$5.38 VR-4 Active Aerodynamics repair.
03-20-2007, 06:58 PM
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VR-4ever
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$5.38 VR-4 Active Aerodynamics repair.
Well, not really a "mod" per se, but I am happy to have the active aero functioning properly again. 
I had already lubed up both sides of the risers last year with white lithium grease, so I ruled out mechanical jamming as the cause of the fault. The next item to check with the wing were two microswitches in the wing motor. It turns out they were near failure and only fuctioned during startup. (Wing up to down position.)
The oe part can be found at digi-key: OMRON # ss-5gl13-2 (normally closed)
OR
a SPDT Switch with 3/4" Roller Lever replacement can be found at your local radio shack part number 275-017.
I'll copy and paste a walkthrough of the active aero service.
It is advisable to have a coffee can or a suitable container to place parts in so you don't
lose them First thing is to remove the rear trunk light bulb from its socket to prevent battery drain
Caution: It will be HOT
Remove the cover plugs from the side of the hatch on both sides shown here is one cover removed
and one still in place. They can be easily popped off with a small screwdriver Use a rag to shield the
screwdriver shaft from the painted surface.
Remove the nuts using a # 10 metric socket
Next remove the rear hatch trim cover on the underside of the hatch. There are two screws on the
curve near the window, one on each side Take care to remove these as you will break the
plastic out of the hole if you don't Remove the two screws and holders for the retractable rear
cover The rest of the trim panel can be removed by starting at the trunk latch and working your way
out from there gently pulling down and popping out the retainers from their housing trying to reach in
and get as close to the retainer as possible Work your way around the lift cylinder mounts.
Once all the retainers are popped out, the panel will easily pass by the mounts
Below is a picture of the trim panel back side for ease of location of these fastening points
There are 18 points, the 4 white ones in the center and 14 slot type plastic with metal retainers. Any
metal retainers that remain in the hatch should be removed and placed back on the trim cover for
ease of replacement
After removing the trim you will see one nut and inside two holes on a triangle from the
visible nut are the other nuts holding the center assembly of the spoiler to the hatch. Remove these
also using a #10 metric socket Between the two holes is the wiring harness for the spoiler and
rear brake light. Unplug it and remove the female half from the hatch by placing your finger on top
through the hole in front of the mounting hole and pushing in the little wings that hold it in place.
Just pulling it out will break the wings making it not reusable. Once these are removed you are
ready to remove the spoiler Lift one end of the spoiler (while holding the hatch at chest level) high
enough to see the wire harness coming through the hatch in the center. Reach in and push the
rubber sealing grommet towards the center of the hole and up to remove it with the harness.
Once the grommet is loose you can carefully lift the spoiler from its mount and off the hatch
This can be done carefully by one person but if you have an extra set of hands it helps lessen the
chances of the studs protruding down from scratching the paint on the hatch. Be aware that with the
extra weight of the spoiler removed the hatch will follow you up as you remove it being pushed by the
cylinders As a matter of fact the hatch will now lift itself from the lowest position if it isn't latched
This is a good time to get a bucket of soapy water and clean the hatch lid where the spoiler has
been sitting for years It isn't a bad idea to throw a coat of wax on the area before replacing the spoiler.
Cleaning the protective gaskets is also advisable Reverse the procedure to reinstall, making sure
the rubber grommet is back in position
*My note - remember which position the spoiler is in, this will help in reassembly later.
