Sunroof will not close
Thread Starter
PS Armorer
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Sunroof will not close
After finishing a nice run through the mountains above Provo and Utah Lake, I tried to close my sunroof. No such luck <img border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" title="" src="graemlins/cussing.gif" /> . I managed to get it closed (mostly, the rear edge would not pop into position) manually from the drive under the headliner. The motor has power and will in fact retract the sunroof. It will not even budge going forward however. The sunroof is not bound in its tracks, as it will close manually fairly easily (other than the contortions required to get into the back seat 
).
Any ideas on what is wrong and how to fix?
Thanks,
Jason
).Any ideas on what is wrong and how to fix?
Thanks,
Jason
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 193
Likes: 0
The wind deflector has two spring load arms on each
side. These are made out of a plastic material and
the attachment points sometimes break, especially
on the deflector side. If they break, the deflector
does not completely fold down.
You can also check the plastic "bumpers" on the front
edge of the roof. There are three - left, right and center.
These fold down the deflector as the roof moves forward.
The center one is particularly important. The deflector has a
center tab that deploys opposite to the deflector. If
the center bumper is missing, the roof can close and
the tab will do a fish hook move catching the inside of
the roof prventing its opening.
tim
side. These are made out of a plastic material and
the attachment points sometimes break, especially
on the deflector side. If they break, the deflector
does not completely fold down.
You can also check the plastic "bumpers" on the front
edge of the roof. There are three - left, right and center.
These fold down the deflector as the roof moves forward.
The center one is particularly important. The deflector has a
center tab that deploys opposite to the deflector. If
the center bumper is missing, the roof can close and
the tab will do a fish hook move catching the inside of
the roof prventing its opening.
tim
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From: North bay area
I just was in there and found a broken arm and a broken deflector clip. Would you mind expanding on the "bumpers" you described ? All I saw on my car was a metal clip in the middle that hits the deflector center tab. Are those bumers plastic as well? I could be missing those...
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 193
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The three bumpers are on the inside of the sunroof at
the front edge. Each has a small "u" channel that fits
over the downward edge of the sunroof. The bumpers
are press fit into series of holes.
The center one on mine is black plastic.
The other two are white plastic on mine. These outer ones
ride up along the deflector arms forcing them down as the
roof moves forward.
I think that the roof would operate if the outer bumpers
were missing, but the arms would be sliding on the downward
edge of the roof itself instead of the bumper.
If the center one is missing. The roof will close, but will not
open since the center tab on the wind deflector is allowed
to catch the edge of the sunroof without the bumper in place.
tim
tim
the front edge. Each has a small "u" channel that fits
over the downward edge of the sunroof. The bumpers
are press fit into series of holes.
The center one on mine is black plastic.
The other two are white plastic on mine. These outer ones
ride up along the deflector arms forcing them down as the
roof moves forward.
I think that the roof would operate if the outer bumpers
were missing, but the arms would be sliding on the downward
edge of the roof itself instead of the bumper.
If the center one is missing. The roof will close, but will not
open since the center tab on the wind deflector is allowed
to catch the edge of the sunroof without the bumper in place.
tim
tim
Thread Starter
PS Armorer
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,949
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From: Fort Worth, TX
Tim,
Thanks for the suggestions. My problem was that that the roof would not move forward from any position, including fully open. I have had a broken clip in the past, but this problem was different.
I've spent all morning troubleshooting this problem and now have it resolved. I started by removing the drive, which checked out okay. The motor would turn in one direction (closing), but not the other. I removed the motor and it bench-tested okay. Next I went to the console switch. After seperating the switch and connector and jumpering the pins, I determined the fault must be in the switch. I pried apart the switch to find the contacts were worn. I cleaned them with electrical contact cleaner and rotated the 2 rocker arms (only one side of each makes a connection). After reassembling everything, the sunroof opens and closes fine.
BTW, getting the wires/pins back into the connector was a PITA! Hopefully this fix will last another 5 years before I need to replace the switch. I rarely use the sunroof, but the PO must have used it a lot!
Thanks again for your ideas.
Jason
Thanks for the suggestions. My problem was that that the roof would not move forward from any position, including fully open. I have had a broken clip in the past, but this problem was different.
I've spent all morning troubleshooting this problem and now have it resolved. I started by removing the drive, which checked out okay. The motor would turn in one direction (closing), but not the other. I removed the motor and it bench-tested okay. Next I went to the console switch. After seperating the switch and connector and jumpering the pins, I determined the fault must be in the switch. I pried apart the switch to find the contacts were worn. I cleaned them with electrical contact cleaner and rotated the 2 rocker arms (only one side of each makes a connection). After reassembling everything, the sunroof opens and closes fine.
BTW, getting the wires/pins back into the connector was a PITA! Hopefully this fix will last another 5 years before I need to replace the switch. I rarely use the sunroof, but the PO must have used it a lot!
Thanks again for your ideas.
Jason
