Mondial sunroof not retracting!

David,

I had a Mondial QV coupe that did the same thing. I didn't figure out the problem, but the solution to getting the roof open was to give it a boost with your hand after the motor had engaged. Sometimes it needed a tug to help close, too. Lubing the rails didn't seem to help, and I figured the electric motor was just weak and/or the contacts needed cleaning.

Cheers, Mark

 

I had the same problem on my Mondial t. After a lot of messing around and several removals of the roof and cable the following may help:
1. Assist the roof to open by pushing whilst operating the motor.
2. If the mechanism and cable appears OK and you hear the motor turning, the motor could be slipping via the clutch inside the motor mechanism assembly.
If the motor is turning but making a ratcheting noise, then the motor is slipping between the output shaft and the cable.
Your roof is sticking at the point where the most force is required to open/close the roof. This is the point where the cable moves a lever to permit the rear of the roof to move up or down, moving the roof up or down requires little effort, but moving the lever does.
If the motor is ratching at the point, it will have chewed the cable and the fix is a cable change. If the slipping is generally quiet then the clutch can be adjusted.
Adjusting the clutch can be achieved by removing the round plug in the mechanism then loosen the locknut and wind in or out to increase/reduce the friction (cannot remember which way does what). Be very carefull when adjusting the clutch because if you make it too tight and the roof gets to the end of its travel, the drive chews the cable and a new cable is required. (don't ask how I know).
If the motor is weak, I wouln't expect you would hear it turning so try the above first.
If you need help with a cable change let me know and I'll put a couple of lines together.

 

It now sounds like the roller attached to the roof panel that pushes and pulls the roof along has jumped out of its slot. To get it back in:-
1. Travel the motor full open.
2. Remove the cable stop (a b nut) at the end of the cable in the trunk.
3. Travel the motor a little more open and you will see the end of the cable inner protrude beyond the end of the cable outer. This overtravelling will facilitate the roller to get back into the slot.
4. Push the roof fully open. You will notice that it is open now more than it normally is because this is how the cable roller is disconnected from the roof guide to permit removing the roof.
5. Travel the roof closed.
6. Refit the cable stop before opening the roof again.
Good luck.

 

David,
Here is an old thread with some words which may be helpful.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/112/323113.html

 

David
My roof was stuck in the same place after a period of inactivity. I soaked the edges of the roof with WD40 in the hope of easing the jam. After a few days of this and still no movement, I got brave. A few good slaps with the palm of the hand to the edges of the upper surface of the roof panel made it "pop loose". The roof panel is quite strong and should tolerate a "slap" near the edges. Once open you can continue with the earlier procedure.

 

Interesting thread. My sunroof has the opposite problem in that it opens and closes but the back edge does not raise to sit flush with the roof when fully closed. My temporary fix ---- a rubber doorstop wedged under the sunroof. Not pretty, but effective.

I've tried cranking the motor by hand, thinking it was too weak, but to no avail. I imagine something is wrong with the "lever" you're speaking about. When i'm feeling adventurous, i'll re-read your posts and look at the exploded diagram in the parsts manual. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Tom,
When the roof moves forward and aligns with the roof cut-out, the travel of the cable with the roller on the forward end enters a detent which moves a lever outwards on both sides which engages with the aft roof guide. This engagement at the bottom of the guide causes the guide to hinge about the upper pivot and by moving outwards at the bottom pushes the rear of the roof up. During this process, the force of a return spring (which positively encourages the lever to disengage the guide i.e. roof open) has to be overcome, the detent engaged, the lever operated, the guide moved and finally the roof raised. All this added together is the hardest job the roof motor has to do. During various stages of repair with my roof, after cleaning and lubing everthing and a fitting a new cable I was unable to overcome this resistance by manually pushing the cable in the trunk so it does requires a fair amount of effort.
If you motor is stalling then either the motor is bad or you are not getting full voltage at the motor to provide the torque.
If the motor is running but the roof does not close, it could be the clutch slipping inside the motor gearbox (see earlier comments for adjustment)
If the motor is running but a ratching noise is heard then the motor gearbox output shaft is slipping with the cable and has likely "eaten" part of the cable just where is needs to mesh. In this case a cable change is required.
I went through a couple of cables whilst trying to get my roof the operate correctly. The cables are available as an OEM around £150 or a specialist cable maker for £40.
Hope this helps.
Terry

 

David,

You've inspired me. I'll pull mine apart later this week, after the threat of rain is gone. Don't want to be driving in a thunderstorm without the sunroof in place if the repair proves to be a little too difficult.