Preferably finding a workbench where you can place the spoiler upside down on a towel or blanket to
protect it once you have removed it is the only way to go. If not the kitchen table will work
This is the heart of the spoiler and where most of the work is done
First things first, write down the position of the spoiler. Is it up or down? This will be important later and
you don't want to question your memory
You will notice there are six screws on the plate, remove them to get at the motor. At the same time
remove the 2 screws on the actuators on either end of the spoiler (pictured below)
This will detach the entire unit from the spoiler. You can set the spoiler aside till we finish with the
motor/actuator assembly. When you remove the actuator above lift it up and look at the position
of the plastic drive piece that connects the cable to the actuator slot below it. Remove them and set
them aside for re-assembly As you lift the unit off the spoiler, take care to unplug the rear third
brake light from the wire loom Remove the three screws that hold the motor assembly to the cable
guide / mounting plate below it The picture below shows the motor detached and turned 180 degrees
to it's mounting position. The mating holes can be seen. One on the cable guide and two on
the mounting plate
You will notice the motor stator housing bolts to the gear frame with two Phillips head screws
These screws have locktite on them and do not break free easily so a high quality screwdriver is
needed of the correct size to avoid stripping if the motor assemble is disassembled A word of caution
is that when the screws are removed and you pull off the stator, the armature of the motor will come
with it allowing the brushes and springs to shoot toward the middle. While the brushes are attached
with a wire, the springs are not attached to anything and can fly out and be lost, so if you disassemble
the motor, take care not to lose the springs for the brushes. Another advisement is to have the
motor point upward when the armature/stator is removed and keep it in that position as there is a ball
bearing at the bottom of the shaft/gear housing. There is also another ball bearing at the top of the
armature shaft positioned where the bump is on back of the stator. This is the location you have heard
of as far as using a straw to put the ball bearing back in the housing and getting it past the magnet.
I have found if you place new grease on the end of the armature shaft and put the ball bearing on the
end of the shaft, it is recessed enough to hold it in position along with the grease when passing the
magnet in the stator. If you do not have this luck, use the straw method. The only purpose to
removing the armature and greasing the gears is to try and make the operation best lubricated.
This does not say that removing the armature and re-greasing is absolutely necessary, so keep
this in mind. You will need a little ambidexterity to get the armature back in with springs, and brushes
in their proper places. The way I did it because I didn't have my allen wrenches handy was to install
the armature in first. Then while holding the top rotating nut in place with a crescent wrench which
also holds the armature down in its housing, I installed the stator. If you don't hold the armature in
place it will shoot into the stator and you will have to do the brushes thing all over again and also
stand a chance of losing the springs again.
Next we will check the continuity of the Switches shown in the above Photo. If you do not have an Ohm
meter, for heavens sake go buy one. The little tiny ones are about $10 at radio shack. They will tell you
voltage from 12 volts to 220 volts in AC or DC and also tell you continuity. This means that electricity
will pass through what you are checking or it won't depending on if the needle moves or it doesn't.
It is handy for more than just the car but also around the house. Learn to use it,, it's simple. The guy at
Radio Shack will even show you in two minutes what it does. The reason we check the switches is so
we can tell if the malfunction is due to a bad switch.
These are what you call "Normally Closed Switches" What this means is that at rest when the switch
is not pressed, it will pass electricity. You will see that one is pressed by the eccentric on the gear
and one is not.
The one that is not pressed should make the needle move or if you bought a digital, the number will
be higher than zero. (I prefer the one with the needle) To check the other one you will need to push
on the middle of the lever to release the switch to check continuity. (don't bend it too far)
*My note - the radio shack roller switches no not have wire leads like oe parts. To save as much wire as possible, use dikes and clip the wires off right at the old microswitch. Note that the Black wires were connected to the "C" (common) tab of the old microswitch and will be soldered to the new "C" tab of the radioshack microswitch. Same deal for the red/white wires, they will be soldered to the NC tab. You can use your dikes to clip off the middle tab of the radio shack micro switches as they are not used. Put heat shrink over the wires before soldering. Use weatherproofing liquid that hardens over the heat shrink if available.
I had already lubed up both sides of the risers last year with white lithium grease, so I ruled out mechanical jamming as the cause of the fault. The next item to check with the wing were two microswitches in the wing motor. It turns out they were near failure and only fuctioned during startup. (Wing up to down position.) The oe part can be found at digi-key: OMRON # ss-5gl13-2 (normally closed)
OR
a SPDT Switch with 3/4" Roller Lever replacement can be found at your local radio shack part number 275-017.
I'll copy and paste a walkthrough of the active aero service.
It is advisable to have a coffee can or a suitable container to place parts in so you don't
lose them First thing is to remove the rear trunk light bulb from its socket to prevent battery drain
Caution: It will be HOT
Remove the cover plugs from the side of the hatch on both sides shown here is one cover removed
and one still in place. They can be easily popped off with a small screwdriver Use a rag to shield the
screwdriver shaft from the painted surface.
Remove the nuts using a # 10 metric socket
Next remove the rear hatch trim cover on the underside of the hatch. There are two screws on the
curve near the window, one on each side Take care to remove these as you will break the
plastic out of the hole if you don't Remove the two screws and holders for the retractable rear
cover The rest of the trim panel can be removed by starting at the trunk latch and working your way
out from there gently pulling down and popping out the retainers from their housing trying to reach in
and get as close to the retainer as possible Work your way around the lift cylinder mounts.
