30 replies to this topic

[syholl]

Also, it is much easier for people with rheumatoid arthritis. So is central locking...

[CanadianMiniFan]

whats central locking? (by the way i love both of your vans/traveller! why are then in two different mags though? well you should be proud of both of them!)

[Jimmyarm]

Central locking is where you turn the key in one door, it opens all of them. Usually linked to the alarm fob as well on modern cars. Whats it called your side of the pond FFR

[JoeBodge]

fitted them finally today - after another 8 hours of hair pulling out!!! chopped the old connectors and put new ones on. thanks for some of you helpful comments

JoeB

[screech]

I fitted this kit last year, had many problems too.

Nothing fitted as you say, had to modify one of the inner doors to get them in right.
I also found that the connectors on the loom and the motors were different. I chopped mine all up anyway as i didn't use the second passenger switch and linked it all in with the alarm etc.

Not much point sending back and getting another one from somewhere else, as they are all the same anyway, i spoke to the technical dept of the people who supply them to Wood and picket, mini spares etc.


Mark.

[Amy]

Also, it is much easier for people with rheumatoid arthritis. So is central locking...

Ay, which is why poor old Sy had sooo much work to do on Toad!!! I needed the leccy windows, as the last mini I owned had extremely stiff window winders and I could barely move them during a 'flare up' of my arthritis.

I must admit that most people probably buy this kit for posing purposes, but then again, what are angel-eye headlights, chrome bits, leather interior & fancy car stereos for- if it's not for showing off, just a tiny bit....?!

whats central locking? (by the way i love both of your vans/traveller! why are then in two different mags though? well you should be proud of both of them!)

Thanks, we're really proud of both Momo and Toad. They are in different magazines simply because I got the chance to choose which one Toad went into and gave Mini World the feature, as they were on my case about it so much!!! Wish we'd stayed with Mini magazine now, as it's a much better mag over all..... But the guy who did the article was lovely and it came out well regardless of which mag it was in!

As for central locking- it just means that all your locks are linked together and open/close at the same time. We have done what 'jimmyarm' says and linked it to the alarm fob, to make it 'remote central locking' at the touch of a button, like most modern cars.... very handy!

[Jammy]

Have emailed a link of this page to W&P. Hopefully if they see people are having problems then they can sort them out for future customers!

[JoeBodge]

cheers jammy

[CanadianMiniFan]

Central locking is where you turn the key in one door, it opens all of them. Usually linked to the alarm fob as well on modern cars. Whats it called your side of the pond FFR

probably the same, usually when it's advertised it's "automatic locks", ie can be controlled by the fob. most cars with electric locks have central locking anyway...thank you though:)

[Silicon Skum]

I’ve found a copy of an old miniworld tec article on how to fit electric window and central locking, and seeing as you can pick up universal kits for both fairly cheaply I should be able to kit mine out with the same luxuries for about £60 to 70 all in for both systems full fitted.

Yeah, i thought that as well. The central locking kit is straight forward enough, and you can easily make that up yourself.

The window kit is not as easy, and is worth the money in my opinion. I spent a whole day modifying a set out of a fiat or something, and fitted them to a spare doors to test. Every time i tried it, the thing destroyed itself, no matter what i tried. The 2 main problems are:

1 - The mini window shape is different to most car windows, in that the glass goes all the way to the corner at the front. This means that there is no front edge that stays in the runner, just a tiny little corner. On most cars therefore, it is possible to push a window up and down using one fixing point for the motor, and it can be mounted anywhere near the centre and the window will go up and down really easily. With the Mini, the window has to be rigidly fixed in place in 2 seperate places, that are both controlled by the motor, and they can't have any flex in them at all. This is what causes most of the hassle. The window will not stay horizontal in the runners, it constantly spins and jams in place.

2 - Because of the thickness of a Mini door, there is very little room to fit the motors. The kit is designed specifically for the Mini, and fits (Just..!!!!) very tightly in the bottom of the door. The window comes down and actually stops resting on it. I have never seen another motor kit that would fit in the bottom of the door and have a mechanism that doesn't obstruct the glass...

Good luck with that one, i gave up after a very frustrating day and bought the kit....

I seem to remember that some Ford windows mechs worked in the mini, think it was Ford Granada gear.
If you are good at making things with metal and mechanicle things, then it should'nt be too hard to make a working mechanism from a normal manual winder mech and a set of electric window winders (assuming the motors will fit in the door).

You could even make your own from scratch by using a gear reduction motor wich are available in many different size and shapes. Infact a few years ago I scavenged a set of gear reduction motors out of some old (and I mean OLD) IBM A1 sheet daisy wheel printers (circa mid 80's), I go them for a robotics project but never used them. A little later, I tried a quick test on my mini's winder mech (I just connected the drive shaft to the winder handle shaft, and held the motor by hand) and they worked well. With a minor adjustment to the door furniture, I could have installed them inside a large door "handle" thingey from another car and had them in the position of the original winder handles.

I didn't go any further with that idea though, I didn't want to spoil the door cards by drilling holes.

SS

[yeti21586]

Thread revival!!!!!!!

I've bought the W&P elec window kit second hand from a friend , and don't have instructions, so was wondering if anyone had a set they could scan in and email to me or post to me cheers


YetI

[yeti21586]

Bump

[Samini86]

electric windows on a mini just isn't right!

[yeti21586]

Anyone?

[joshspragg]

electric windows on a mini just isn't right!

rover actually fitted electric windows as an optional extra. and you wouldnt even tell they were electrical apart from the 2 swtiches on the dash.