DIY - Replacing the front door window regulator clips and/or door lock module

[VgRt6]

I had some free time and all the necessary pics, so I put this DIY together. Hope it's useful to someone.

REPLACING THE FRONT DOOR WINDOW REGULATOR CLIPS AND/OR DOOR LOCK MODULE

The following DIY outlines the procedure for removing the window regulator carrier panel, replacing the window regulator clips and the door lock module on a MKIV Jetta (some steps may also apply to a MKIV Golf/GTI as well). The procedure was based on a 99.5 Jetta GLS VR6 with power windows - it may be slightly different on later models and on those with manual windows. Please do these procedures at your own risk and be ready to make small adjustments while doing them. Also, please be observant while removing parts so that they go back together correctly.

The window regulator clips used in this DIY were purchased from IMPEX and were part of a Window Regulator Repair Kit. The kit comes with four clips (two for the left door and two for the right door) and one cable/take-up reel assembly (only needs to be used if the existing cables are damaged - this part is not a redesigned/upgraded piece). There are two versions of the kit, depending on which cable assembly you need. VW part# 1JM-898-461-A comes with the cable assembly for the left door and VW part# 1JM-898-462-A comes with the cable assembly for the right door. The kit should cost $40-50. Besides Impex, you can also buy a kit from the dealer, ECS Tuning or a number of other online parts dealers.

It may be possible to receive a refund for the cost of buying the Window Regulator Repair Kit and doing the repair yourself. As long as you do the process correctly, it should save VW considerable time and money and in many cases, would be in their best interest to have owners do the repair themselves. I'm currently in the process of trying to receive a refund for the clips (purchased after extended warranty was announced). If I have any luck, I'll post the pertinent information for receiving a refund.

The part#s for the lock modules are door specific and may also vary between model and year. Make sure you obtain the correct parts for your vehicle.

The tools needed to replace the window regulator clips and/or door lock module are a flat-head screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, T20 and T30 Torx drivers, a 10mm socket (wrench or driver), an 8mm triple square tool, a rag, a sheet or blanket and a roll of duct tape. A drill and a set of bits (not sure exactly what size bit) can also be used during the procedure to disconnect the door lock module from the carrier panel. Doing so reduces the number of steps necessary to remove the carrier panel from the door (more detail on this is given below). If you are replacing the door lock module and do not use the drill to disconnect the door lock module from the carrier panel, you'll also need a small punch to push out the plastic rivets that secure the door lock module to the carrier panel. This is the recommended method since the rivets are not destroyed and can be reused when reinstalling the carrier panel on the door.

Finally, the procedure should take between 1 and 3 hours, depending on experience. I have done the procedure (replacing the window regulator clips) four times and this most recent time it took me 2.5 hours, mostly because I spent a lot of time taking pics and notes about the procedure for this DIY. If I hadn't been taking pics and notes, it would have taken between 1 and 1.5 hours.

(Note: The procedure below is for the front passenger's door specifically. The procedure for the driver's side door is nearly identical, except that the parts are a mirror image of those of the passenger's door. Specific differences between the passenger's and driver's door (very few) will be mentioned in the text.

The procedure below assumes that the window clips have not completely failed and that the window still works (moves up and down with full range of motion). If your clips have failed and the window has fallen into the door, the procedure will be slightly different. I will try to address these differences in the text.

Also, a few of the pictures were taken on a previous occasion (when the driver's door clips were replaced) so there may be slight differences in the colors of parts and of the backgrounds. Please ignore any continuity inconsistencies. If you follow the procedure as written using the pictures as a reference, you should not have any problems completing the procedure.)

__________________________________________________ __________________

PART I - REMOVING THE WINDOW REGULATOR CARRIER PANEL

1. Remove the inner door trim panel (shown below) using the directions in the following DIY - Removing front door parts.

2. Once the panel is off, you should see something like this. FYI, I have aftermarket speakers, so your woofers will look different if you have stock speakers. Also, there is some Dynamat on my window regulator carrier panel (the black panel bolted to the inside of the door) surrounding the woofer. This is not present on a stock panel.

3. Disconnect the harness connector from the top of the woofer. The approximate location of the connector on a stock woofer is shown below.

4. Disconnect the harness connectors for the tweeter and side-view mirror, indicated by the red arrows in the picture below.

5. Remove the harnesses from the harness carrier (indicated by the yellow arrow), as shown below.

6. Using a screwdriver, unplug the two rubber grommets that cover the access holes for the window regulator clips. One of the grommets is shown below.

7. If your window still works (i.e., the clips have not completely broken and the window still moves up and down), continue on with step 8 through 11 and then go directly to step 13 (skip step 12). If your window has fallen into the door, go directly to step 12.

