tikka308

New-to-me 98 C2S. Owned it for 4 months and been LOVING it! The seller said "sunroof does not work" but I got the impression they may have never tried using it, perhaps because they were told the same thing by the former seller. Per the RL forums, it looks like switches are a common culprit and an easy fix.

My question is: is there any "bad" outcome of trying to get the sunroof working? E.g. is it possible that testing the sunroof could introduce an expensive and beyond-DIY repair?

FWIW, I've done rear rotors, repaired/replaced trim pieces, did the rear spoiler mod - so by no means any repair expert, but I've been enjoying working on the car!

NC TRACKRAT

Man, that would be like having a mosquito bite and not being able to scratch it! For starters, I'd momentarily try the switch to see if there's any motor movement. If not, then pull out the switch, see if it's getting voltage. If so, the switch is bad. If no voltage, see if the fuse is blown. If so, find out why.

71-3.0-911

Check to make sure you have the hand crank tool first. If the previous owner said it didn't work, I'd zip it open and grab a flashlight and mirror and just look things over to see if there is anything obvious. After I did that, I'd follow the advice above.

Gbos1

I would bet it’s your Sunroof Motor... Not cheap to fix! Easily $800+ with labor.

pp000830

Hi Tikka,
There is nothing about the sunroof that is not a driveway DIY to fix. The two mechanical items that are the most prevalent issues are the cable end crim fails on one of the sides of the roof panel. The other is related to the motor. The rails involve replacing the cables, inexpensive to do. There is the risk of not being able to completely close the roof if either fails. If it is a cable failure the hand crank won't really work to close it. For this reason, if it jams you will want to test it where you can park it covered until you ID the problem and the parts are ordered and delivered.
Andy

gmorat

My Sunroof didn't work in a new-to-me 96 C4S but I swapped the switch and it works as new.

I never use it....don't like sunroofs, just hate that it didn't work

G

Edward

The first quick test is a short jab at the switch just to see if the motor works:

a) if the roof budges (a quick stab at the switch will only move it less than 1 cm), at least the motor and switch work; if it does nothing, then check the switch first, which is easy. And if the roof does budge, it is now a game of how far you want to open it, knowing full well that you may not get it closed. I'd personally try opening just an inch or two, then seeing if it will close, doing this before I try to go full open.

b) Sunroof issues range from the easy: switch cleaning (take it apart, clean contacts, but be careful not to lose the miniscule steel ***** inside the switch), or often the wind deflector at the forward edge binds because one of the guides at either leading edge of the sunroof has broken ...they're plastic, thin in areas, and a very common fault which is like a $9 part and six minutes of your life. Then there is the difficult: failed cable. I've not personally done this so will defer to those have accomplished it. This can cause a jam the roof in the rails so be uber careful not to scratch the sunroof as you work it (which a friend did do on his SC ...ugh!).

c) Motor failed? Pricey. How much do you want that roof to open

Edward

PRSWILL

You need to post a DIY on this if it's so easy... My motor is loud- works but i'd like to see if I can quiet it down a bit..

Paddy

I'm pretty sure I have a used working switch in the garage. lemme see if I can find it today.

ShdwFx

If it turns out it's the sunroof motor or transmission, it's something you can easily replace yourself by accessing through the headliner. I was able to replace my transmission (broken gear) with a used one on eBay for ~$125 and it's been working fine for almost 10 years (I do like to use my sunroof).

Spyerx

if the 993 uses same parts as the 964, I have a bunch of sunroof parts I'm selling, see link in signature. Includes motor, gearbox, etc...

pp000830

Hi Prswill
The entire thing is very noisy, like something out of the factory scene in a Terminator movie. My 993, my previous 86' Carrera and my 924s all ran very loud on the same guts. I did replace one of the control cables on the 924s & the 86' Carrera. It was a while back but I don't recall it being a big challenge. I do remember being concerned about breaking the never touched zipper in the headliner to get to the motor housing. I ended up wiping the zipper with a cloth saturated with a little Teflon lube to minimize the friction on the zipper. Turned out the zipper had no problems when I did open it.
Make a recording of how your's sounds and post it here and we can tell you if yours is exceptionally noisy or just normal noisy.
Andy

fatmike

The sunroof on the 993 is pretty much worthless. Other than curiosity your really not missing that much.

If it were my car, I'd fix it because having a fully maintained and working car would matter to me more, than the actual functionality/value gained by a working sunroof.

/

notabot

I mean if it works, it works as a sunroof... and does what a sunroof does... how is that worthless?

Edward

I like the sunroof and use it often; actually a whole heck of a lot. If one finds using it worthless, then leave it! I find few things more pointless pouring money into something that has no utility or value. But for anyone who enjoys the air swirling around you, then yeah, repair the sucker

Edward