Hello everyone, well i have a 1985 W123 280CE.


The sunroof is closed and will not open


1. replaced the fibre gear in the motor assembly and adjusted/tightened it up to the point of motor pulling more than 8 amps and blowing fuse.

2. tested switch and switch is working properly

3. motor spins both ways, but will not drag the cable any further to open the sunroof more than 1/32 of an inch

4. Took motor off to try and use tool to pull sunroof cable through manually ( will not budge )

There's a manual over ride functionality - you can wind it open from inside the boot / trunk

You can then get the mechanical side sorted out so the motor doesn't strain and blow fuses

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Do you want a link to the old DIY help pages?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Have you tried slapping the sunroof from the topside down into the opening while operating the switch? If it has not been used in a long while, the sunroof seal itself maybe stuck, semi-glues to the sunroof opening preventing the movement. Try popping it with your hand to see if it frees it up

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)

It's wintertime. Most W123 sunroof problems show up now. Problem is probably old grease that is dirty and stiffened up. Pull the sunroof headliner, pull the motor out of the trunk and pull the cable out. Degrease, clean, regrease. Could get lucky.

Sadly I and my roommate have lent down on the sunroof, it goes back about 1/32 of an inch, but the rear part of the sunroof does go down a little bit in preparation for sliding into the roof cavity for it. But yet it doesn't go back.

It's summer time here is Australia, so it's not sticking due to cold weather, it's quite hot here right now.

I've tried the manual winder inside of the rear of the car, a 6mm spanner/wrench is required and i feel like i'm going to brake something is i apply more force to it.

So, we got it open a bit...

had a peek down....

saw the issue,


managed to undo the inner liner clips and slide it back

then undo the cable rack from the panel itself and manipulate it and cut off any obstructing deformed plastic bits

put it all back together,


sadly the cable it just to broken/warped to work properly.

personally I'd much rather manual sunroof now haha.

anyone know where i can get a cable for a reasonable price ?

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Unfortunately, the sunroof cabe for coupes and sedans are different. My diesel is a coupe and I have been checking sources for a new or used cable off and on for about 4 years with no success. You can use a sedan cable but it is shorter and you will not get a full opening.

Keep checking the breaker yards.

Thank you.

My car is a diesel too, swapped in the turbo diesel and manual transmission in used to have the inline 6 cylinder and auto behind it. Boy did it suck fuel haha especially compared to the diesel. Any ways back on topic.

Sadly the coupes are very rare here in Australia, i think we got about 2000 or less back in the day ( Right hand drive country, so only imports from UK possible, or ordered when new from factory ) and most of those would be gone by now :'( probably only 100 left in the country drivable.


Seems strange that the sedan cable would be shorter ? as the coupe's body is shorter than the sedan, doesn't compute ?

I sent an email to Mercedes classic centre, maybe they can help.

Either that or i get super lucky and i find a manual sunroof in a salvage yard and take it.

My bad. I meant to say that coupe cable is shorter. Nevertheless, I tried a sedan cable and could not get a full opening.

I also thought of a manual sunroof but it is more involved than one would think. It requires some involved salvage from a donor station wagon (shooting brake to you) or a euro 240D and some welding and fabrication. There are a number of threads describing the job.

Luck to you.

Sorry i haven't updated, I've been busy.

I'll work more on the sunroof next month, it's just flat out for the time being