8. Depending on the current position of the window, raise/lower the window so that the window regulator clips at the bottom of the window can be seen through the access holes, as shown below. Since the door panel is off, you'll need to use the window controls on the 'other' door to do this.

9. The next step is to temporarily support the window glass while the regulator clips are being changed. Place a rag over the top of the door. Apply a piece of duct tape to the outside of the window, up and over the top of the door and then to the inside of the window. I recommend doing this diagonally with two opposing pieces of tape, as shown below.

ATTENTION: Please make sure to completely secure the window with the duct tape. The removal of the window regulator carrier panel requires that the entire weight of the window glass be supported by the tape. For this reason, I only recommend using duct tape. Other types of tape may not be able to support the weight of the window glass. Since the window may have to be supported by the tape for 1-2 hours or more, periodically check to make sure the tape is holding properly and is not peeling away from the glass. If this occurs, the window glass may fall into the door and shatter!

10. Remove the 10mm bolt that secures each window regulator clip (two total) to the window glass, as shown below. If you are only replacing the door lock module (i.e., not replacing the clips), you do not need to remove the bolt, only loosen it.

11. Lower the window regulator clips approximately 4-6" using the window controls on the 'other' door. The clips should disconnect from the bottom of the window - this will help in removing the carrier panel later on. Go directly to step 13 (skip step 12).

12. If the regulator clips fail and the window falls into the door, it can be difficult to remove the carrier panel since the window often 'gets in the way'. If possible, try to remove the window from the door completely. This almost definitely requires the help of a second person. Attempt to pull the window up by its top edge. If you can raise the window nearly out of the door, it probably means that both clips have definitely failed. Try to raise the window so that the clips can be seen through the access holes described in step 8. If this is possible, remove the 10mm bolts, as described in step 10 and slide the clips off. Once the clips are off, remove the window from the door by pulling it up and out of the door. This is easiest if you rotate the rear edge out first and pivot the window around the lower front corner toward the front of the car. The window should come out of the door easily. If you're successful in doing this, put the window aside in a safe place. If you are not able to remove the window from the door (because it wasn't possible, not because you didn't try), it may mean that one of the regulator clips is still fully or partially intact. If this is the case, you may have to improvise a little during later steps to remove the carrier panel. I can't be more specific about this problem, since each different situation will have it's own solution.

ATTENTION: Please be extremely careful when removing the window glass from the door. Make sure to have a strong grip on the glass at all times or it may fall and break.

13. Disconnect the harness connector from the regulator motor by pulling down on the retaining slide, as shown below.

14. As you pull down on the retaining slide, the harness connector will slide toward the front of the car and off of the regulator motor, as shown below.

15. Check to see if the door lock module is riveted to the carrier panel, as shown in the picture below. Normally, the lock module is riveted to the panel, but if your regulator clips have been replaced already, the rivets may not be present. VW techs are notorious for not reinstalling the rivets when replacing the regulator clips. If your lock module is not riveted to the panel, perform step 16. If your lock module is riveted to the panel, you have two options. You can (1) drill out the rivets and continue on with step 16 or you can (2) leave the rivets intact and go directly to step 17. Option 2 is the preferred method since the rivets can be reused when reinstalling the carrier panel on the door - new rivets will not need to be purchased. If you plan on replacing the door lock module, you must perform all of the related steps (16 through 24 - do not skip any of these steps).

16. Pop off the rubber grommets for the inner door handle release cable and the door lock pin (indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below) and then push the grommets through their respective holes in the carrier panel. After doing this, go directly to step 25 - do not perform steps 17-24 unless you are replacing the door lock module. If you are replacing the door lock module, you MUST continue on with step 17.

17. Remove the small plastic tab on the rear edge of the door with a screwdriver. The tab is indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below.

18. Behind the plastic tab is a retaining screw which is used to secure the blank in the door handle, indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below. On the driver's side door, the screw secures the piece which surrounds the door lock key slot.

19. Loosen (but do not completely remove) the retaining screw with a T20 Torx driver. The screw actually has a very small triple square head, but a T20 driver works perfectly. The retaining screw can be seen in the picture below.

20. Loosen the retaining screw enough so that the handle blank slides out of the door. The passenger's and driver's side pieces can be seen in the pictures below. On my car, the screws needed to be turned approximately 13-15 turns for the pieces to slide out. Also, you may need to pull out on the door handle slightly to allow each piece to slide completely out.

21. The outer handle is connected to the door lock module by a small cable (red arrow in picture below). The end of the cable is secured to the handle by a small plastic tab (yellow arrow in picture below) which fits into a threaded groove.

22. Pop the tab on the end of the cable out of its retaining groove using a small screwdriver, as shown below. Before doing this, note the position of the tab in the groove so that it can be reinstalled in approximately the same position later.

