Cant close sun roof!

kathleenl

My brother gave me a 97 Opel Astra TDS. Its a lovely car with only one very stupid problem. I cant close the sunfroof. If anyone knows of a way to fix this it would be great.

Wetbench4

Have you more info, like are the buttons not responding, or is it you actually don't know how to close the sunroof?

biko

Any sound when you attempt to close it?
The motors for sunroofs die occasionally and will need to be replaced but without more details it's hard to say what the issue is. It could be a wire malfunction or something else.
When/how did it stop working?

Nissan doctor

If its an electric sunroof then it should have a manual closing mechanism but you likely have to remove the head lining to access it.

If its a manual(much more likely on a 97 astra) then it may just be jammed, or the cables may be snapped. Does the handle release button feel like its pushing in normally? If this doens't push in then the handle won't rotate.

shamwari

On these, when the sunroof is fully open, a small metal deflector pops up at the front, which pushes the air over the roof opening at speed. This prevents too much air blowing around inside the car. When the roof closes, this deflector should fold flat as the roof passes over it.

What can happen is that either through damage or jamming, the deflector fails to return to its correct position and fouls up the roof, preventing it from closing. You will need to fully open the roof and carefully close it, making sure that there are no obvious obstructions - like the deflector - which can cause the roof from closing.

By the way, those Astra TDS are a great car. It isn't for sale by any chance?

**EDIT just saw you were gifted it!!

kathleenl

Bad news: its an electrical sunroof as in it has a button on the roof panel that activates a motor to open and close. Unfortunately the relay box has been disconnected as it kept wasting my battery which was new.
I was told that i could close it manually so i stripped off the white covering that goes around the window. Checked out the motor and i cant find a place to fit the allen key to close it. I even bought a new set of screwdrivers with togs included. When the motor worked it made a very deep sound as if it was trying to work but getting no where.

kathleenl

Hi Shamwari

Its been off the road for the last year and i am in the process of getting it back on the road again. I was curious as to what the mileage was like in it. I put in €20 diesel and got 204miles for it. I have a few small jobs to do to it. electrics and bulbs and of course the sunroof. Its going for its NCT on the 28th of this month. I am not going to do any repairs until i get the list from them as to what has to be done. It only had one owner before me. He was a salesman so there is very high milage in it. 2 hundred thousand. I've been told that that is nothing for a diesel. I'm not sure yet about selling it.

colm_mcm

Thats 67 mpg, but your calculations aren't that accurate as you don't know exactly how much extra fuel you used along with the 13-14 litres you added. only real way is to fill to brim, drive a few hundred miles, re fill and do your calculations then.

kathleenl

Hi Colm
I know thats the right way to do it. But the car was actually empty i had to role it into the gas station i put 20 in and it gave me more than half a tank not quiet 3/4 of a tank though. When i have all the work done on it and fit for the road i will do a propper test on it and see what i get then. Either way its still better than a petrol car. I own a 98 Toyota Corolla 1.4 and a Fiat Punto 1.2. My boys think i am mad for taking the car as its old. Every day they grumble about the price of petrol, and there i go with my smirk and say thank god for old cars.

kathleenl

Hi Colm
I know that's the right way to do it. But the car was actually empty i had to role it into the gas station i put €20 in and it gave me more than half a tank not quiet 3/4 of a tank though. When i have all the work done on it and fit for the road i will do a proper test on it and see what i get then. Either way its still better than a petrol car. I own a 98 Toyota Corolla 1.4 and a 00 Fiat Punto 1.2. My boys think i am mad for taking the car as its old. Every day they grumble about the price of petrol, and there i go with my smirk and say thank god for old cars.:)

kathleenl

biko wrote: »

Any sound when you attempt to close it?
The motors for sunroofs die occasionally and will need to be replaced but without more details it's hard to say what the issue is. It could be a wire malfunction or something else.
When/how did it stop working?

Hi Biko.
When i went to collect the car(2 months ago), i found out it hadn't been driven in almost a year. The battery was dead and the sunroof was closed. We used cables to get the car started and that's when the sunroof opened, and from that day to this i cant close it. I put in a new battery and still no go. I have inquired at a garage and they told me that i could close it manually. I have checked out every bit of it and i cannot find any place where i could put in a small allan key. Its driving me nuts at the moment.
When i press the button it gives a whinny noise and a small movement in the sunroof but nothing else.

Neil_Sedaka

Well, when you do get the roof closed, pull the fuse. At least then it's watertight till you figure out the problem.

Have you tried looking on some of the UK Vauxhall forums, that would be my second place to look, after boards of course!

