I just recently bought it used, and noticed as I was driving off the lot that the right hand side of the moonroof will not open at all.

I decided that I would leave it alone until the warranty kicked in after 30 days, but today I decided to mess with it and now the left hand side is up and wont go down.

Is there a way I can manually get the thing down?

 

if you pop the center piece off where your switch for your dome lights and sunroof are there is a place to put a tool in to manually crank it shut.

 

i have always just been able to push the window while pushing on the switch to get it to shut. i have issues with mine too.

 

#4 is the part in the diagram that is up towards the front of the headliner under the overhead trim cover.




Here is the sunroof motor.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/54103448675/ES156677/



There should be a tool in the trunk in the tool case that looks like that. You insert it into the turn hole on the motor gear.


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/54127199322/ES157189/



Hopefully you can crank it close and the cables are not snapped or seized.

Thanks

 

+1 more thorough explanation of what i said hahaha.

 

You guys are awesome. Thanks for helping out. I went out earlier to give it a try by removing the plastic piece directly behind the center piece where the switches are. There doesn't seem to be a way to remove what you are asking me to. Once I remove the large gray piece of plastic behind the switches, underneath is one large piece of black plastic. It looks like there are clips and that it can be removed, but I want to confirm this before I do so.

Thanks.

 

i dont remember that piece, there should be a little hole on the motor gear, if you look on the picture above. you put the tool in to that hole and turn it.

 

I will remove the overhead trim cover shortly and see if that allows access. Thanks again!

 

Check youtube. Might be a video on it.

 

Do you have a factory installed alarm? I remember something in my manual about not having this manual option with alarm installed. I'm not sure why, guess it could be a sensor blocking the hole or something like that.

 

2007 Cooper S hatch

I opened my sunroof today for the first time after a couple of winter months and it started emitting the popping/cracking sound. After a couple of attempts to close and open the sunroof I had to resort to cranking it close with an allen wrench (and it was quite difficult).

Are the gears that are popping enclosed in the motor housing (shown in a previous post, above) or are there additional linkages / cables that are causing this problem? I have a Bentley manual but it doesn't show a very good schematic of the motor and related connections.

Once it starts popping is there any remedy or way to fix this, other than replacing the motor? The motor still seems to operate.

For preventive maintenance in the future, are there other areas to be lubed other than the tracks and links on either side of the sunroof?

 

Popping and cracking sounds like the gears in the gear/motor assembly. The motor may be fine but the gears could be destroying themselves. If you can manage to disconnect the motor maybe move the sunroof by hand and see if it's still stiff? Wouldn't want to wreck another motor assembly.

 

What actually connects the motor gears to the sunroof track sliders in the sunroof cassette - some sort of toothed cable?

During my original episode the front sunroof panel got cockeyed / out of alignment and that probably exacerbated the problem, as each side would bind at different times. I did a temporary lube of the tracks with WD-40 and was able to crank it closed, eventually.

I'm thinking an upcoming project would be to pull the glass panels and do a major cleanup and lube of the tracks, then pull the motor assembly for evaluation. I've already pulled the front glass off once and got it flush again.

 

Yea its a cable, that has what looks like a coil wrapped around a long pipe cleaner. The motor sprocket then goes in the two cables.

Kind of see them here in the circle hole with grease. 54102758294

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/54102758294/

 

Thanks... I'll try that.