feed door button through hole and push door card back onto the 5 clips at the top.
22. Ease door card downwards engaging all plastic clips again. Take care not to break them.
23. Refit 4 torx screws, handle cover, airbag motif, mirror speaker cowl and door release screw cover
24. Tidy up, stand back and admire your work.

Hope this helps someone someday. Obviously this is a guide and there is no replacement for patience and common sense.

[RenoRaines]

One thing to notice. When dealing with cables in the door pay special attention to bowden cable. The cable from door handle do door-lock/lock actuator. If you won't twist it the the right position, your glass railing will clip on it. Clipping the bowden cables can mean bending it, shaving foam protection of it ir even making some severe damage to the window lifting mechanism or door handle mechanism.

One of my mechanics managed to bend my bowden cable into wrong position. Raising and lowering the glass produced weird trimming sound. After I checked what's going on I saw bowden cable twisted, rubbed and with breaks. I managed to straighten it and zip-tie it to door handle plastic. When you tie it down you SHOULD check door handle resistance. Tie it to hard and you'll feel a considerable amount of resistance operating the door handle. So zip-tie it gently, just enough to keep the bowden cable away from glass lifting mechanism.

I'll post pictures which I have.

[James1]

Great post.
Has anyone used the repair kits that are sold on e bay - would like to know if they work or not

Thanks

[James1]

Hello - anyone there please

[w1ndsurfnut]

Hello James. I'm just having a nightmare with the cable replacement route. Bought off eBay. it says its the right one for my car. For a start, the spring loaded fitting at one end of the cable is different(see photo) I managed to make it fit by shaving off a very small amount of plastic from the original part where the motor goes. Now I have re threaded the cable, both adjustment springs are fully compressed, and I cannot get the cable back over all 4 pulleys.

Shows variation in fitting

20200205_105858_resized.jpg (425.67 KiB) Viewed 11274 times

Cable not over 2 pulleys, springs fully compressed

20200205_104516_resized.jpg (193.75 KiB) Viewed 11274 times

[James1]

Twist it hard - they will go back on the pulleys - use a screwdriver to assist if required

[Roberltd2]

I replaced my driver's side window regulator yesterday with one bought from a breakers but with very little sign of wear. It also came with the electric motor fitted.
I followed an excellent video on youtube by Revive My Ride on how to go about doing this which exactly mirrors what lunny's procedure was. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPF3dh11F9U
Having removed the original regulator assembly and fitted in the replacement, I then finished off tightening the various fasteners and finally attaching the connector block to the electric motor.....
.....only to find it was a different type of connector to the one originally fiitted. The original was made in Mexico and the replacement made in Germany.
So it was back to square one. Remove the regulator again, swap the motor with my original and then fit the regulator for the second time.
Anyway, I reckon I could do the procedure again much quicker next time.
Also, the window glass needs to be lowered to 12cm at it's highest point so that the screw holding the rear portion of the glass can be accessed through the hole in the door frame. I don't think that is mentioned tn the video but if you are able to lower your window ahead of the job it could save a lot of faffing about.
Revive My Ride has also made another great video on fitting the regulator repair kit which is what's next on my list. I have read a couple of bad reports about pattern regulators so I think it would be a good idea to repair the original for potential future use.
Trying to pry off the door membrane was a total nightmare so I ended up ripping it all off, cutting off the stuck bits with a sharp blade and ordering a new membrane from BMW Direct on ebay (thanks nuff zed for that pointer).
It's really nice to have a working widow again .

[Roberltd2]

Here's a photo of the old and replacement regulators side by side. They look pretty much identical, but if you zoom in you can see that the motors have different connector blocks:

Regulator comparison.jpg (444.05 KiB) Viewed 904 times

[Roberltd2]

So, having fitted the s/h regulator from the breakers (Smalz Cars Ltd., West Lothian - thoroughly recommended), I then turned my attention to replacing the broken cable on the original regulator.
Just like w1ndsurfnut, I bought a replacement kit off ebay only to find a mismatch in the plastic moulding preventing a proper sleeving.
I decided to Dremmel out the new moulding so that solved that problem.
As with the renewal of the regulator assembly, I was following a YouTube video by Revive My Ride, except this one was about renewing the regulator cable assembly. Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYuXjpeAgOA.
A lot of it does include video for the removal of the door panel etc. but the stuff relating to the cable replacement is well worth watching.
Where I did depart from his procedure was, whereas he laced the new cable around the pulleys and the used a lever to pry the cable bobbin into place, I found it easier it wind the cable around the motor bobbin (both ends from different directions - this will try your patience!) and then slot the wound bobbin back into place with the cable settled on the "threading cams" on the opposite regulator arm.
Even that was a challenge, so then to get the cable off the threading cams and fully wound onto the idler pulleys, I set up the whole assembly so that I was able to push down really hard on the window glass mounting points and eventually the whole thing snapped into place.
The new cable is under a huge amount af tension at the moment but after a couple of weeks / months / years I think I'll apply some power to the motor and see what happens!

PXL_20250415_214721309.jpg (190.91 KiB) Viewed 842 times