2001 GrandAm Sunroof blows 20A fuse when opening/closing and...

[Chavela]

My sunroof on 2001 GrandAm wouldn't open. I put in new fuse. Then it wouldn't close, so I put in another new fuse. Now when I start engine, fuse blows without touching the sunroof button to open/close. Since this is indeed the shorted circuit, what is the fix? Or is it something (also) in the ignition (switch)? I hate cars, especially this lemon I bought new in Denver. (Appointment with Pontiac dealer tomorrow and we know that will be pricey! Would like to tell them something intelligent before they go crazy looking at non-specific/unrelated stuff so as to charge me $65/hour + a 20A yellow fuse at $0.25!) HELP! Please demystify this "short." Is the motor burned up? No dirt in track, so no binding, which would "drag" and strain the motor. Did run thru a gulley gusher bunch of puddles that splashed water up over the hood! Bad gutters here, too, in the city. All other electrical works; however, the horn won't honk when it's super hot/humid. My radar detector does a recalc when too hot also! Thanks so very much.

[curtis73]

Pull off the drivers side A-pillar trim beside the windshield. Usually the wires run up one of those pillars. It sounds like a wire has shorted, so trace it as far as you can from the fuse panel to the motor. If you find no shorts or obvious problems you may have to pull the headliner to further trace the issue and test the motor.

Other things to test with a meter are the switch and the motor. If the switch is shorted it would cause that trouble. If you've eliminated it as the problem, use the wires to test the motor without pulling the headliner. Someone else will hopefully have more specifics on what makes a bad motor. I know that infinite ohms (no continuity) is bad as well as zero ohms, but I don't know how much resistance there should be across that specific motor. While you're testing it, I would jiggle the wires and see if the values change since that might suggest a shorted wire that would require removing the headliner. Its not a big issue, just time consuming and a bit of a pain.

[Chavela]

Originally Posted by Chavela

My sunroof on 2001 GrandAm wouldn't open. I put in new fuse. Then it wouldn't close, so I put in another new fuse. Now when I start engine, fuse blows without touching the sunroof button to open/close. Since this is indeed the shorted circuit, what is the fix? Or is it something (also) in the ignition (switch)? I hate cars, especially this lemon I bought new in Denver. (Appointment with Pontiac dealer tomorrow and we know that will be pricey! Would like to tell them something intelligent before they go crazy looking at non-specific/unrelated stuff so as to charge me $65/hour + a 20A yellow fuse at $0.25!) HELP! Please demystify this "short." Is the motor burned up? No dirt in track, so no binding, which would "drag" and strain the motor. Did run thru a gulley gusher bunch of puddles that splashed water up over the hood! Bad gutters here, too, in the city. All other electrical works; however, the horn won't honk when it's super hot/humid. My radar detector does a recalc when too hot also! Thanks so very much.

Thanks, Curtis, for the advice. I'll let you know the outcome, okay? Betty

[Chavela]

Originally Posted by Chavela

My sunroof on 2001 GrandAm wouldn't open. I put in new fuse. Then it wouldn't close, so I put in another new fuse. Now when I start engine, fuse blows without touching the sunroof button to open/close. Since this is indeed the shorted circuit, what is the fix? Or is it something (also) in the ignition (switch)? I hate cars, especially this lemon I bought new in Denver. (Appointment with Pontiac dealer tomorrow and we know that will be pricey! Would like to tell them something intelligent before they go crazy looking at non-specific/unrelated stuff so as to charge me $65/hour + a 20A yellow fuse at $0.25!) HELP! Please demystify this "short." Is the motor burned up? No dirt in track, so no binding, which would "drag" and strain the motor. Did run thru a gulley gusher bunch of puddles that splashed water up over the hood! Bad gutters here, too, in the city. All other electrical works; however, the horn won't honk when it's super hot/humid. My radar detector does a recalc when too hot also! Thanks so very much.

Curtis,
Took car to Pontiac dealer. They put in a new fuse, open/closed many times the sunroof, drove the car around, and the fuse did NOT blow. I can't figure it out, unless I bought inferior fuses at AutoZone... so far, it's doing fine.

Betty