Moonroof Motor Failure

[nhphotogdotcom]

Today, I went to close my moonroof and nothing happened. When I got home, I did all the stuff to get to the motor with a goal of just finding a way to get the moonroof closed up for the night. While in the ceiling, I discovered that the motor for the sunshade was the same motor as the glass motor, so I plugged in that motor to the glass connector and activated the glass switch. The motor engaged for about 3 seconds, and died (the moto was in my hand, not attached to the ceiling or making contact with the moonroof drive cables, so there was no load).
I did to some electrical testing and appear to have good voltage where there should be voltage, and none where there should not be any.

So, what is the issue here? Obviously, I need to order 2 new motors, but will they just die as soon as soon as I apply power? Might there be a short somewhere that I am not picking up on in my testing? Did I just get really unlucky with the second motor going within seconds of applying power?

I'll also mention that the first motor that died, the glass drive motor, there was a ton of corrosion and some rust on the circuit board. When I bypassed the circuit board and apply 12V directly to the motor, the motor did function. So we know that the circuit board was the issue, not the motor itself. I did not disassemble the second motor, the one from the shade, to check the condition of that board.

Thank you for any input you may have.

-Timothy
2015 Ford Explorer with 3.5 V-6.

 

[J_C]

How complex is the circuit board? Any chance of reverse engineering it at least enough to check some components with a multimeter, possibly while also giving it power? The thing is, I don't know how smart it is, for example there may be some stops to the motion because it can't just keep driving the shade or glass forever, so I wonder if turning off after 3 seconds wasn't abnormal operation but rather just what it would do in that situation. It does have positional awareness of some sort, even details an initialization sequence in the workshop manual for replacement.

Did you check the fuse before doing anything else, just in case the mechanism was seized (or at least excessive drag more than the motor could overcome) and caused a motor stall/overcurrent event that blew the fuse?

If there is a short somewhere, it shouldn't kill the motors. Well it's not that simple, a short between the power and a signal line could maybe do some damage but as mentioned above, I'm not as certain that both motors died instead of operating as usual, or possibly one is fine and the other dead. I am not at all familiar with the circuit board in them so have no idea what is there, would it be useful if you posted high-res pictures of that? I can't promise I'll see anything but am working blind on this.

Due to that, probably most expedient for you is to just get the 2014 workshop manual linked in my sig below. Look at both the Wiring Diagrams and the Service Manual htm links in it, for the Roof Opening sections in both (that's what they call it, not sunroof or moonroof).

 

[peterk9]

Is it possible that the motor mounting may act as a ground which would have ben missing if you were holding it?
If you plan to order a new motor(s), Levittown Ford is a forum vendor offering members a discount which I believe is 50% off the shipping cost.

Original 2011-2017 Ford Motor BB5Z-15790-A | Levittown Ford Parts

2011-2017 Ford part # BB5Z-15790-A - Motor

parts.levittownfordparts.com

Coupon Codes for Forum Members - Genuine Ford Parts & Accessories

Hi Guys, We have codes available for forum members so if your looking for Genuine Ford replacement parts or Accessories please let us know, Feel free to reply to this thread here and we will message you. Thanks! -Benny

www.explorerforum.com

Good luck and please keep us updated. Thanks.

Peter

 

[FordFlintrock]

Is it possible that the motor mounting may act as a ground which would have ben missing if you were holding it?
If you plan to order a new motor(s), Levittown Ford is a forum vendor offering members a discount which I believe is 50% off the shipping cost.

Peter

Not to mention their retail price is likely lower across the board than local stores which I had an opportunity to compare recently shopping for a part.

 

[nhphotogdotcom]

How complex is the circuit board? Any chance of reverse engineering it at least enough to check some components with a multimeter, possibly while also giving it power? The thing is, I don't know how smart it is, for example there may be some stops to the motion because it can't just keep driving the shade or glass forever, so I wonder if turning off after 3 seconds wasn't abnormal operation but rather just what it would do in that situation. It does have positional awareness of some sort, even details an initialization sequence in the workshop manual for replacement.

Did you check the fuse before doing anything else, just in case the mechanism was seized (or at least excessive drag more than the motor could overcome) and caused a motor stall/overcurrent event that blew the fuse?

If there is a short somewhere, it shouldn't kill the motors. Well it's not that simple, a short between the power and a signal line could maybe do some damage but as mentioned above, I'm not as certain that both motors died instead of operating as usual, or possibly one is fine and the other dead. I am not at all familiar with the circuit board in them so have no idea what is there, would it be useful if you posted high-res pictures of that? I can't promise I'll see anything but am working blind on this.

Due to that, probably most expedient for you is to just get the 2014 workshop manual linked in my sig below. Look at both the Wiring Diagrams and the Service Manual htm links in it, for the Roof Opening sections in both (that's what they call it, not sunroof or moonroof).

Fuse first, always first thing to check. However, I the shad motor was working, and they are the same fuse, though I did not know that at first glance.
I seriously don't have the time to troubleshoot down to component lever. I have a new set of motors coming, so we will see.
I think I mentioned in the original past that when I removed the circuit boards from the equation, and applied power directly to the motor, it worked. Also that the circuit boards were corroded.

 

[nhphotogdotcom]

Is it possible that the motor mounting may act as a ground which would have ben missing if you were holding it?
If you plan to order a new motor(s), Levittown Ford is a forum vendor offering members a discount which I believe is 50% off the shipping cost.

Original 2011-2017 Ford Motor BB5Z-15790-A | Levittown Ford Parts

2011-2017 Ford part # BB5Z-15790-A - Motor

parts.levittownfordparts.com

Coupon Codes for Forum Members - Genuine Ford Parts & Accessories

Hi Guys, We have codes available for forum members so if your looking for Genuine Ford replacement parts or Accessories please let us know, Feel free to reply to this thread here and we will message you. Thanks! -Benny

www.explorerforum.com

Good luck and please keep us updated. Thanks.

Peter

No, the connector has a solid hot and ground on it. And I am thinking they are #12, though they could just be #14.

 

[J_C]

Fuse first, always first thing to check. However, I the shad motor was working, and they are the same fuse, though I did not know that at first glance.
I seriously don't have the time to troubleshoot down to component lever. I have a new set of motors coming, so we will see.
I think I mentioned in the original past that when I removed the circuit boards from the equation, and applied power directly to the motor, it worked. Also that the circuit boards were corroded.

Keep in mind that there is an initialization sequence for new motors, in the 2014 Workshop manual in my sig, Service Manual, Roof Opening section. You might also find that online.

Also keep in mind what I mentioned about it potentially being normal operation for the motor to stop when power is applied through the circuit board, till installed and initialized for the range of motion for the window and shade.