Freelander 1 Tailgate window won't calibrate [FIXED/BODGED]

A bit of a complex story this I'm afraid, but as I don't understand what's wrong I will have to give all of it. A detail could be important.

Short version: the tailgate glass won't stay closed. It will close, the dash gives four short beeps, and then it goes down again.

The window used to work fine. From memory the glass would totally retract inside the tailgate in fully down with no glass sticking out at all; is my memory correct?
Then SWMBO reversed into a post which hit the spare wheel and pushed it in a fair bit.
I attached a hand winch to the bottom of the spare wheel and pulled it back whilst smacking the inside with a lump hammer. This got the tailgate nearly straight, in fact to the point that you wouldn't notice unless I pointed it out to you.
However since then the glass does not go all the way down, but even on maximum downness the glass stick out maybe 4 or 5cm. But it still worked.
Today I have been playing with body control diagnostics, and one of the features in the T4 is that you can manually force the windows up and down relays. This works and the window does go up and down.
However after finishing playing with it I can no longer get the windows closed.
As I said in the short version the glass goes up all the way, four short beeps and comes down again.
If I use the diagnostics I can force it closed, but, if you then squeese the open handle then the glass goes a long way or all the way down, and won't go back up again.
Currently the hippo is closed up and secure but it means that SWMBO can't use the tailgate.

So here is my guess.
The window needs to be "recalibrated", so the ECU know where the glass is. My guess is that because the glass is mechanically restricted it now won't calibrate.
My guess is that this means I have to open up the tailgate again and figure out why the glass won't go all the way down, and get busy with a big hammer.
Am I wrong?

Another possibility is this: from memory there is some kind of clamp connecting winder mech to glass. Maybe by manually powering the glass into a distorted frame this has pulled the clamp off of the glass a bit.

thanks.

While reading through your description, my thoughts were your first guess - ie it needs recalibrating, but as it won't go all the way down, it won't.

I don't know much about the rear window mechanism, but I'd suspect a runner is bent. Not sure how the CCU knows when the window is 'down' - whether there's a switch or it senses voltage change, what ever, it looks to be getting confused with summat.

Have you tried disconnecting the battery, waiting for a bit and reconnecting? (not read back to check!) This will lower the rear window, you then press the switch to raise the window fully and that calibrates it. It might not then work properly, but it might work properly enough to be usable till fixed (or you get a replacement back door from a breakers).

Also in my searching I just read that if the rear wiper isn't parked then the glass won't "work properly".
My rear wiper has also packed up (again it did work before the diagnostic session), so probably it isn't parked.
So is it that the wiper doesn't work because the glass motor is confused, or is that the the glass motor doesn't work because the wiper is confused?

ok I found this "The issue is the window needs to go fully down before it can set the up stop point." in this thread https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/2005-freelander-window-calibration.129043/

seems pretty certain that this is my problem. I will have a look tomorrow

also this
"the 4 beeps are because the window isn't calibrated. because it isn't calibrated, the rear wash wipe won't work, because the controller can't tell whether the window is open or closed, so assumes open for safety.

Disconnect battery for 10 mins. when you reconnect, glass should lower fully. then drive window closed using dashboard switch (obviously with ignition on). The window should then be calibrated an normal service resumed." from this thread https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rear-window-calibration.249196/
seems pretty clear.

sorry, should have searched first

The glass was binding on the wiring loom.
There are clips that are supposed to keep the wiring onto the door skin so that the glass does touch the wires, but on mine the glass was trying to rip the clips out of the door skin:-


This is no doubt caused by the door skin having been pushed nearer to the glass by the spare wheel hitting a post.

So some bodgery ensued:-


also added some tie wraps to help keep the wiring out of the way of the glass

I think really it will need a new tailgate, and I think that those clips would be better replaced with a sheet of stiff plastic screwed over the whole thing.
Anyway it all works again now

pscan.eu said:

The glass was binding on the wiring loom.
There are clips that are supposed to keep the wiring onto the door skin so that the glass does touch the wires, but on mine the glass was trying to rip the clips out of the door skin:-

This is no doubt caused by the door skin having been pushed nearer to the glass by the spare wheel hitting a post.

So some bodgery ensued:-

also added some tie wraps to help keep the wiring out of the way of the glass

I think really it will need a new tailgate, and I think that those clips would be better replaced with a sheet of stiff plastic screwed over the whole thing.
Anyway it all works again now

Click to expand...

Nice work