Hello folks,

So I have been working on this sunroof project for a while, and thought I share my experiences .. feel free to chime in with your thoughts if something comes to mind...

Background story: 97 XJR with a bunch of broken plastic guides, etc. and a sagging headliner too.

A few months ago I found a mint (but rear ended) 2003 XJR with a perfect headliner, and sunroof assembly. I bought the sunroof panel, rail assembly and headliner from the gentleman selling it, and had the panel painted to match the car.

The panel was completed and by then it was winter and the XJR hibernated for a few months.

I had a chance to start the project this weekend and started off with the removal of the headliner. Quite easy, took me about 20 min. Slightly folded it and removed it from the rear door with the front headrests removed and seats tilted.

The sunroof panel was attached to the sunroof rail by 6 hex screws. Easy to remove, and it helps if sunroof panel is in tilt position.

The sunroof rail is attached to the roof by a bunch of 10mm nuts. This was a 2 man job as someone needs to hold the rail in place and help with the removal through the front door.

Installation of the new rail was very straight forward, but again, this is a 2 man job because of the weight and awkward shape (looks like an "H")

I adjusted the panel and everything lines up nicely and hooked up the wiring.

Now here's the problem:

The control module does not know when to stop the motor, and it runs as long as you are holding the button.

Desired mode of operation:

Sunroof is tilted up, you press close. It closes and stops even if you are holding the button.

My situation:

Sunroof is tilted up, you press close. It closes the tilt and continues opening the sunroof... and keeps going even when the roof is 100% open to the point that it wants to break something. It stops when you let go of the button.

When you close it, it closes all the way, then proceeds to tilt up. It doesn't stop when the roof is closed. It always continues until it tilts up.

I am assuming there has to be a reset procedure, so when you close the tilt, it stops unless you press the button again to open the roof.

Once I figure out the reset procedure, then I can install the headliner. I have reviewed TSB 501-26 which appears to provide a solution, ... I have to try it on the car and see...

Please let me know if you have had a similar experience and if you know of a trick to teach the module where to start/stop.

Learning lesson for me: 2003 XJR sunroof assembly fits the older body 1997 XJR.

 

Here is some helpful information:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...orking-120322/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-close-10641/


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...king-13-34.pdf

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...lose-13-39.pdf

 

Thanks very much Al

glad to see this does not require any of the PDU stuff.

One thing that confuses me is the procedure to bring the sunroof to a closed position (top dead centre if you will). I know how to open/close it using a screw driver, but the TSB 13-34 (your 3rd link, bottom of p.2) makes reference to 2 plastic pieces having a clearance of 8mm as viewed from the side, and for the life of me, I cannot find these 2 pieces. This step needs to be done first before the SRCM dots are aligned.

I will keep trying and share my experiences.

Having done this so many times, the good news is I can now remove a headliner in 15 min and remove the entire sunroof assembly including rails out within 10 min of headliner removal

 

so I read TSB 13-34 one more time, and set the gap at 8mm. Lined up the 2 white dots and the sunroof works like a charm!!!

The panel is adjusted such that all 4 corners are flush with the roof, and the front edge is also flush with the roof. The rear of the panel, in the middle, it sticks up a few mm as if the roof is concave at the back, are they all like that?

Lastly, when I do the auto close, it closes, raises a few mm at the back, and goes back down and closes. Is that normal?

Before I put the headliner back, I will source the proper grease, and apply some to the tracks, and then the headliner is going in...

Now onto the next project; the power steering pump...

 

Good job! Glad it helped! Very glad to hear this all worked as I too need to adjust mine.

I can't comment on what is 'normal' as mine remains closed until I adjust it, but am interested to hear what others say.

.

 

Mine does the same thing and I think it's normal.

 

Yes that is normal for the sunroof to lift a bit then back down when automitacally closing. At lest that's what it does in my xj6 and in my xjr when the sunroof did work

 

thank you for confirming that it's normal folks.

 

Eeyore here

I hate my sunroof.
I am 6'3" and it kills my headroom in the XJR.
In the sunroofless Daimler6 this is a non-issue.
It whistles and blusters above 50 km/h if open.
It is hard to close just flush.
Luckily it doesn't seem to leak.
I am tempted to have it cut out and welded up...

 

Even if you were to remove the sunroof / weld it closed -- wouldn't you still have headroom problems due to the headliner?

Or can you customize the headliner?

 

You could get the headliner for cars not equipped with the sunroof which I assume would add some headroom.

I'm not a fan of sunroofs either. We have one in our Honda Pilot, and it never gets used. They are really just a novelty in my opinion. Although I don't mind the "moon roof" (glass) sunroofs per se as they can add some nice sunlight. But in those cases I wouldn't care if they actually opened, as long as they had a sliding shade.

But bottom line, I can definitely do without and I totally agree on the headroom issue. I am only 5'9" and it drives me nuts that I can feel my hair dragging on the headliner.

It must be awful for someone much taller.

.