23. The picture below shows the tab detached from the retaining groove.

24. Remove the two door lock module bolts on the rear edge of the door using the 8mm triple square tool. The bolts are indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below. The 8mm triple square tool is also shown below.

25. Pop off the rubber grommet and push in the wire loom retaining clip indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below.

26. The grommet and retaining clip should look like they do in the picture below when step 25 is completed.

27. Put a sheet or blanket on the ground below the door and over the door sill (as shown below) to protect the sill and carrier panel when the panel is removed from the door.

28. Remove the ten (10) 10mm bolts that secure the carrier panel to the door. The locations of the bolts are indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below.

29. Starting at the rear bottom corner of the panel, pull the bottom of the panel away from the door slightly, as shown below. You may have to move the panel up or down slightly to wiggle the bottom of the panel out of the door. This step may be very difficult to perform if the window glass is still sitting at the bottom of the door, especially if one of the regulator clips is still attached to the bottom of the window. If this is the case, then this is the point in the DIY that you might have to be creative in order to complete the removal of the carrier panel from the door.

30. While holding the bottom of the panel away from the door (and also supporting its weight), reach behind the panel from below and push the six (6) wire loom retaining clips out of the panel. The locations of the clips are indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below. If you yank on the clips from the front of the panel, you will almost surely damage them, making it difficult to reattach them when reinstalling the panel.

31. A close-up of one of the wire loom retaining clips is shown below. The clips are held in place by small tabs on opposite sides of the clip, indicated by the yellow arrows. Push in on these tabs simultaneously and push the clip out of the panel.

32. Once the tabs are out, lift up on the panel slightly, pull the bottom of the panel away from the door, and then lower the panel toward the ground and toward the front of the car. It is necessary to do this because the window tracks extend above the top of the carrier panel inside the door (blue arrows in picture below) and the door lock module extends to the right of the panel inside the door (red arrow in picture below). If you are removing the carrier panel with the door lock module still bolted to the edge of the door, you do not need to slide the carrier panel toward the front of the car when removing it since the lock module is not attached and will not impede its motion. You'll only need to lower the panel so that the window tracks clear. Also pay careful attention to the inner door handle cable and door lock pin when removing the panel as they are attached to the door lock module and must slide out of the panel.

33. Once the panel is removed from the door, disconnect the harness connector for the door lock module by pressing down on the tab indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below and then sliding the harness connector away from the lock module. (FYI, the lock module on the driver's side door is shown in the picture below in case someone notices some inconsistencies in the appearance of the harness/lock module relative to the carrier panel.)

34. Pull the door lock module wire bunch (indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below) and harness connector through the hole in the carrier panel. The panel should now be completely disconnected from the door.

35. If you plan on replacing the window regulator clips, go directly to Part II (below).
If you plan on replacing the door lock module, go directly to Part III (below Part II).

Let me know if you have any questions.

As always, do this procedure at your own risk. I am not responsible for any mistakes in the procedure or those that you make while performing it.


Modified by VgRt6 at 10:24 PM 8-18-2009

[VgRt6]

PART II - REPLACING THE WINDOW REGULATOR CLIPS

Steps 1 through 5 provide some background info on how the old-design window regulator clips break, the differences between the old- and new-design clips and how the window regulator assembly works. The actual replacement of parts begins with step 6.

1. An intact, old-design window regulator clip can be seen in the picture below. The old-design clips are a two part design - a metal clamp (which attaches to the bottom of the window glass) which slides into a plastic support. The plastic support slides up and down the window regulator track via an L-groove (right angle) in the support and is connected to a motor by a set of opposing cables - one moves the clip down the track and one moves it up the track.

2. A broken, old-design window regulator clip can be seen in the picture below. The old-design clip fails when the plastic support cracks and pieces break off. This allows the metal clamp portion of the clip to fall out of the plastic support, often resulting in the window falling into the door (usually when both clips fail). My original clips were replaced after 4.5 years. On both the driver's and passenger's side doors, one of the two clips was found to be broken when the window regulator carrier panel was removed. I have no idea how long the clips were broken and how much longer the remaining intact clips would have lasted. I consider myself extremely lucky not to have had a window fall into the door. Only closing the doors with the windows fully closed (I was afraid of the clips breaking) probably had something to do with the clips lasting this long.

3. The differences between the old- and new-design regulator clips can be seen in the picture below. While the old clip is a two-piece metal/plastic design, the new clip is a one-piece metal (pot metal) design with a small plastic L-groove sleeve insert to allow for easy sliding on the window track. The new-design clip is considerably stronger than the old design and should have been used from the beginning (would have saved VW and its customers a zillion headaches).

