sun roof malfunction

hey guys



after a quick search i didnt really find a related problem so i figured id see if anyone has had the same problem. so ill give yall the story.



on the way home today i tried to vent my sunroof. when it reached its max angle setting i heard a grinding sound(like gears out of place). i tried to retract it and it would only come down about 75% of the way. put it back up and herd it again, back down and back up a coupel more times trying to determine the location of the noise. i gave up and left it open at full.



about an hour later(same drive) i tried to close it again because it was raining. nothing...there was no response from the venting controls up or down and no grinding. i tried the retract controls to see if they would respond(not susposed to if the sunroof is vented) and they were performing the actions of the freekin vent controls...almost. using the retracting controlls i was able to get the roof to close about 90% but its not sealed.



water leaks in a little but not much. im courious what could have happened here. it was workign perfectly the day before and then this. it doenst look like it was forced open. the grinding sound is comming from the front drevers side area of the sun roof.



im plannin to tear the headliner down and check it out tomarow but any advise or help would be great. shit maby ill jsut remove the whole thing and block up the hole in the roof with plexiglass...instant weight reduction.

Reply 1 : sun roof malfunction

could you have blown a fuse from stressing out the motor? I think that when you kept putting it up and down to see where the grinding came from, you put too much strain on the motor that drives it. or a ground could be loose.

Reply 2 : sun roof malfunction

i dont think its a fuse problem. theres definatly somthing wrong track wise. but it almost seems liek it doesnt want me to play with it. it will work for a few seconds(incorrectly) then jsut stop as if to say "quit it!".

Reply 3 : sun roof malfunction

^ THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID! I mean....uh...good luck with your problem.

Reply 4 : sun roof malfunction

Once you remove the switch bezel, there a screw there that lets you close it completely manually.



But that really sucks Rob, It could happen to me tomorrow!! Good luck getting it repaired! Please keep us updated on the solution.

Reply 5 : sun roof malfunction

thanks Joe, ill check that out tomarow. i knew it would eventually happen. this car is old and stuff is gonna be breaking. "hope for the best...expect the worse".

Reply 6 : sun roof malfunction

ever figure it out? id like to know how to get into the rail and adjust or clean it. havent gotten too far yet but would like to know what ever came of yours. if you havent found anything yet, let me know and give me a shout, ill send what i find to you when and if i find anything. theirs got to be something out their in reguards to the sun/moon roof issue.

Reply 7 : sun roof malfunction

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing how this was fixed as well (if it was) - same thing happened to me last fall, but it was in the retracted position. Same grinding noise, moved back and forth all of 3 inches. managed to shut it by using a screwdriver to run the tracks directly, with some pushing on the sunroof frame itself (the manual knob didn't work, gear would slip).



I'm assuming the gear is bad, hence the slipping after ~3 inches, but seeing this, I figure I'd ask before dropping any $$$ on something that may not work.



also, anyone know a good lube to use on the roof rails?

Reply 8 : sun roof malfunction

I think there was another thread about it and the solution was (not sure 100%) new sun roof motor, so check it first.