Moon roof stuck - tail end open about 2"

Tiny
DARK1REP
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 DODGE DAKOTA
  • 100,000 MILES
Moon roof stuck - tail end open about 2". Won't open, won't close.
Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 AT 6:53 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
DRCRANKNWRENCH
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,380 POSTS
You can temporarily close it if you can get to the motr. You might be able to get to it by removing a trim panel or other part near the sunroof area and hopefully you will get lucky and be able to access the motor. Then you can usually turn it and slose the roof. Otherwise to acces it the headliner must come out and they usually get fdamaged when removed and get replaced.
Check the fuse and relay to see if they are not at fault.
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Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 AT 7:11 PM
Tiny
DARK1REP
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Thanks for the reply, Doc. Guess I should have said in original problem description. The motor works! It will move a very little bit in both directions and then stalls. Something is jammed. Seems like drivers side moves more than passenger side - that's where I'm guessing the jam is. I just can't figure out how to remove the glass portion of the moon roof. If I could get it off, I think I could find the obstruction and remove it.
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Sunday, November 4th, 2012 AT 6:55 PM
Tiny
DRCRANKNWRENCH
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I still believe the motor may be binding up. It should rotate far enough in both directions to lift and if your sunroof goes into the roof, which on a truck it probably does not, see if you think it rotates far enough to move the gear that it meshes with which moves the top. If it does it may not be binding, but you have that sense it is. There are end stops in the motor that keep it from traveling farther than the distance to which it needs to move the roof completely up and down. So, if you believe the motor is moving far enoughto completly raise and lower the roof and stop at the time when the top is opened/closed, then it may not be the motor.
The next thing to do would be to examine the gears and see if they move freely all the way back and forth from end to end. See if you can rotate the gers by hand without the mtor in place. See if there is any notchjes or areas where it is hard to turn the gears. This may mean that the gears need to be replaced.
That is the next thing to do in this process of elimination.
We will figure out what is keeping the roof from moving all the way.
Let me know how the 2 tests go and we will go from there.
Take care.

Dr. C
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Friday, November 9th, 2012 AT 1:32 AM
Tiny
DARK1REP
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Thanks again, Doc. The truck belongs to my son. He went to O'Reilly with it and found out the moon roof was an after market add-on. Apparently, it has 2 servo motors, one on each side. Passenger side servo was broken or jammed. Either way, he got repair estiimates for $1200 to $1600. He traded the truck in on a new Camry and got $1400 trade-in.

Again, thanks for the help - I really appreciate it.
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Friday, November 9th, 2012 AT 1:56 AM
Tiny
DRCRANKNWRENCH
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,380 POSTS
Your very welcome. Glad it worked out. Cmarys are great cars. Maintain it well and it will last a long time.
Take care and come back any time.

DR. C
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Friday, November 9th, 2012 AT 3:59 AM

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