4. The colorized image below illustrates how the window regulator system works. The window glass is raised up and down by a set of clips (yellow) that attach to the bottom of the glass. The clips are raised up and down by a set of opposing cables (blue) which travel around a set of pulleys (red) and are controlled by a drive unit which consists of a cable take-up reel (green) and an electric motor (behind the take-up reel on the other side of the carrier panel). The cable network is setup (uses a criss-cross pattern) so that both clips move up and down at the same time.

5. The colorized image below illustrates how the take-up reel unit works. Inside the unit is a wheel (yellow) which has the opposing cables (blue and red) wrapped around it in opposite directions. Therefore, as the window motor rotates the cable wheel, one cable is let out while the other is wound in around the wheel. The springs on either end of the take-up reel unit assure that the cables always remain tight (even when the clips fail and the window falls into the door) and that the window operates smoothly.

6. The replacement of the window regulator clips begins with the determination of whether or not the cable/take-up reel assembly supplied in the Window Regulator Repair Kit will also be replaced. The cable/take-up reel assembly is not an improved part - only the regulator clips have been redesigned. The cable/take-up reel assembly only needs to be replaced if the cable or take-up reel unit was damaged if/when the original clips broke and the window fell into the door. If your existing cables are OK, you do not need to replace the cable/take-up reel assembly when replacing the regulator clips.

7. The cable/take-up reel assembly supplied with the Window Regulator Repair Kit can be seen in the picture below. The take-up reel assembly comes with a steel bracket attached which is used to keep the adjusting springs compressed while the assembly is not installed on the carrier panel. This bracket makes it significantly easier to replace the regulator clips and is why VW supplies it with the new cable/take-up reel assembly. It is still possible to change the regulator clips without the bracket, but doing so requires that the springs be compressed manually while trying to reinstall the regulator cables around the pulleys (this will make more sense later on).

8. If you are replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, leave the bracket in place on the new assembly and go directly to step 9. If you are not replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, remove the bracket from the new assembly (be very careful - the springs are under considerable tension) and slide it onto the old cable/take-up reel assembly which is attached to the carrier panel, as shown below. If you're doing this step, make sure that the bracket is slid onto the old assembly completely. You don't want the bracket to accidentally pop off the assembly when the tension is off the cables and the cables are removed from the pulleys (this will also make more sense later on). Go directly to step 10 (skip step 9).

9. Remove the regulator motor from the front side of the carrier panel (the side opposite where the clips, cables, etc are) so that the take-up reel unit on the back side of the panel can be removed. To do this, remove the three (3) T30 Torx screws indicated by the yellow arrows in the picture below and pull the motor assembly off of the carrier panel. Do NOT attempt to remove the cable/take-up reel assembly off of the other side of the carrier panel at this time.

10. Using a screwdriver, pry the cable off of one of the pulleys on the carrier panel, as shown below. The bottom rear pulley (closest to the rear of the car when the carrier panel is installed and closest to the ground) is shown in the picture below. Once the cable is removed from one of the pulleys, there should no longer be any tension on the cable and it can be easily removed from around the other pulleys. If you are replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, remove the cable from the bottom front and top rear pulleys only - the cable can be left in place around the other two pulleys (top front and bottom rear). If you are not replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, you only need to remove the cable from one of the pulleys - it doesn't matter which one you choose. Note: It will be more difficult to remove the cable from the first pulley with the screwdriver if you are planning on replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly and did not slide the steel spring bracket off of the new cable/take-up reel assembly and onto the old assembly.

11. Steps 12 through 22 deal with the removal of the old-design clips and the installation of the new-design clips. I RECOMMEND that you remove and reinstall each clip completely before attempting to remove and reinstall the other clip (i.e, perform steps 12 through 22 on only one clip at a time). It's possible to do the procedure on both clips at the same time, but doing it on only one will help insure that the cable routings remain in the correct position, something that may save some time when the cables need to be reinstalled on the pulleys. Note: If you are also replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, you MUST remove both clips from their cables so that the cable/take-up reel assembly can be replaced.

12. The schematic below shows a cross-section of a new-design clip in place on the window track (the old-design clip attaches to the track in exactly the same way - the only difference in the schematic would be the design of the clip itself). The schematic clearly shows how the window track fits into an L-groove in the clip body (on the new-design clip, the L-groove is in a plastic sleeve that is an insert in the clip body, as shown below).

13. To remove the old clip from the window track, rotate the clip body away from the window track (A) and then slide the clip off of the track (B), as shown in the schematics below. In some cases, the carrier panel itself may interfere with the rotation of the clip illustrated in schematic (A). You may need to slide the clip up or down the window track (depending on which clip and which pulley the cable was removed from) to an area where rotation is unimpeded. If this is not possible, you may need to remove the cable from another pulley to create some more slack in the cable. If it's still not possible to remove the clips, you can always remove the cable from around all of the pulleys - this should allow you to move the clips fully up or down the window track.