Once all the retainers are popped out, the panel will easily pass by the mounts
Below is a picture of the trim panel back side for ease of location of these fastening points
There are 18 points, the 4 white ones in the center and 14 slot type plastic with metal retainers. Any
metal retainers that remain in the hatch should be removed and placed back on the trim cover for
ease of replacement
After removing the trim you will see one nut and inside two holes on a triangle from the
visible nut are the other nuts holding the center assembly of the spoiler to the hatch. Remove these
also using a #10 metric socket Between the two holes is the wiring harness for the spoiler and
rear brake light. Unplug it and remove the female half from the hatch by placing your finger on top
through the hole in front of the mounting hole and pushing in the little wings that hold it in place.
Just pulling it out will break the wings making it not reusable. Once these are removed you are
ready to remove the spoiler Lift one end of the spoiler (while holding the hatch at chest level) high
enough to see the wire harness coming through the hatch in the center. Reach in and push the
rubber sealing grommet towards the center of the hole and up to remove it with the harness.
Once the grommet is loose you can carefully lift the spoiler from its mount and off the hatch
This can be done carefully by one person but if you have an extra set of hands it helps lessen the
chances of the studs protruding down from scratching the paint on the hatch. Be aware that with the
extra weight of the spoiler removed the hatch will follow you up as you remove it being pushed by the
cylinders As a matter of fact the hatch will now lift itself from the lowest position if it isn't latched
This is a good time to get a bucket of soapy water and clean the hatch lid where the spoiler has
been sitting for years It isn't a bad idea to throw a coat of wax on the area before replacing the spoiler.
Cleaning the protective gaskets is also advisable Reverse the procedure to reinstall, making sure
the rubber grommet is back in position
*My note - remember which position the spoiler is in, this will help in reassembly later.
Preferably finding a workbench where you can place the spoiler upside down on a towel or blanket to
protect it once you have removed it is the only way to go. If not the kitchen table will work
This is the heart of the spoiler and where most of the work is done
First things first, write down the position of the spoiler. Is it up or down? This will be important later and
you don't want to question your memory
You will notice there are six screws on the plate, remove them to get at the motor. At the same time
remove the 2 screws on the actuators on either end of the spoiler (pictured below)
This will detach the entire unit from the spoiler. You can set the spoiler aside till we finish with the
motor/actuator assembly. When you remove the actuator above lift it up and look at the position
of the plastic drive piece that connects the cable to the actuator slot below it. Remove them and set
them aside for re-assembly As you lift the unit off the spoiler, take care to unplug the rear third
brake light from the wire loom Remove the three screws that hold the motor assembly to the cable
guide / mounting plate below it The picture below shows the motor detached and turned 180 degrees
to it's mounting position. The mating holes can be seen. One on the cable guide and two on
the mounting plate
You will notice the motor stator housing bolts to the gear frame with two Phillips head screws
These screws have locktite on them and do not break free easily so a high quality screwdriver is
needed of the correct size to avoid stripping if the motor assemble is disassembled A word of caution
is that when the screws are removed and you pull off the stator, the armature of the motor will come
with it allowing the brushes and springs to shoot toward the middle. While the brushes are attached
with a wire, the springs are not attached to anything and can fly out and be lost, so if you disassemble
the motor, take care not to lose the springs for the brushes. Another advisement is to have the
motor point upward when the armature/stator is removed and keep it in that position as there is a ball
bearing at the bottom of the shaft/gear housing. There is also another ball bearing at the top of the
armature shaft positioned where the bump is on back of the stator. This is the location you have heard
of as far as using a straw to put the ball bearing back in the housing and getting it past the magnet.
I have found if you place new grease on the end of the armature shaft and put the ball bearing on the
end of the shaft, it is recessed enough to hold it in position along with the grease when passing the
magnet in the stator. If you do not have this luck, use the straw method. The only purpose to
removing the armature and greasing the gears is to try and make the operation best lubricated.
