Sunroof electric drive is too loud

[pehlivanov_tii]

I know it has been noticed before, i know about the mod with the nissan motor conversion, but i want to keep it stock.

So i guess many of you know that the electric drive is noisy. The problem itself is not in the motor, because if it doesn't have anything attached to it it is quite enough, and the motor is refurbished. The problem is the linkage between the motor and the drive gear i guess - this rubber shaft if this is the correct name.

 

I'm doing the headliner now and before i close it and glue it to the car i want to hear your opinion - is there anything i can do to make it more quiet or i will have to live with it?

 

Thanks.

[Conserv]

The power sunroof is often regarded as rare and highly desirable. How long does it take to open or close the sunroof? How often do you open and close the sunroof?Does anyone other than you find the noise offensive — I’m not discounting your opinion, but most of us (all of us?) tend to be hyper-critical of our own cars?

 

If you came up with a quieter solution, but it — for any reason — failed, would you have to replace the headliner, or could it be serviced/replaced with the headliner in place?

 

I guess I’m trying to assess: (a.) how big a problem this is, and (b.) how big a problem a quieter solution might be, long term.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[02Les]

I can understand the motor being quiet with nothing attached, but, I can also understand it being noisier when it's attached and under load. Are you sure the motor refurbishment was done correctly?

 

I have several window motors for my E24 that work wonderfully quiet when on the bench, but, they are either very noisy or just don't move at all when attached to the window mechanism.

[pehlivanov_tii]

I know what you mean and you are right - sometimes we want too much from these cars, but they are old and with old tech design of everything, so it is normal to not be perfect. But if it is possible to do something i would gove it a try before i fit and glue the headliner on the car. Because after that the access is very limited without taking it off.

I uploaded the video of the noise on youtube:

 

[02Les]

Aha, yeah that's annoying; I'm guessing the cables are metal spiral things and that is probably the source. Maybe it has too much clearance to/against gearbox driving gear. Does is ever slip when moving the sunroof?

[pehlivanov_tii]

I havent tried with sunroof panel mounted yet.

As for the clearance i think its designed this way. The rubber shaft is all the way in, in both ends. I tried to push it with hand to get closer to the motor and from the other side to get closer to the gear but it is not possible.

[Conserv]

Can you use insulation to reduce the sound?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[pehlivanov_tii]

There is not much space there to put insulation on everything but yes i will try. I would say that the sound will probably not be that annoying when you assemble everything and now the car is in the closed garage which also matters. In open space it may be a little bit better. I know there are not much options but i wanted to see if you guys with power sunroof hear the same noise.

[Conserv]

2 hours ago, pehlivanov_tii said:

 

...I know there are not much options but i wanted to see if you guys with power sunroof hear the same noise.

 

 

How many surviving power sunroofs in the U.S.? Oh, maybe ten!

 

(I’m obviously making that number up, but it is a very low number in the U.S. )

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

Edited October 4, 2019 by Conserv

[dlacey]

I have one the same...its not that noisy in real operation...its making a noise in your video because of no load...the motor is spinning fast and the flexible drive is resonating. Once the panel is in with all the friction of the seals etc the motor is much slower and the resonance doesnt happen. Mine sounds OK when working, not annoying.

 

Make sure the electrical connections are in good shape...this motor takes a high current...

[Mike Self]

Electric sunroofs on US spec cars are nearly unicorns--in 50 years of messing with '02s I've seen exactly one on a US spec car, and it was a late squarelight in a junkyard--I'm kicking myself for not scarfing up all the bits & pieces.  Yours is the only roundie I've heard of in the US with an electric sunroof.  

 

I suspect that after BMW NA took over US sales from Hoffman in mid 1975, more options were made available--such as cloth seats, sunroof popup wind deflectors and possibly electric sunroofs.

 

mike

[pehlivanov_tii]

Ok guys, thank you. @dlacey has a good point and it makes sense. I will move forward and not waste more time trying to investigate this.