14. The picture below shows a side view of an old-design clip body where the cables attach (actually one of the broken clips). The cables fit into grooves on the underside of the clip body. One of the grooves is deeper than the other - the cable in the deeper groove needs to be removed last and installed first.

15. A picture of the underside of the clip body (below) shows how the cables are secured in the body. There is a small cable stop on the end of each cable which fits into a hole on the underside of the clip body.

16. To remove the cable ends from the clip body, remove the cable from its groove (start with the cable in the more shallow groove) and rotate the cable around the stop until the cable is roughly perpendicular to the clip body, as shown below. Then simply pull the cable stop out of the clip body.

17. If you are replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, remove the old assembly from the carrier panel (it should just pop off) and then install the new one in the same spot. Before doing so, take notice of how the cables coming out of the cable/take-up reel assembly are routed. When installing the new assembly, make sure to route the cable that comes out of the top of the assembly underneath the diagonal cable between the top front and bottom rear pulleys. Once this is done, reinstall the window regulator motor on the front side of the carrier panel. If you are not replacing the cable/take-up reel assembly, go directly to step 18.

18. Before installing the cables into the new-design clip body, make sure that you have the correct clip for whatever door and window track you are working on. The four regulator clips (both new and old) are all different and will only work on their corresponding window track. The new clips are labeled with a code that indicates the door and window track that the clip should be installed on. 'L' and 'R' indicate that the clips are for the left and right doors, respectively. 'A' and 'B' indicate that the clips are for the front (towards the front of the car when the carrier panel is installed on the door) and rear window tracks, respectively. For example, a clip with the code 'R-B' should be installed on the right door on the rear window track. Similarly, a clip with the code 'L-A' should be installed on the left door on the front window track. Also, before installing the cables on the new clip, make sure to loosen the T30 Torx screw on the clip so that the window will slide into it easily later on. Do not remove the bolt completely - only loosen it.

19. Install the cables into the new-design clip body by following step 16 in reverse. Remember to install the appropriate cable into the deeper groove first. The cables should appear as they do in the picture below after being installed.

20. On the side of the clip, there is a small tab which separates the two cables and keeps them from rubbing against each other. Make sure that one of the cables runs on one side of the tab and the other cable runs on the other side of the tab.

21. Now it's time to install the new-design clip onto the window track - the schematics below indicate how to do this. The process is basically the exact opposite of the removal of the old-design clips from the window track. Simply insert the edge of the window track into the plastic L-groove insert in the new clip (A) and then rotate the clip body into place on the track (B).

22. The picture below shows a new-design window regulator clip installed onto the window track.

23. If you did not remove and replace both regulator clips at the same time (for whatever reason), remove and replace the regulator clip on the other window track by following steps 12 through 22.

24. Once both regulator clips have been replaced, it's time to reinstall the regulator cable on the pulleys. Make sure that the cable is installed correctly on three of the four pulleys and then use a screwdriver to pop the cable onto the fourth and final pulley. Make sure that the cable guide (indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below - there is one for each pulley) is in position. This procedure should be relatively easy if the steel spring bracket is in place on the cable/take-up reel assembly. If it is not, you'll need to compress the springs on the assembly by hand to provide enough slack for the cable to be installed on the final pulley. It helps to have a second person compress the springs while you install the cable on the pulley. Newer pulleys have a cam pulley molded on top of each cable pulley which can be used to assist in reinstalling the cables if need be (Sorry. I don't have a picture). To use the cams, install the cable on one or more of the cams instead of directly on the main pulleys - use as many cams as necessary to provide enough slack to get the cable on all four cams/pulleys. Once the cable is in place on the four cams/pulleys, pull down or push up on the two regulator clips simultaneously. This will force the clips to move and will cause the cables to rotate on the cams/pulleys. After moving the clips a short distance, the cams will pop the cable onto the main pulley - move the clips until the cable is correctly installed on all four main pulleys.

25. Once the cable has been reinstalled on pulleys, double check to make sure that the clip replacement process has been done correctly. First, make sure that the new regulator clips line up with the access holes in the carrier panel (red arrows in picture below). If they do not, you'll need to reinstall the clips in the correct locations. Next, make sure that the cable coming out of the top of the cable/take-up reel assembly passes underneath the other diagonal cable, as indicated by the blue arrow in the picture below. Finally, make sure that the cables sit on opposite sides of the small tab on the edge of the clip bodies, as described in step 20. If the above three conditions are met, then the new regulator clips should be installed correctly.