I've scanned a couple of pages from the Parts
Manua and will atttach here. I hope the exploded view of the sunroof mechanism is readable. If not, PM your fax # or street address and i'll be happy to send them.

I noticed you are in Falmouth. We usually spend 2 weeks in East Orleans during the summer. Maybe we could get together for some clam chowder ?
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David,
Glad you were able to remove the roof OK and can now see what is happening inside. The lever which you may be referring to is in the picture below. In the diagram which Tom has provided it is item 9 - Leverage.
I obtained my parts from Ferrari UK who are very helpful and what they didn't have they obtained from the factory. Some prices can be high and vary between left and right hand, some of the piece parts are not handed so you can choose the cheapest side. If you register for access on https://www.owners.ferrari.com you will have access to their on-line parts catalog complete with illustrations, part numbers, prices and availability.
Terry

 

David,
Is this the part you refer to? It is 12.5mm overall height, 2mm flange thickness, 15.5mm outer diameter, 9mm inner diameter (as close as I can see with a rule. It is made from hard white plastic/teflon type material.

 

David,
That part comes with a new cable. Looking at mine, it may be that the aluminium stud which carries the white roller is pressed into the plate. Looks like some improvisation with an alley bolt may do it or a friend with a lathe. If you have not found the broken bits, I can get some more accurate dimensions for you with a micrometer.
Regards, Terry

 

David,
Centre hole through the roller is for an 8mm stud.
Overall height of roller is 12.3 mm
Flange thickness at either end of roller is 2 mm resulting in a distance of 8.3 mm between flanges
Roller outside diameter is 10 mm
Roller flanges outside diameter is 15.9 mm
Hopefully the above will suffice using reference to the previous picture
Regards
Terry

 

Following the instructions from Terry, David, and Tom, I have traced my sunroof problem (raises and lowers but doesn't slide back and forth) to the same issue as David -- a broken roller. David, have you had any luck finding a replacement roller? Also, how is the cable removed, do you just remove the stop and keep running the motor until it comes out? Thanks for the great info, I was a little reluctant to try pulling out the sunroof, but it is just as easy as described.

 

Oh sh@t Peter ! I had forgotten about this thread. Hmmmm. Maybe a winter project? I've gotten very lazy lately. Wait. I've got a good idea. Fix your sunroof and then let's trade cars. Then we can trade back again after you've fixed mine.

 

Peter,
The sunroof cable is removed with the roof removed (follow previous description for roof removal). With the roof removed and the lever mechanism attachment nut removed you can remove the the track and cable together whist motoring the cable forward. Alternatively, remove the motor then you can pull the cable and track free by hand. Be sure to use light low temp grease when putting everything back together. Too much friction puts too much strain on the motor. Have fun. Regards, Terry

 

Tom -- it takes about 10 minutes to remove the roof following Terry's instructions, so you may be able to have if fixed (or at least diagnosed) faster than we could trade cars. The up and down linkage is completely exposed and very simple mechanically so I recommend you go for it. We missed you at Florham Park.

Terry -- thanks again for your help and the tip on the type of grease (I was wondering what should be used).

 

I made a replacement pulley using a hole cutter to cut a wheel out of a cutting board and shaped it using a drill and dremel grinding wheel. The pulley is fastened to the cable plate with an #8/32 x 3/4" allen bolt that threads into the plate from the bottom. An aluminum shaft is used to hold it to the plate. I think that this setup is stronger than the original aluminum boss since these seem to break frequently. The suroof is working great now. Pictures of the parts and installed pulley are below.