Driver window glass stuck open— Elan+2

[Rickrey]

I’m a newbie with Lotus, although I have had many other British cars. I purchased a +2 about three weeks ago. The windows moved up and down, reluctantly, during my drive home. I pulled in my driveway and the drivers side window would not go up.
I noticed that the drivers window came down rapidly— from about halfway down—the last couple times I opened it— (rain showers).
I have checked fuses and removed the door card and checked voltage to the motor— all good. Ground is good. I think the motor wants to work as I noticed the Brake Fail(another issue) light dims when I operate the window switch— both up and down.
Is it possible that the window is jammed in the open position? I see I can access the bottom of the window arm through the door light holes. I am thinking of applying pressure to the bottom of the window, but, don’t want to break anything.
I haven’t been able to find a good picture/drawing of the window lifting mechanism.
Any suggestions would be appreciated !

[alaric]

Hi. Welcome to the joy of Lotus.

The window runs in felt lined slots in the chromed metal window frame. The motor operates an arm that raises and lowers the window, so in some ways it's simpler than wire operated electric windows.

I think the window is held level just by the felt slots I.e. the arm from the motor runs along the bottom of the window as it is raised.

So, it would not be unreasonable to assume it's twisted slightly, especially if, like my +2, it hasn't seen rain for a long time, and got a bit sticky.

But it may have broken where the arm fits to the window. I'd need to check how it fits in to remind myself but i think its a little bush that runs in a slot. If that's the case you should be able to raise the window by hand I think. You would need to remove the motor, which comes out of the aperture in the fibreglass skin.

The parts manual is on the forum with an exploded diagram of the mechanism. The workshop manual is here too somewhere.

I'd try raising one side to see if it comes loose, then the other side.

See what others say before doing anything though - I'm working from memory of assembling the windows about 10 years ago.

Regards.

Sean.

[billwill]

Which model elan have you got? If it is a two-seater Elan, it is likely that the wire hawser has come off one of the pulleys and it's all jammed up in there. That means you will need to master the skill of taking the window frame out of the door. Not an easy task.

The Elan and the Plus 2 parts lists, with 'exploded' diagrams are on the incomplete wiki on this website.

https://lotuselan.net/wiki/Category:Elan_Parts_List
Two-Seater Elan


https://lotuselan.net/wiki/Category:Plus_2_Parts_List
Elan Plus 2 etc



~~~~~~~~
Ah, Sorry, just noticed that you posted this request in one of the Plus 2 sections, so you can ignore the info about the two-seater Elan.

[Rickrey]

The window is absolutely jammed/locked in the fully down position. Any ideas on how to move it up ?

[The Veg]

When you say 'jammed/locked,' are you sure that this is a mechanical condition and not an electrical one?

The ground being good can be misleading- the wire from the motor goes through several connectors an joins with other grounds before eventually connecting with the chassis. I'd gone through mine and ensured good condition, got a good continuity reading through them, but the windows still wouldn't rise without a push by hand. Then I ran some large wires, about twice as thick, straight from the motors to the chassis. Problem solved. You may also want to get inside the switches and de-carbon the contacts.

Back to mechanical issues. Make sure everything in the mechanism is cleaned of dirt and old hardened grease then apply fresh. Make sure that the spring hasn't been released, that the motor's teeth are properly engaged, etc. You may have to pull it all apart to check everything- something may have broken. Don't rule out a problem with the motor itself; rebuilt ones are easy to get in USA because they're a GM motor- if you tell the clerk at the parts store that you need motors for a '70 Chevelle they'll be the right ones (exchange will be required).

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[Rickrey]

Thanks !
I have worked on all manner of cars and mechanical problems, but two things I have tried to avoid are the inside of a transmission and the inside of a door.
I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet.
A couple questions:
I have only seen a drawing of the window mechanism — does the gear on the motor mesh with the gear on the bottom of the window and directly move the window up and down ?— there is no horizontal sliding component?
How do you get the motor and mechanism through the one small hole in the door ?

[The Veg]

It is as in the second diagram in Billwill's post. The motor is geared to move an arm with a bushed prong on the end that slides in a slot in the metal track along the bottom of the window. Pretty simple really. If you pull the motor, make sure to stick a screwdriver or something through the gear to block the spring. It'll make more sense when your eyes are on it. It's the first window-mechansim I ever worked with and if an oaf like me can do it, you probably can too.

[rjaxe]

Just a word of caution if you are testing the opener out of the car don’t just run the lever off the end of the drive gear without some restraint. The lever coil spring is wound up pretty tight and will unleash the arm with frightening force. How do I know this?

[bobchaplin]

The pin the nylon roller fits on can rust, it puts extra pressure on the roller so it jams in the slide, if its really bad it splits the roller completely. I have just made up new nylon rollers for my +2 on my lathe. If the felt tracks are badly worn the window jams in them. The felt channel is Cortina Mk2, cheap as chips off e-bay, I paid £5 for 2x metres with free postage. The motors may be drawing power but may be burnt out. I used Jaguar XJ Series 2 motors, these have the same 'footprint' as the original but are readily available off e-bay for around £30 each. Only thing is with these they are slightly bigger and use polarity reversal for up and down. I made up two small boxes with a pair of relays for this. I also ran a separate fused feed and used the +2 switches to operate the relays. This takes the motor power away from the dashboard loom, but then my +2 I have completely rewired (i'm an electronics technician) everything is now fused and all power circuits on relays, purists will hate it but at least it won't catch fire with an electrical fault!
Bob

[Rickrey]

I have just about finished a discrete rewire of the door window.
The motor works and window works with an external battery and direct wiring.
Thanks for the replies.