26. Remove the steel spring bracket from the cable/take-up reel assembly. The window regulator system should now be fully operational.

27. Reinstall the carrier panel back onto the door - proceed directly to Part IV (below Part III) for these instructions.

Let me know if you have any questions.

As always, do this procedure at your own risk. I am not responsible for any mistakes in the procedure or those that you make while performing it.


Modified by VgRt6 at 7:24 PM 5-12-2004

[VgRt6]

PART III - REPLACING THE DOOR LOCK MODULE

The following section will be very brief. I have not actually done the procedure yet and can only offer some tips based on what I saw when I had the window regulator carrier panel off to replace the regulator clips. I plan on expanding this section if/when I replace my own door lock module(s). My driver's door module has been acting up a lot recently, so this may occur sooner than later. The VW part# for the driver's side door lock module in my car is 3B1-837-015-J (this may or may not be the same part# as in your vehicle - a quick search of door lock modules at IMPEX revealed quite a few different part#s). I'm not sure about the part#s for the door lock modules on the other three doors.

If you own a MKIV Bentley manual (book), there is a half-decent procedure for replacing the door lock module in Chapter 57 - Front Doors.

1. The picture below shows the location of the door lock module on the rear edge of the window regulator carrier panel. The door lock module is indicated by the red arrow. It is attached to the carrier panel by a plastic bracket (yellow arrow). The door lock module is riveted to the bracket (green arrow) and the bracket is riveted to the carrier panel (blue arrows). It appears that the door lock module is replaced by pushing out the plastic rivets (from the rear side of the carrier panel - the side shown in the picture below) that connect the plastic bracket to the carrier panel with a small punch and then using these rivets to secure the new door lock module/bracket to the panel.

2. The picture below shows the location of the microswitch (recognizes if the door is open or closed) that commonly fails and makes the locking/unlocking of the door and the operation of the alarm problematic. I'm not positive, but I believe that there may be an additional microswitch inside the module itself (recognizes if the door is locked or unlocked). It appears that the microswitch(es) can not be replaced separately and that the entire door lock module must be replaced if one or both of the microswitches fails (very bad design IMO - typical VW).

3. After replacing the door lock module (or if you decide not to), reinstall the carrier panel back onto the door - proceed directly to Part IV (below) for these instructions.

EDIT: Since this was originally posted, marainwater (Mark) has successfuly replaced the door lock module in his vehicle using this DIY. He has posted some more specific instructions for replacing the lock module in another thread. Go here for those instructions - http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1037408.

Let me know if you have any questions.

As always, do this procedure at your own risk. I am not responsible for any mistakes in the procedure or those that you make while performing it.


Modified by VgRt6 at 7:26 PM 5-12-2004

[VgRt6]

PART IV - REINSTALLING THE WINDOW REGULATOR CARRIER PANEL

1. Put the door lock module wire bunch and harness connector through the hole in the carrier panel shown in Part I, step 34.

2. Reattach the door lock module harness connector.

3. Reattach the wire loom retaining clip (shown in Part I, step 25) on the rear of the carrier panel.

4. If you removed the carrier panel with the door lock module still attached to the door, slide the inner door handle cable and the door lock pin through their respective holes in the carrier panel.

5. Reinstall the carrier panel onto the door by following Part I, step 32 in reverse. There are two aluminum registration pins on the front and rear edges of the carrier panel that need to fit into their corresponding holes in the door. The holes for the ten (10) 10mm bolts that secure the panel to the door will only line up if the registration pins are in place. One of the pins is indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below.

6. Check if the rubber weather seal around the edge of the carrier panel is seated correctly. The seal is indicated by the yellow arrow in the picture below.

7. If the seal is seated correctly, you should be able to see it between the edge of the carrier panel and the door around the entire circumference of the panel, as indicated by the red arrow in the picture below. Fix any spots where the seal does not appear to be seated correctly.

8. Reinstall the ten (10) 10mm bolts that secure the carrier panel to the door.

9. Reattach the rubber grommet for the door lock module wire loom shown in Part I, step 25.

10. Reattach the six (6) wire loom retaining clips shown in Part I, step 30.

11. Reconnect the window motor harness connector by following Part I, steps 13 and 14 in reverse.

12. If you did not loosen the T30 Torx screws on the new regulator clips before installing them, raise/lower the clips using the window controls on the 'other' door until the screws are visible through the access hole in the carrier panel and then loosen (do NOT remove) the screws. Be careful to make sure that the window glass slides into the the clip opening if the clip and glass are close to each other when doing this step.

13. Raise the window glass until the bottom of the glass seats in the clip opening. After you're confident visually that the glass is seated inside the clips, raise the clips slightly more. If the window moves upward slightly, then the window is seated in the clips properly.

