Repair #3:
Took a turn at lunch and a stream of water came out of the light switch and got my co-worker all wet. Well, that can't be good. 2 weeks later I go to open my panoroof on a nice day and it's dead.
The first thing I'm thinking is the switch is toast as nothing works on it, including the curtain. So I buy a used switch off ebay for $27. No luck. At this point I fear the worst.
Here we go... thousands of dollars, right? I took it in to the dealer and here's what I got:
Yes, $2,418! You read that right.
This word is not in my vocabulary but it's the only one that comes to mind: I was flabbergasted. Needless to say, I just took the car home. I could not believe the cost!
So, like any dude I start seaching google and forums and what I find is that these JSW's are notorious for leaking panoramic roofs; even to the extent of a classaction lawsuit! Wow.
Apparently the drains get clogged &/or disconnected. Based on where the leak came from, and no stains in the headliner my initial theory is the front drain(s) got clogged resulting in a backup of water which on a turn ran from one corner to the center of the roof frame and down into the control panel. Also, I thought it was strange that the curtain was unresponsive too. I dig into that and find a diagram that shows their are 2 indentical motors. 1 in the front for the glass, 1 in the rear for the curtain. However, the rear is piggyback-powered off the front motor. So, at this point, knowing the switch is fine, my attention focuses to the front motor and I assume it has shorted out &/or seized from water damage.
So, I take apart the entire roof control console. There are like 6 or so torx screws and several plugs to disconnect before you get to the motor. Also, I realize right away that a VW design engineer screwed up. There is a plastic support member that runs right though the middle of the cavity, blocking access to the pano-glass motor. Now, they were smart enough to have a hole in the center where you could run the worm gear manually but access to the 3 torx screws that secure the motor to the frame are all but impossible to remove. No big deal, just carefully temporarily relocate the ribbon cable that is lightly adhered to the plastic member, make some pilot marks, wedge a small peice of wood in there to protect things and drill away. I drilled 2 holes for accessing the last 2 motor mounting screws.
Once I got the motor pulled I noticed the stripped screws that the shop foreman wrote up.
I can't help but think he tried to remove them without drilling holes which would have the torx driver at an angle and, yes, you would marr the torx heads pretty good. I mean, is he trying to get me to believe the screws were stripped when VW assembled this car together? I doubt it. Verdict: GUILTY.
So, I'm having a hard time turning the worm gear manually. I open the motor.
Its obvious how full of water this was. The circuit board is corroded and crusty. There's evidence of rust everywhere.
I go back out to the car with a multi-meter and so some testing.
1. Harness has power.
2. Hook harness up to motor circuit board and get nothing at the 2 motor leads.
So, its really pointing to the motor circuit board getting fried.
To really put an end to the debate of what the repair is, I cleaned and WD40'd the motor gearing and got it to spin. Remounted the motor, got my Allen wrench and manually ran the worm gear.
Roof opens just fine. No squeaks or creaks. There appears to be nothing mechanically wrong with the roof.
So, I find and order a used motor off German ebay for $36. Takes almost 3 weeks to get here so in the meantime I research cleaning the drains. Sounds like weed wacker line is the way to go.
The driver's side is pretty clean. The passenger side is disgusting. But eventually I get confident enough to pour water down the drains for a test. We're all good! Water all over the garage lol.
An eternity later I get the motor. First things first. Make sure the roof was closed before you hook up the motor. Then go through the motor travel reset procedure to make sure the motor thinks its closed. Hook up the connections and turn the switch: Open, Close, Raise, Close.
Now, remount the motor and cross fingers:
Victory!
Now go back to the top of this post and read the dealer shop foreman's diagnostic and think about how ridiculous that was. Now, consider that a regular guy who's not a service tech, let alone the Shop Foreman, just did some online research, logical troubleshooting and fixed it for less than $100. I don't want to be a dealer-hater but between the P2015 repair and this one I could have spent over $3,000 at the dealer. Instead it was less than a couple hundred bucks and it could have been cheaper if I didn't buy a switch I didn't need ($27) and the used motor shipping from Germany ($46).