Sorry I can't be any more helpful, hope you get it sorted.

kathleenl

Nissan doctor wrote: »

If its an electric sunroof then it should have a manual closing mechanism but you likely have to remove the head lining to access it.

If its a manual(much more likely on a 97 astra) then it may just be jammed, or the cables may be snapped. Does the handle release button feel like its pushing in normally? If this doens't push in then the handle won't rotate.

Hi Colm_mcm
Its electric. I have searched every bit of the mechanism and i cannot find the fitting for the key....
Its going for its NCT on the 28th. I'm not doing any repairs or anything until after i get the list off them. I cant do a terrible lot of driving as i have no tax or NCT cert on it. Once i have the list i will repair what ever is needed and then i will fill her up and if i have to i will drive all the way to Donnegal and back again ;-) I would love to know exactly what kind of milage it will do.

kathleenl

Neil_Sedaka wrote: »

Well, when you do get the roof closed, pull the fuse. At least then it's watertight till you figure out the problem.

Have you tried looking on some of the UK Vauxhall forums, that would be my second place to look, after boards of course!

Sorry I can't be any more helpful, hope you get it sorted.

Its the one thing i havent done... I will give it one more go in the morning... you are after giving me an idea so Thank you most sincerely. Sometimes a little idea can be better than none.

Neil_Sedaka

Very welcome

kathleenl

Neil_Sedaka wrote: »

Very welcome

Well the bad news its not the fuse... there is a sound off the motor and it gives a go at closing but no go. It seems like if the window is caught on something. I have checked it and my daughter has even climbed up on the roof and shone a light down the back of the window to see if there was something blocking it. Everything seems to be free. I'm going to wait until the NCT is done then i will take it to my local handy mechanic (he is not a fully qualified mechanic but he is gifted with getting stuff working). Thanks for the thought though.;)

Neil_Sedaka

Sorry I hope I didn't mislead you. The fact that the motor is getting power means that the fuse is ok.

What I meant was, if you do manage to close it, then pull the fuse so as not to accidentally open it again.

Then leave the fuse out until you can have a mechanic look at and fix the problem.

Hope it's an easy fix, let us know how you get on.

kathleenl

Well the dreaded moment is over.... and i am delighted. I've to get four new tyres, new window wipers, a battery mounting and fix the horn. What they didn't add was i have to fix the seat belt on the drivers side but that's the lot.... i am so happy.... Now if i could only fix the sun roof

kathleenl

NCT test today. New tyres put on, new window wipers, battery mounting done, seat belt release switch done, horn left to do...and yes we finally got the sun roof closed... I took the car to 3 garages and not one of them showed the slightest interest in closing it. I guess its because the car is 97 and not brand new. Never thought there would be racism in cars:). Believe it or not my daughter (who is car mad) fixed it for me. I was so p***ed off with the garages that Katie and myself decided to take the whole thing apart one day, she got a very skinny screwdriver and she kept twisting something until it started to close. I have put silicon jell all around the joining and it is staying permanently closed. I am getting the horn fixed this morning so hopefully everything will be ready for 3.20pm today.

biko

Unfortunately car ageism is all too common these days, unless the car is so old it's a veteran

kathleenl

You are right there. Well it failed the test, but i am beginning to think it depends on the individual inspector. The guy i met yesterday was a right so and so.. he just did not like old cars... i was watching him test 00 to 06 cars yesterday and he didn't give them half the rigorous test he gave my poor Astra. But i am not giving up. I have one advantage... a son a mechanic ha ha.. so i asked him would he do the work for me and he said he would. So i am booking it back in again on Monday for two weeks time. All the work will be done next Saturday. While i was at the test centre yesterday a guy was getting a BMW sports tested and one of the inspectors broke the catch at the front of the bonnet.... they just don't care what way they treat a car.

kathleenl

Hi All.
Just letting you know that after 2 NCT tests (mind you there was nearly 6 months between both) I am finally sorted (keeping fingers crossed). NCT test on Wednesday at 11pm and i am praying to all my favourite Saints that my 97 Opel Astra will pass. I finally got the sunroof closed, it was no easy job, my daughter who is mad into cars and my self stripped the brackets and the panelling in the roof of the car from the inside, she got a tiny screwdriver and levered the sunroof down. She all but closed it, I got a tube of all weather silicon and pumped it in then smoothed it out it looks great now. All lights working, interior lights and horn working. Flashers working all seat belt connectors working. New tyres, engine cleaned. All that's left to do is to check the brakes and my son is going to do that. For once things are going ok. I am not going to throw a spanner in the works by saying its great. But i am happy. For once i am looking forward to the test.