14. Slide the window all the way toward the rear of the car and then tighten the T30 Torx clip screws to 10 N-m (89 in-lb). I didn't use a torque wrench and just tightened the screws hand tight.

15. Remove the duct tape from the window and the rag from the top of the door.

16. Clean the tape residue off of the window. Citrus degreasers work great for this job.

17. Reattach the access hole grommet covers shown in Part I, step 6.

18. Reinstall the two (2) door lock module bolts on the rear edge of the door (shown in Part I, step 24). Apply some blue/medium strength LocTite to the threads if you have any.

19. Reattach the outer door handle cable by following Part I, steps 21 through 23 in reverse.

20. Reinstall the door handle blank shown in Part I, step 20. You may need to pull the outer handle out slightly to allow the blank to slide in completely.

21. Tighten the handle blank retaining screw shown in Part I, step 19.

22. Replace the small plastic cover on the rear edge of the door (shown in Part I, step 17).

23. If you removed the carrier panel with the door lock module still attached to the door, reattach the rubber grommets for the inner door handle cable and the door lock pin shown in Part I, step 16.

24. Reattach the harness connector for the woofer.

25. Reattach the harness connectors for the tweeter and side-view mirror and install the harnesses back into the harness carrier shown in Part I, step 5.

26. Reinstall the inner door trim panel using the directions in the following DIY - Removing front door parts.

Let me know if you have any questions.

As always, do this procedure at your own risk. I am not responsible for any mistakes in the procedure or those that you make while performing it.


Modified by VgRt6 at 7:28 PM 5-12-2004

[-Pascal]

A-M-E-N

Give this man a few 's, well done.

Best pictoral how-to with comments I've ever read about any procedure, on any car, ever.

Mods, please lock this into the DIY hall of fame.

[VgRt6]

Bump for those who missed it last night.

[JoeJetta1.8T]

Quote, originally posted by -Pascal »

A-M-E-N Give this man a few 's, well done. Best pictoral how-to with comments I've ever read about any procedure, on any car, ever. Mods, please lock this into the DIY hall of fame.

Agreed. Extremely well done. That must have taken you quite some time to do such an extensive pictorial. DEFINITELY belongs in the DIY Archive.

[nimit]

as usual an amazin write up!

[VgRt6]

Thanks guys.

It started out as a small, few hour project (like my other DIYs) and then turned into the monster above. I was glad to finally get it finished. The majority of the time wasn't spent on the pics and doing the job itself, it was spent on trying to organize the text into something that made sense and flowed, especially since I tried to incorporate different possible scenarios (window still works vs. window fell in door, etc) into it.

It's too bad this didn't make it up before VW agreed to cover the clip repairs. I did it anyway for those of us who don't trust dealers with our cars or need to have it fixed ASAP and can't get an appointment for 2 weeks (happened to a friend). Hopefully people will see this and consider doing it themselves. As long as one person uses it to fix theirs, I won't mind having spent the time putting it together.


Modified by VgRt6 at 10:47 AM 9-9-2003

[Blitzen155]

excellent write up! looks like a scary job! Im not looking forward to doing this even though i know i have to.... eventually

[VgRt6]

It's actually not that tough of a job, believe it or not. If your reasonably mechanically-inclined, it shouldn't be any problem at all. The long write-up probably makes it look a lot worse than it really is.

Feel free to ask me any questions if you (or anyone else) decide to try the job yourself.

[ElectroMike]

Where is DIY on replacing the Color Printer Cartrige I just went through on the 55 page print out?

J/K, awesome write up!

Thanks again for the woderful job, will have to repack that with the win-reg kit I already have! Looks you your DIY threads add up to about a 1/4 of the Bentley's missing info now!

[VgRt6]

Quote, originally posted by ElectroMike »

Where is DIY on replacing the Color Printer Cartrige I just went through on the 55 page print out?

I know. Tell me about it! I printed out a draft copy before posting the final version and it was 47 pages on my laser printer. I'm glad that's a lot cheaper than color! It would be a lot fewer pages if the pictures didn't have to start a new page if they don't fit on the previous page. That wastes a lot of space. Oh well. Better to have too much info than too little.

Quote, originally posted by ElectroMike »

will have to repack that with the win-reg kit I already have!

Does this mean you're going to replace your own? If so, that makes all of the work worthwhile!

[ElectroMike]

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

Does this mean you're going to replace your own? If so, that makes all of the work worthwhile!

Well, since I'm mechanically inclined and do like taking things into my own hands, wheneven time permits and problem arises, when I first learned of this being a common problem, I ordered a set, just in case and have it together with and extra MAF (2.0) and a shifter rod all zip locked in plastic bags stored in the dry area of my house, with the DYI threads, ready to go!

