Technical: Window regulator steel cable...

H3llR4iser

Hi folks,

A bit of a more technical than usual thread: one of the steel cables in the right hand side window regulator has snapped. Obviously, the window dropped and all - it's now held in place by two half clothespegs lodged between the glass and the door panel (age old, 1980s proof universal temporary fix!).

Now, the regulator motor, the gears, all the plastic parts are fine - just the cable is gone. It looks and feels a lot like a bicycle brake cable, only the little "knobs" at the end are a bit smaller. Was anybody ever successful repairing a regulator with a bike brake cable? If I go to a bike shop and ask them to make a cable of the specific length (and with suitable terminals), will they commit me to the closes madhouse?

Thanks!

porsche boy

what car?

I only yesterday replaced the cables on a reg in my Audi. There are kits available on ebay with just the cables or you can buy other kits in motor factors usually with the cables pre fitted to the rails.

discodavie

porsche boy wrote: »

what car?

I only yesterday replaced the cables on a reg in my Audi. There are kits available on ebay with just the cables or you can buy other kits in motor factors usually with the cables pre fitted to the rails.

Yes you can do it that way but its very finicky to be honest and can takes hours to do , ok if your doing it yourself.

If you take it out and are in Dublin give john in cablecraft a ring. , they're in rathcool but will need the original to make a new one for you.

Otherwise a scrapper will charge ya round 50 squid for a second hand reg.

H3llR4iser

It's a 2001 Megane, the regulator is probably worth as much as the car.

I know there are repair kit on ebay - problem is, they're all in the 25-30 £ range + delivery, putting them in the same ballpark as the entire regulator; Quite silly if you ask me.

Unfortunately, I'm in Cork, so no cablecraft option for me...unless there's somebody equally suitable around here!

porsche boy

they are finiky and patience is a must, but doable for someone with a few tools and a technical understanding of what he's doing, if I was going at it again i'd pay the extra and get the kit with rails as trying to tension the cables while keeping everything in place is a serious pain.
Scrapper ones are just a bit hit and miss, you would want to check the condition of the cables for any individual strands that may have snapped as you may be back in the same position in a couple of weeks when that too snaps.
Never even heard of Cablecraft, good idea for a business though.

discodavie

H3llR4iser wrote: »

It's a 2001 Megane, the regulator is probably worth as much as the car.

I know there are repair kit on ebay - problem is, they're all in the 25-30 £ range + delivery, putting them in the same ballpark as the entire regulator; Quite silly if you ask me.

Unfortunately, I'm in Cork, so no cablecraft option for me...unless there's somebody equally suitable around here!

Just done a 01 Laguna this mornin , guy ordered one from France. , driver side ... The wrong side here ... Got the correct one this mornin put it in in an hour.

You could send it up to cabiecraft but you'd be looking at getting it back early Monday at the earliest , not ideal to save a tenner ....

discodavie

porsche boy wrote: »

Never even heard of Cablecraft, good idea for a business though.

Yea they do all sorts of cables (except hydraulic) levers linkages etc and are in business years they're on done deal a fair bit

( Note to mods I've nothing to do with the company at all except that I've used them before and am giving a personal recommendation )