power sunroof not functioning??

[spiDmang]

Hey r3v'ers

i bought a 88 325ix not too long ago, and the sunroof recently took a shit on me. not too sure what happened. The roof will move ever-so-slightly, but will not open even 1/4th way.

have you guys had the same problems with your power sunroofs? any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

[EN318isPDX]

Sounds like the tracks might be toast, my first e30 had manual roof that only one side would start to slide back and it would get jammed.

[cbouchez]

Mine goes up and doesn't go back at all.

[Den_k321]

looks like you live in lynnwood, pm me your number, we can meet up i will tell you whats wrong with it.. i just chaged some parts on mine...

[spiDmang]

Mine goes up and doesn't go back at all.

Yea, this car does the same?? I'm assuming its the track...

[bmwstephen]

op are both your tilt and retract functions compromised? which opening feature are you referring too

[jasonsnoddy]

same problem here, need help plz

[spiDmang]

tilt function works, but i need to use my hand to have it be in tilt position.

retrack function works, but it gets caught on "something"...unless i use my hand to persuade it otherwise ;) lol

[EN318isPDX]

tilt function works, but i need to use my hand to have it be in tilt position.

retrack function works, but it gets caught on "something"...unless i use my hand to persuade it otherwise ;) lol

Missing teeth on the track, IIRC one track is used for opening and the other for closing. Its a real PITA to replace, surprised no one has done a write up

[bmwstephen]

tilt function works, but i need to use my hand to have it be in tilt position.

retrack function works, but it gets caught on "something"...unless i use my hand to persuade it otherwise ;) lol

at which point does it get caught on something? when you're trying to retract it by pressing the button initially? or half way through the retraction

[spiDmang]

usually halfway thru retraction. for some odd reason, it wouldnt retrack at all. but we tried it again later, and it retracked to the fully open position...we had a ton of hooorahs until we tried to close it, and it would get stuck. persuasion of the hand had to come in again and save the day

[bmwstephen]

do you have a built in wind deflector that pops out during the retraction? those can be a pain, I have to lube those or replace the rods on their sides if they get worn out. also, it is possible that the motor could be dying and not producing enough power to pull it against the tracks. a good way to test it is to pop out the cover near your check pannel to manually crack it (don't be confused as this requires a lot of effort as well but if you come to a point where your roof doesn't crank at all, or it requires even more force, then obviously its your tracks) before ruling out the tracks. Rarely do those go out since they're pretty completely sealed away from environmental factors

[spiDmang]

thanks for the help guys... ill see what i can come up with. as of now, all i really ever do is tilt the damn thing anyway lol but id like to get things back to working form sometime down the road.