Sunroof Motor Wiring

[DGL 0]

I have just replaced the sunroof in my 1994 Corrado and the sunroof motor will move the roof panel only an inch or so forwards and backwards, it then stops and the relay just clicks and no movement. It is not the usual broken nearside carriage problem as the roof can be hand cranked backwards, forwards, up and down. I have checked that the roof panel and the carriages are aligned and the whole cassette is smothered in silicon grease. Do the late model motors get tired and can they be overhauled? If not, does a Mk3 Golf motor have the same forward, back, tilt functionality? I have an early model Corrado sunroof motor in my spares box but the wiring is quite different, with three wires instead of six. Does anyone know whether the wiring can be adapted and if so how? Thanks for your help. David

[a_riot 0]

Those motors are nearly indestructible so it's doubtful tiredness is the issue. However, they can get out of sync with the controller and act up. The last time I dealt with this was when one of the screws that was holding in the motor assembly backed out and the motor would spin but the cable wasn't engaged with the gear so the roof didn't move. Once I got that sorted, the roof wouldn't close all the way, and just stop a few inches short because where the motor thought the roof was and where the contoller did didn't match. So I would spin the motor with it disengaged to the cable, estimating how much spin I needed to get it back in sync. It took a bit of back and forth, but before too long I had it synced. Perhaps that is your issue as well.

[fendervg 29]

Depends - the brushes in the motors can wear out too, especially if they have been dealing with trying to shift a sticky mechanism for a few years. I have three motors here, and only one of them will operate the sunroof completely, and it's been fully rebuilt. They are not expensive second hand - although I've seen some posts on line where people have renewed the brushes.

 

But worth trying to center and sync it up first to see if that helps.

[DGL 0]

Thanks guys - I thought I had centred the motor by taking it off the roof and using the central locking? The screws are definitely fully in - although that looked doubtful at one stage as I dropped one screw as I went to put the motor back and it fell through the gap by the hand brake, I had to take the central console out to find it. I am getting to hate the sunroof with a vengeance - and that is before I have to buy £90 of external sunroof seal.

Do you know if the old style three wire motor would work with the later six wire controller? How?

Can you give me a steer towards the instructions/parts to overhaul the motor?

Cheers

David

[1xshaunx1 27]

Wait till you try and fit a new sunroof seal. What a complete bar steward of an afternoon that is lmao.

[fendervg 29]

Try to center it by first manually using the allen key to close the sunroof properly and exactly right, then remove the motor from the sunroof, and keep the power connected and open and close it several times with the switches - once the motor is in the fully closed position, refit and try that.

 

I don't have any links to a motor/brush rebuild, but a search should throw something up. Personally I'd just buy another late motor - I think, but I'm not sure, that the additional wires on the later one are for remote open/close via c/l using the key in the lock.

[DGL 0]

Problem solved - it was the motor, replacement with one from a Mk3 Golf has done the job.

I do not want to tempt fate but the Corrado has a working sunroof - or at least it does today!

Latest problem, the foam backed lining has started to come away from the edges of the inner cover, the foam is virtually dust.

When I have sorted out the seal and the lining I think I might disconnect the switch! No, I will disconnect the switch!!

Cheers

[fendervg 29]

Problem is that if you don't use it regularly now and leave it, it will definitely fail the first time it's operated after a couple of years.

[a_riot 0]

Latest problem, the foam backed lining has started to come away from the edges of the inner cover, the foam is virtually dust.

When I have sorted out the seal and the lining I think I might disconnect the switch! No, I will disconnect the switch!!

Cheers

 

Mine did the same thing recently. I bought a can of the expensive 3M headliner spray-on glue and it seems to have worked well. It was simple to pull the panel off, just two screws, then the inner panel can be pulled out. I removed all the material and glued it back on after cleaning all surfaces with IA.