Hey, I noticed you used screws instead of pop rivets on the speakers, how did you manage that? New holes with sheet metal screws or same holes with something behind for the screw to go into? Since the sheet metal is thinn I used rivets but the holes were getting out of shape for me, was a PITA.

[VgRt6]

I had someone install the speakers right after I got the car. I wasn't into all this DIY crap back then.

The aftermarket speakers are mounted on plastic spacers and the screws are threaded into the spacers. I'm not sure how the spacers are mounted to the carrier panel though. My guess is that they used screws also. I have to install some waterproof baffles behind the speakers soon since I found the gold-plated terminals on my $800 a pair MBQuart Q-series speakers corroded from water/moisture in the door. I'll check out how they're mounted when I do that.

BTW, I'm occasionally up in NJ on weekends to visit my parents who live in Basking Ridge (not to far from Rutherford I believe). If you decide to tackle the regs on a weekend and want another set of hands, I'll gladly help out. Let me know. I can always let you know when I'll be in the area.

[VgRt6]

Bump for the after-work crowd.

[xlredmanlx]

wow... i give u props for just taking the time to take pics and write up a review...GJ man...

[Bux]

Nice write up,

[Delux]

lol i just saw my tech the other day and asked him to hook me up with the lock module for my drivers side door so i can do this on my own. hahaha. wtf was i thinking? looks like i'm gonna pay him $50 to do it for me.

j/k i'll be following this awesome write up this weekend i'll tell you how it goes

[VgRt6]

Delux-

If you end up doing it, can you send me some notes tips for the door lock replacement. All i know (and put in the DIY) is that the old module needs to be removed and the new one installed. I'm not sure if there are cables/springs, etf that need to be swapped ver from the old to new module. Let me know if there are any more important steps and I'll put them in Part III (and give you credit, of course).

Thanks.


Modified by VgRt6 at 12:58 PM 9-14-2003

[sturat_7]

nice write up...well done, but isn't this covered under warranty so we don't have to pay for anything?

[VgRt6]

Quote, originally posted by sturat_7 »

nice write up...well done, but isn't this covered under warranty so we don't have to pay for anything?

You're correct. It is covered. Anyway, there are people on here who have had trouble getting a dealer appt. right away to do the repair. My friend was told he'd have to wait two weeks! And once you get the appt., you often have to leave the car at the dealer for a day or two. That's how the DIY actually started. My friend needed his car fixed right away, so he went to Impex (about 15 mins. from his house) and bought the parts. We figured out how to do it and had the clips on both his broken and working windows replaced in a few hours. There are also many people on the Vortex who would never trust a dealer to do anything on thir car - I'm one of them. They always seem to mess something else up, get something dirty, break something, etc - it's not worth the hassle. If you want it done right, do it yourself. $47 is a small investment IMO to make sure that it's done correctly the first time and in much less time. I put the DIY together (no small task!) so that others who also couldn't get an appt or didn't trust dealers could do the job themselves.


Modified by VgRt6 at 4:27 PM 9-14-2003

[Delux]

VgRt6,

i'm moving into a house with a double garage on the last weekend of this month so i finally have room to work on my dub! ordinarly i would let my tech work on the car but why now if i can save some $$ by doing it myself. i will make sure to keep the digi close by so i can document the lock change

[VgRt6]

Great. Keep us updated.

[Hambone_VR6]

all i gotta say is exactly what i need right now, because my clips broke yesterday and need a replacing and thanks VgRt6 you just saved me so much money

[VgRt6]

Glad it helps out. Let me know if you have any questions about the procedure.

[Hambone_VR6]

was the bottom of your door ( the inside where the window would sit if the clips broke) lined wit like a grease or soemthing, the whole bottome of mine has like a wax consistancy grease or something doesnt look like it should be there

[VgRt6]

It was. I believe it's just Cosmoline which is used as a rust inhibitor. I wouldn't worry about it.

[samc]

BRAVO vgrt6.. Is this added to the DIY thread yet?

[VgRt6]

It's in the DIY thread under "Appearance & Body". I don't think many people have seen it though.

[Hambone_VR6]

this is probably gonna sound really dumb but how do u adjust the side mirrors is it the dial next to the door handle because if it mine has never worked?

[VgRt6]

Yeah, you use the dial near the driver's side handle.

[vedubau]

Excellent write-up! I would like to thank you for such a good and useful procedure. My regulator clips have not broke yet, but I want to Dynamat my doors and plan on replacing the clips at that time. Thanks again

[Duren]

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

Modified by VgRt6 at 3:13 PM 9-24-2003

Pretty sweet! Looks like you did this in your company parkinglot during your Lunch Break .

[VgRt6]

It's my apartment parking lot. I wish it was a company parking lot - that would mean I had a job!