Sunroof issues

[shelleyhills78]

I replaced the motor in my sunroof and I can hear it working now but my sunroof is still not opening. I tried the reset and I hear the motor running for about 20 to 30 seconds and then it stops. However it isn't opening. If I push up on the back of it I can see it actually coming up a little but not enough to let any sunlight in. I don't want to damage the new motor. Any ideas would be great! Thanks!!

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[E39 Newbie]

My E46 is a 'vert, but I'll assume that the E46 sunroofs are much the same as those in the E39. It could be several things. The motor turns a gear that moves this cable assembly back and forth along tracks. Attached to that track are plastic "shoes" that attach to the sunroof popup arms and control the lifting of the sunroof as well as its back-and-forth movement. This is a vast oversimplification. The most common failure is that these plastic bits disintegrate. When you go to pop up the sunroof and you hear a crack, and one side or the other doesn't go up, you know one has broken.

So, it's probably this, although it's possible that the gear mechanism that the motor fits into is botched up.

Regardless, you have to pull the sunroof cassette out in order to do repairs on it. It's a royal PITA. The entire headliner has to be removed, then the entire cassette unbolts. Good luck.