It IS critical to loosening and tensioning!
So
that's the answer to the question of how to loosen cable tension!
I wish I had known that earlier - when I needed it!
The good news is the NEXT person can start without making the same mistakes!
IIRC, the black rigged piece works counter intuitive. The spring pushes it out. When the spring pushes out, the tension increases on the cable.
Is this correct yet?
- Push the black plastic ribbed post into the motor ==> decreases cable tension?
- Pull the black plastic ribbed post out of the motor ==> increases cable tension?
the black piece works like a ratchet. Once it is pushed out one ridge by the spring, you can not push it back in. Or is it the other way around? I don't remember which way the ratchet works, but I do remember that it is a ratchet.
I agree it's confusing. Like you, I found the ratchet post does NOT spiral inward. Each "rib"
is a 'stop'. However, I found,
with force, the ribbed tension adjuster 'does' go both inward and outward - but it takes a LOT of force either way. I had to actually use a mallet on it, which is difficult because the spring was there (this was before I knew HOW to unwind the spring in situ!).
So the trick was to hold the spring compressed as much as I could, then put everything in its place, and then release it to create the tension.
Another trick 'might' be to assemble the cables without the spring (taking care to put the black ribbed plastic post in a 'desired' setting), and then manually wind the spring onto the cable like how you put your key into a keychain, spinning it on the cable, one turn at a time.
The tension is not adjustable, the spring creates the tension and there is nothing you can do.
Oh oh. What does that mean? I wasn't confused when I thought that the LOCATION of the black ribbed post is what determines the tension on the cable.
If the spring in and of itself creates the same tension no matter where the black ratchet post is set to, then what does the ratchet mechanism do?
I hold the spring compressed ...I used a kitchen fork.
Do you can see a small hole in the white plastic that the spring goes around in one of my pictures? I tried holding the spring in place with a nail pushed into
that hole. However, the spring is POWERFUL. It pushed the nail out - but - with diligence - that hole might be used to hold the spring in compression.
However, I hope that the spring can simply be wound onto the cable as the LAST STEP!
I don't like how the cable is bent
I had noticed that same difference the moment I saw your pictures. Your cable ends in the take-up spool are both straight. Mine are both bent. My cable is also slightly frayed as a result.
I carefully straightened them by hand.
when you wrap the cable ends around the spiral, make sure you insert them flush in their grooves.
I fully understand.
I finally figured to tie it down with these strips until it was assembled.
I had noticed that. I was thinking I might do one of three things to prevent that problem:
- Tie it down just like you did
- Bolt it down using the original bolts and the original motor mount plate
- Skip the step altogether by (hopefully) winding the tension spring on as the VERY LAST STEP! (if that works)
Once one end reaches the end of the cable, the spool will stop, naturally. Turn it the other way and it will stop on the other side. Meanwhile, the spool is always full of cable, either from one side, or the other, or half and half.
Hmmmm.... Interesting!
End to end is exactly the distance that the window is moving up and down. You can't make it wrong
Hmmm... I guess this is one thing I have to try first to best understand!
assemble everything without the spring, but with the black piece.
Well, if my gut feeling is correct, I might be able to assemble the entire thing, and even bolt the motor back to the motor plate, without ANY tension. Then, as a very last step, I will try to wind the spring back onto the cable, from the outside inward (if that will work) just like you put a key on a keychain.
If 'that' works - the tension would be the last step!
the last piece I put in was the spool. I left the spool out, compressed the spring, and then pushed the spool into its place.
Interesting. I was planning on doing the takeup spool FIRST!
This is good advice that the takeup spool can be handled later!
Thank you for taking time to help. I realize it was years ago (your thread was from 2007!), and I'm soooo very glad you posted such great pictures. I scoured the Internet, and, to my knowledge, you're the ONLY one to have done so for the E39!