This does not say that removing the armature and re-greasing is absolutely necessary, so keep
this in mind. You will need a little ambidexterity to get the armature back in with springs, and brushes
in their proper places. The way I did it because I didn't have my allen wrenches handy was to install
the armature in first. Then while holding the top rotating nut in place with a crescent wrench which
also holds the armature down in its housing, I installed the stator. If you don't hold the armature in
place it will shoot into the stator and you will have to do the brushes thing all over again and also
stand a chance of losing the springs again.
Next we will check the continuity of the Switches shown in the above Photo. If you do not have an Ohm
meter, for heavens sake go buy one. The little tiny ones are about $10 at radio shack. They will tell you
voltage from 12 volts to 220 volts in AC or DC and also tell you continuity. This means that electricity
will pass through what you are checking or it won't depending on if the needle moves or it doesn't.
It is handy for more than just the car but also around the house. Learn to use it,, it's simple. The guy at
Radio Shack will even show you in two minutes what it does. The reason we check the switches is so
we can tell if the malfunction is due to a bad switch.
These are what you call "Normally Closed Switches" What this means is that at rest when the switch
is not pressed, it will pass electricity. You will see that one is pressed by the eccentric on the gear
and one is not.
The one that is not pressed should make the needle move or if you bought a digital, the number will
be higher than zero. (I prefer the one with the needle) To check the other one you will need to push
on the middle of the lever to release the switch to check continuity. (don't bend it too far)
*My note - the radio shack roller switches no not have wire leads like oe parts. To save as much wire as possible, use dikes and clip the wires off right at the old microswitch. Note that the Black wires were connected to the "C" (common) tab of the old microswitch and will be soldered to the new "C" tab of the radioshack microswitch. Same deal for the red/white wires, they will be soldered to the NC tab. You can use your dikes to clip off the middle tab of the radio shack micro switches as they are not used. Put heat shrink over the wires before soldering. Use weatherproofing liquid that hardens over the heat shrink if available.
03-20-2007, 06:58 PM
#2
VR-4ever
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Join Date: Jul 2003
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Re: $5.38 VR-4 Active Aerodynamics repair.
Next is to check the continuity of all the wires in the loom at both ends. The wires going to the motor
are more difficult to check unless you take apart the motor. If you have a total failure of the spoiler working
this could be tried but making a small hole as close to the motor as possible with a straight pin and
checking continuity using the pin will allow you to check most of the wire. All that would be left is the wire
inside the housing going to the brushes and it is rare for that to break because of very little stress. Other
than that, the brushes could have lost contact with the armature. To check that, place the meter across
the two leads of the motor. If there is any reading it should be OK. No reading at all could indicate a
malfunctioning brush or an open in the armature wiring across those two points of the armature
Now lets move to the cables. In the picture above it is shown that there are 4 screws. These screws
do not hold in the cable, but rather the tubes the cables run in. You will see that the tubes are flared and
the plates that are screwed down hold this flare and tube in place. It is not necessary to remove these
screws. Cleaning up of the area of any dried grease or gunk is advisable. This is a graphite based
grease and sometimes dries out and causes the cables to bind.
Moving ahead to this area you will see the cable coming out of the tube. If you grab a hold of the cable
you can pull it all the way out, at which time you can clean it up and regrease it. You will want to pay
attention to the location of the cable before you remove it. This position you see is the down position
of the spoiler with the cable extended out nearly to the end of the assembly. If you removed the spoiler
in the up position, re-assembly will want to be in the same position, because that is the position of the
motor and switches. If when you removed the motor, the spoiler dropped to the down position you will
have to re-assemble it in the up position. This will come in to play when you replace the motor back on
the gear assembly in the previous photo. It is not the motor that decides which way to turn, but the
switches that reverse the direction of the motor by reversing polarity. This is why you must reassemble
it in the same position because the motor will say it has to go down when you plug it back in because
of the position of the switches, but the spoiler will already be down if you re-assemble it that way. The
motor will then try and force it down more and will fail and possibly damage something
(probably the plastic gears)
In the spoiler half of the photo above you can see a brass plate with a U shaped part at the front.
This is the connection to the cable via the plastic white part with the pin you see in the foreground.
Below that the assembly rides on a slanted passageway to raise the spoiler. You will want to grease
this slot also on both ends of the spoiler and work the grease in by moving the spoiler up and down
and checking for areas that are binding
Now we are into re-assembly. There are two things to make sure of and they are the cable position
VS the spoiler position when re-assembling and also, reference the photo below, take care that all
wires are clear of the nut guard. If you get a wire in between the nut on the motor and the guard in the
spoiler, the motor will bind as the nut tries to turn with the wire pressed between it and the guard and
also maybe shorting out or breaking the insulation on the wires.
