I've motorized my rear blinds! ; link to pics now

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 11 May 2005, 04:18

Thought id improve on the BX rear blinds by motorixing them. All you need is a 100:1 fixed ratio reduction gearbox and 12v motor from Maplins, some fishing wire, some pullys and some screws and a double pole double throw switch mounted in the centre console next to the handbrake. Its brilliant for when it gets sunny on the move or if some idiot is too close behind with bright lights. I thought id find out if such a thing exist in the World of cars and it does, but is usually a £300+ option on expensive Mercs and BMW's etc. The motor and gearbox screws intothe underside of the Parcel shelf, the fishing wire wraps round a shaft I made and attatched to the motor, then emminates through an invisable (because of the carpet) hole, goes up to two little pullys at the top and spilts into two lines, one going left the other right to two other pullys, and back down to the hooks on the blinds. You probably think ive got too much time on my hands-I havent, im just mad!!

Dave Bamber · Post by **Dave Bamber** » 11 May 2005, 04:22

Is this the ultimate in BX Madness?[:D] Oh yes!

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 11 May 2005, 05:12

we've gotta have a photo of that!!

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 11 May 2005, 05:20

that does sounds VERY impressive! what weight of fishing line? does it stay up or does it tend to fall back down again?

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 11 May 2005, 14:32

Think it is 30 Ibs wire. Probably more than necessary. The blinds dont tend to drop back down although I havent taken the car anywhere yet- I dont think they could due to the fact that the gear ratio is so low that you cant turn the output shaft at all yourself. Infact I would have got a slightly quicker less forceful gearbox and motor if id have known how slow it was but I thought id play it safe and get one I knew would lift the blinds-They dont feel that hard to pull but with two of them and the friction of the fishing wire etc it takes quite a lot to pull them up. Basically they take almost twice as long as the electric windows to go up and down, while being very slightly quicker on the way down. Ill take a picture when I get the chance and post it.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 11 May 2005, 14:52

If you want to speed them up you could try a larger pulley on the motor (assuming you have one) rather than replacing the motor / gearbox.

ACTIVE8 · Post by **ACTIVE8** » 11 May 2005, 18:56

Interesting thread.

406 V6 · Post by **406 V6** » 11 May 2005, 19:06

Very interesting indeed!
It might just go well on the boot lid of the C5[:)].Hmmmm
We citroënists are really nuts, but what would you call someone who just loves to have a car that goes up and down?

weety · Post by **weety** » 12 May 2005, 01:37

hey if you covered the blind with reflective material you could put of the idiots to close behind with bright lights on

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 12 May 2005, 01:56

Haha yeah that would be funny. Dont think the police would be too happy about that though!! I should think of a suitable message to put on them really.

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 13 May 2005, 00:58

Just cheched the wire its 60 Ibs fishing wire. Its clear too so is hard to see. The gearing system cannot be modified-The only way I could increase the speed would be to make the shaft that winds the wire wider but as its working reliably at the moment I think ill leave it all alone.

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 13 May 2005, 01:55

Right ive taken pictures but ive absolutely no idea how to post them on here and I dont have anywhere to host them at the moment. I may speak to a fried who has a website that already has pics of my GS on it.

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 13 May 2005, 02:27

Right I dont know how to put these pictures on here but ive found something called MSN "Myspace" on MSN messenger where I have uploaded pictures of it- Its really nothing special to look at- I took one of the blinds in the halfway up position and one of the motor and shaft unit.
http://spaces.msn.com/members/BXWORLD/P ... c=blogpart
Hopefully that should work- They are there somewhere and there is also a button to see a bigger version of each picture.

Post by **Jon** » 13 May 2005, 02:36

That rocks!
[img]/images/adamski1.jpg[/img]

Post by **martyhopkirk** » 13 May 2005, 02:41

Hope you dont mind Adam, made a bit smaller for the forum:
(full size vsn avail on Adams link above)...

<i>Edit </i>- bum! Great minds and all that, eh Jon?