W210 sunroof stuck open and motor running

[W210 Fan]

Hi guys, I looked through the search function but come up blank im afraid, my new estate, 1998 W210 E55 which has been sat around for months has had its first run to sainsburys, burying the throttle on the way back and the interior light came on, then the sunroof went back, stayed back and the motor is still running despite ignition key being out,

Does anybody have any ideas as its currently sat with the motor running eating its battery and the sunroof is stuck open, I read a thread on W210s electrics when the car has sat around;

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/electronics/74968-02-w210-estate-alarm-electrical-problems.html

and I suspect my problems are similar so im off outside to look at that unit, luckily the W210 saloon ive just retired and am about to break has a sunroof so if a sunroof control unit is buggered I think ill have a spare

 

[W210 Fan]

luckily it has its own fuse so I can stop it eating its battery and my brothers E230 has a sunroof key, pretty sure its only an allen key anyway,

now I need to identify which unit has gone mental and replace it

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
I would try disconnecting the cars battery for ten minutes or so, but do make sure you have the stereo code if applicable

 

[W210 Fan]

andy, disconnecting the battery for 10 mins stopped the motor running but when I connected it back up I found that I couldnt get the sunroof to move, so I get the sunroof key from the E230 we have here and tried winding it, nothing, tried the switch and I could see the hex key turning - the motor was moving but the sunroof was not, I then came back and found this on sunroofs;

W210 Sunroof woes and how to cure them - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

which could be of some help to some people, I get the light holder out, got the motor out and found the cog that winds the cables had snapped, probably something to do with the motor sat there spinning for god knows how long, I tried jamming various tools in there hoping to turn it but no luck so I got the motor out of the retired E55, connected that up and now the sunroof is shut,

but I still have the problem that it might open again, taking fuse 4 out also means I have no interior lights so I didnt connect the motor to the sunroof as I never use them anyway,

another way round this if anybody else finds themselves in this situation is to borrow somebody elses, shut the sunroof then give it back, I could have borrowed the one from my brothers E230 but the part number on it is 202.820.05.08 which means any 1993-2000 C class with a sunroof will have the motor assembly and I bet others too, as the unit is manufactured by Webasto I bet other german cars will have this part too