Sunroof Removal 1985 Late Porsche 944 Ignition 1 not Working

sanfrancisco944 · 11-16-2008, 05:30 PM

Solve 1 Problem Find another--I guess that's what it's all About with German Electrical Engineering....
OK, I Can't remove the Sunroof off my 1985 Late 944--heard it is as Easy as Putting Key in & turning it to Ignition 1 & pushing sunroof console switch to retract arms off the pins disengaging the sunroof, unlock the front latches & then remove the front of the sunroof out Voila!--beautiful skies above! (everything else works in Ignition 1 power windows, fan, etc) but not the Sunroof Console Switch- it's dead as a doornail. Sunroof Switch works Great in Ignition 2 up and down with the engine off & works when the enigine is running. I'm pretty sure both extension arms are adjusted correctly--sunroof opens high enough and closes snuggly. Gears and motor seem to be in good shape.
Can anyone tell me why it's not working in Ignition 1? The micro switch between the Visors seems to be working fine. I'm at wits end!

Dougster · 11-17-2008, 03:46 PM

Good question. I have experienced some random issues with switches working one day & not the next & then working again.

I did read in the manual where their is a Sunroof retracting tool if the switch doesn't work.
Sorry I don't have any more info for you.

sanfrancisco944 · 11-25-2008, 03:16 PM

Thanks Dougster! At Least my Stereo still Jams! LOL! Yeah I don't know, I took the Roof off the Hard Way, Cleaned it up, read the Manual Put it back on, then nothing else worked, All of a Sudden the Cargo & Interior Lights, Power Windows with the Key off and everything else started to work again!!! I just don't get German/Porsche electronics--too many mysteries--in another post I said it might be German Payback for D-Day! LOL! I thought it might be the Ignition Key Switch, but everything else works in Ig. 1, 2 and on, & the Sunroof works great in Ig 2 and when driving. I know about the Manual Overide to get it off. But you don't buy a $40,000.00 Car to deal with manual hehe! That Sunroof's a pain in the ass to begin with! So, Guess I'll just have to rip the Car apart and Track all the Wiring, Micro Swictches, Switches to find the problem. But I thought maybe if I just leave it alone it might just start working again. I Live in the Bay Area--and it really sucks driving down Coastal Highway 1 with the top on--kinda defeats the purpose of living! : ) Thanks bro, hope your 944 is treatin' you right. Happy Thanksgiving! Ken

Dougster · 11-26-2008, 01:17 PM

Hey Ken, I was actually listening to some old jams on Cass. today ha ha...

I know what you mean about these Porsceh electronics though...When I test drove this car I tested every button and everything worked...Now the pass side window doesn't work from the drivers side. I guess I should be happy it works at all, but of course I am stuck in traffic the other day & a guy honks on my passenger side & motions me to roll down my window and my 1st thought was to put it down from my drivers side...WRONG...So I reach over & put it down from the pass side & he gives me the great car you have, what year is it ect.ect. Nice guy...
I didn't have the heart to tell him I was on my way to get the CV/Axle replaced...Oh well...Nobody said it would be money free driving...

Anyway, yes use that Sunroof, they are great when off, they are so large. I will have to wait until I get down to Florida...Hopefully sooner then later.
Have a great Holiday man!

natey · 11-27-2008, 10:05 AM

First, have tried pressing both sides (raise and lower) of the switch? Sorry, have to ask.

I had exactly this problem when I got my '89. The circuit for removal is strange - check out the cam / motor mechanism and microswitches mounted to the chassis in the inside hatch area, just forward of the read driver-side wheel well. Two microswitches are side-by-side, and the white plastic cam is set up to trip one just before the other when the arms are retracting. The first one stops the roof when you're lowering it with ignition is position 2.

The second switch is odd...from what I saw, it MUST be tripped in order for the arms to be retracted for roof removal. When you press the button to retract the arms to remove the roof, the motor only goes for an instant...if the second switch isn't tripped, the motor stops. (Probably, Clark's Garage can tell you exactly how it works, this is just my observation.)

Anyway, someone had glued a piece of plastic to the cam in my car, so the first switch was tripped long, long before the second, so the motor would stop before the second switch was ever tripped. There's some pictures in a thread here by me, I think I called it "Sunroof - creative engineering?" or something like that, it might give you some idea how the mechanism works.

Probably, nothing was done on purpose to your car like it was to mine, but if that same microswitch has gone bad in your car, it would cause the same symptoms.

Steve Schubert · 11-27-2008, 04:49 PM

I have the same problem with my sun roof. I finely figure out what to do. Put the ignition switch into the first setting, while pressing the button to raise the roof move the ignition key slowly to the left, or off position, this motion allows the roof arms to retract. See if this works.

steve