Now that we have completed the service on the spoiler, hopefully after re-assembly you will see the
two photos below.
Down
Up
This is just some of the complicated extra crap that I have to go through with these cars. Hopefully if there are more VR-4 people lurking on this forum, this thread will help. Oh, and thanks to Brian (Cobra4b) for helping out while I cursed at the car. It's happy now though, haha
- Jay
are more difficult to check unless you take apart the motor. If you have a total failure of the spoiler working
this could be tried but making a small hole as close to the motor as possible with a straight pin and
checking continuity using the pin will allow you to check most of the wire. All that would be left is the wire
inside the housing going to the brushes and it is rare for that to break because of very little stress. Other
than that, the brushes could have lost contact with the armature. To check that, place the meter across
the two leads of the motor. If there is any reading it should be OK. No reading at all could indicate a
malfunctioning brush or an open in the armature wiring across those two points of the armature
Now lets move to the cables. In the picture above it is shown that there are 4 screws. These screws
do not hold in the cable, but rather the tubes the cables run in. You will see that the tubes are flared and
the plates that are screwed down hold this flare and tube in place. It is not necessary to remove these
screws. Cleaning up of the area of any dried grease or gunk is advisable. This is a graphite based
grease and sometimes dries out and causes the cables to bind.
Moving ahead to this area you will see the cable coming out of the tube. If you grab a hold of the cable
you can pull it all the way out, at which time you can clean it up and regrease it. You will want to pay
attention to the location of the cable before you remove it. This position you see is the down position
of the spoiler with the cable extended out nearly to the end of the assembly. If you removed the spoiler
in the up position, re-assembly will want to be in the same position, because that is the position of the
motor and switches. If when you removed the motor, the spoiler dropped to the down position you will
have to re-assemble it in the up position. This will come in to play when you replace the motor back on
the gear assembly in the previous photo. It is not the motor that decides which way to turn, but the
switches that reverse the direction of the motor by reversing polarity. This is why you must reassemble
it in the same position because the motor will say it has to go down when you plug it back in because
of the position of the switches, but the spoiler will already be down if you re-assemble it that way. The
motor will then try and force it down more and will fail and possibly damage something
(probably the plastic gears)
In the spoiler half of the photo above you can see a brass plate with a U shaped part at the front.
This is the connection to the cable via the plastic white part with the pin you see in the foreground.
Below that the assembly rides on a slanted passageway to raise the spoiler. You will want to grease
this slot also on both ends of the spoiler and work the grease in by moving the spoiler up and down
and checking for areas that are binding
Now we are into re-assembly. There are two things to make sure of and they are the cable position
VS the spoiler position when re-assembling and also, reference the photo below, take care that all
wires are clear of the nut guard. If you get a wire in between the nut on the motor and the guard in the
spoiler, the motor will bind as the nut tries to turn with the wire pressed between it and the guard and
also maybe shorting out or breaking the insulation on the wires.
Now that we have completed the service on the spoiler, hopefully after re-assembly you will see the
two photos below.
Down
Up
This is just some of the complicated extra crap that I have to go through with these cars. Hopefully if there are more VR-4 people lurking on this forum, this thread will help. Oh, and thanks to Brian (Cobra4b) for helping out while I cursed at the car. It's happy now though, haha
- Jay
03-21-2007, 04:58 AM
#3
Fanboi
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Re: $5.38 VR-4 Active Aerodynamics repair.
No worries man... keep your eyes on the prize... once you get to hit boost all the BS will be forgotten 
I'm glad your wing works... too bad you re-uglified your car
Wingless 3000!!!
I'm glad your wing works... too bad you re-uglified your car
Wingless 3000!!!
03-21-2007, 06:23 AM
#7
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03-21-2007, 06:26 AM
#8
dont wuurry
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Re: $5.38 VR-4 Active Aerodynamics repair.
wha wha wha, anyway i tihnk its cool you ripped it apart and replaced it instead of just buying a new one! Ive had to change tiny servos and the like before... thank god for radio shack.
03-21-2007, 06:36 PM
#9
VR-4ever
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