Disco 2 Front Electric Sun Roof - Not Working - have tried!

Looking for some advice - front sunroof (electric) has not worked since I collected the car a few weeks ago. Now getting round to some fixes - already got rid of the chirpy cricket in the heater blower that pops up when cornering / accelerating... fix water leak above rear door etc.... plugged in the factory alarm sounder... bled the cooling system....

So, dropped the roof map pockets at the front and had a dig around. All connections sound, and the rear works fine. Front dead.... you can hear the control module clicking when the switch is depressed but no motor drive. Checked the fuse under the dash, (30A) which was fine. Took motor and drive off, and separated the motor from the drive. Motor not gummed up, but spray cleaned all connections etc and reassembled. Also ensured the red drive cam was correctly aligned with the mircoswitch (as per RAVE)

So, at moment, don't have a multimeter or a Nanocom etc - before I splash out on a recon / 2nd hand motor, have I missed anything obvious? (also plugged motor in just hanging loose to see if it ran on the switch press in the event the actual sunroof mechanism was jammed and preventing motor from turning, on reflection, guess it may have needed a connection for earth, but when all bolted back into place, nothing but the control module clicking in response to the switch)

Cheers in advance!

I have heard of these motors getting "weak", caused by some of the windings becoming "short circuit turns". The usual symptoms would be that the motor appears to run correctly when under test on the bench but once under load they don't have the guts to move.
It's a shame that you don't have a multimeter, they're as cheap as chips these days and unless you're going to go really upmarket and spend on Fluke kit or similar, any of the cheaper digital multimeters on ebay for around a tenner will normally do the job, they're all much of a muchness regarding spec and you won't have to worry about dropping it or driving over it.

brian47 said:

I have heard of these motors getting "weak", caused by some of the windings becoming "short circuit turns". The usual symptoms would be that the motor appears to run correctly when under test on the bench but once under load they don't have the guts to move.
It's a shame that you don't have a multimeter, they're as cheap as chips these days and unless you're going to go really upmarket and spend on Fluke kit or similar, any of the cheaper digital multimeters on ebay for around a tenner will normally do the job, they're all much of a muchness regarding spec and you won't have to worry about dropping it or driving over it.

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Thanks Brian... I dropped £20 to get my EKA code, so another £10 for a disposable multimeter may not be too extravagant! Looking at prices for the motors.. probably £10 well spent! Thing is it's totally dead. I've seen plenty of threads here of Lazarus style recovery post cleaning etc, and I totally get your point about a seemingly operational motor not having the torque to drive the roof. I'll get the multimeter and then I guess I can test the feed to the motor first. Just wanted to make sure there was not a secret hidden relay or fuse that only those in the know can point me towards!

GJ1 said:

Thanks Brian... I dropped £20 to get my EKA code, so another £10 for a disposable multimeter may not be too extravagant! Looking at prices for the motors.. probably £10 well spent! Thing is it's totally dead. I've seen plenty of threads here of Lazarus style recovery post cleaning etc, and I totally get your point about a seemingly operational motor not having the torque to drive the roof. I'll get the multimeter and then I guess I can test the feed to the motor first. Just wanted to make sure there was not a secret hidden relay or fuse that only those in the know can point me towards!

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I've had a look at the electrical drawings in RAVE and there looks like only one fuse; F12 (30amp) in the circuit.
If you can hear the relay in the Sunroof ECU clicking then that would probably rule out almost everything except the motor and the wiring to it. The motors and switches connect directly to the ECU with no tricks except the rear one which has an isolator switch on the front panel and the power is also fed directly to the ECU from the 30 amp fuse.
Do you have a rear sunroof? If so does that work as it should? I know it can be a PITA but some people will advise you to change the motors over, a) to see if the fault moves and b) to get the front sunroof, which you might use more often working.
TBH, I've had my Disco for about four and a half years now and apart from seeing if they worked, I've never used them, preferring to use the climate control instead.

Thank you... appreciate the insight. I've ordered a multimeter (arriving today) so hopefully that can rule out everything except the motor. I take your point re swapping over, I've got to drop the lining anyway to resolve the sagging, so once out, I can swap over and follow the fault (and also see if I can fix the GPS Antenna Error....). Like you, I rely on the climate control, but there is a nagging part of me that wants to know everything is working as it should, even if it's intermittent use!

My front motor just clicked when I bought my D2, I removed the motor and found it to be rusty, due to a leak. I soaked it in gt85 and it started working and has been for the past 4 years. Might be worth a go

Thank you cj_uk - maybe I was just being too quick to dismiss.... read many threads like yours on forums so was hoping a liberal soak and clean may have done the trick. Perhaps I'll give it a go - it's not as if leaving it in a bucket of cleaner for a day or so will make any difference to the operation of the truck!

cj_uk - when you did yours, could you remove the actual stator from the casing? Mine seems to be held in place, guessed it was some captive bearing down in the bottom... it rotates within the magnets, but very stiff..... just could not withdraw it.

GJ1 said:

. I dropped £20 to get my EKA code

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Bit late now but armed with the log book my local dealer supplied EKA, radio and ignition key code FOC.

Feathers McGraw said:

Bit late now but armed with the log book my local dealer supplied EKA, radio and ignition key code FOC.

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Thanks for that!!! Seriously, my problem was being able to arrive at a Main Stealer during working hours. Would have cost me more taking the time off to get there than the web option!

Mine turned out to be the little micro switch that had failed - little bit fiddly to change but was only <£3 from Maplin...

HavoK said:

Mine turned out to be the little micro switch that had failed - little bit fiddly to change but was only <£3 from Maplin...

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I'll have a look at that too... thank you, apparently my new multimeter is awaiting collection from an Amazon locker now... so guess I can have a play and check continuity on the switch as well as power to the motor from the harness. I'd like to be able to fix rather than replace, as it's the satisfaction as much as the ££££

While you're busy with the sunroof are you going to reseal them and check the drains? Worth bunging new seals in as well. Leaks can cause a lot of frustration.

Feathers McGraw said:

While you're busy with the sunroof are you going to reseal them and check the drains? Worth bunging new seals in as well. Leaks can cause a lot of frustration.

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It's the full service.... lining out, reseal sunroof frames, check drains, gps antenna, recover the liner etc.... anything else?

Check seam top of the A pillar, easier to spot water ingress with liner out.

Feathers McGraw said:

Check seam top of the A pillar, easier to spot water ingress with liner out.

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Duly noted! I saved some LR Technical Bulletins that @neilly shared a little while ago regards water ingress, so I'll have those to hand along with the Tiger Seal......

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure (seriously, that's what it's called) sorted my leaky a pillars out.

Feathers McGraw said:

Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure (seriously, that's what it's called) sorted my leaky a pillars out.

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Read outside of the context of this thread.... that could raise some eyebrows!

GJ1 said:

Read outside of the context of this thread.... that could raise some eyebrows!

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Good job it arrived in a boring looking jiffy bag

Dont just get a new motor for it , take the old one apart its very easy to do , mine had rusted up inside the motor . Pulled it apart cleaned it all out all working again . Cost nothing but a little time , and as its not working nothing to lose.