Fix a window motor?

[zeedre]

Hi Guys, I have a window motor from the rear of a 91 318i. I took it out as it had stopped moving up or down.

So, I'm certain its the motor. I tried it on the other side (which is working) and it didn't move. When I try to get it to go it gives a very faint click but applies no torque. I pulled it apart and its generally pretty clean. The grease looks like its age. I see no damaged windings. I see the brushes moving and pushing against where they should. No burnt anything. No broken solder joints.

Additionally, I cant seem to separate the worm gear from the plastic gear housing. Should I try harder or is it not separable?

Any tips??

[zeedre]

Ok! Miracle! Helpless noob solves his problem!

I had about given up on this motor but I decided maybe cleaning the crap out of the brushes might be a last ditch attempt.

I ended up popping out the worm gear with a punch and a vice which seemed to break out a retaining ring. The brushes looked like they used to have some groves which had worn themselves out - they were basically polished. I took a dental pick and scratched up the face of the brushes , then cleaned with some carefully applied solvent and reassembled.

Bingo, works like a charm and fast too! Hopefully my non bmw approved brush groves will last for a while.

For future reference, I think you do not need to to actually separate the worm gear - you can see the brushes well enough and if you use a dental pick or two, you should be able to scuff up the face well enough and then clean it by compressing the brush spring with the motor canted the other way.

[Kershaw]

Nice job. I did essentially the same thing on a wiper motor once. The grease from the worm gear got all over the contacts and it wasn't working anymore. Cleaned the grease off the contacts and it worked like new.

[bmwstudent]

op you sound like someone with some brains, intuition, and drive. Do you currently have a job? If not would you like to move across the country to Delaware and become a tractor trailer mechanic. If not that's cool, I predict you will go far in life. As you may be able to tell, it's tough to find good help. lol Nice job fixing you stuff!