Sorar sunroof lol
 

Dave,

Well done mate glad it's working.
I've swapped the sunroof now and I'm about to attempt the wiring.

I have some questions: You said you've changed the tracks? Erm...are they the runners or something else?

A-pillar trim removal. How do you do it? Has it been documented on here yet?

The rest doesn't look too bad with Ian's guide.

Any help, as always, appreciated.

Solar Roof retrofit - Electrickery
 

There are 2 elements to retrofitting a solar roof - (1) Fitting the roof panel and (2) hooking up the wiring.

The wiring is conceptually simple.

A normal D2 without solar has a simple +12 constant feed through a 40Amp fuse to the blower motor.

With Solar, there is a relay just before the fuse that switches the feed between +12v or the solar panel depending on the current state of the climate module.

The critical part of this job is the have the correct wiring loom, or at lest remove it from a donor car in a useable fashion. If in doubt contact a8parts for one, although its likely only available as part of whole retrofit kit.

I'll describe in detail how to prepare and fit a loom as you would receive from a8parts.


Firstly, lets examine the retrofit loom:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755


And a close up on the relay holder:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

and from another angle:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755


Ok, now I'm a stickler for OEM, and that includes wiring. You can join the wiring, but at 40amps there some beefy connections. Instead, I prefer to remove the connecitons properly and reuse them. The place to perform this is at the blower fuse holder - Leave 1 connection in place on the car, and slot the rest of the retrofit loom into the other connector.

The big fuse block can have its connectors removed with some careful manipulation:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

You need 2 flat blade screwdrivers to insert into the tabs below so that the connector can be pulled out gentle:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755


These are the tabs you are aiming to press down using the flatblade. Once pressed down, the connector will pull out from the casing. Leave the fuse holder in the car, remove completely the small length of loom that runs down the 10mm nut at the bottom of the fuse box.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

Footwell prepped, stripped back and transmission tunnel covers removed:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

You'll need to strip back the roof trims between the middle sunroof controls and the A pillar so that you can run the solar panel connection up the A pillar and into the void above the sunroof controls. This is where the Panel will connect to the retrofit loom.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001755

You'll end up with a bundle of cable in the footwell we'll need to deal with. The main relay panel pulls out with a little care revealing the space where we can install the solar relay

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790


And the relay holder pushed into place. The metal bar is from a pre-wired pre 1997 car, and the solar wiring was present even though there is no solar panel so this bar acts as a permanent bypass to connect the blowers to +12.


http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

Replaced with a relay:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

and pushed back into place, and the connector pushed into the 40 amp fuse holder, and it popped back into place

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

And connect these 2 earth connections together, one from the solar panel, and one on the car - Oddley, this connection is on every D2 - They all seem to be prewired with it.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

Then onto the climate module. Remove it completely and find the conenctor block A - Note it is not the connector to the far edge of unit, it is one of the 2 connectors next to an edge connector. Look very closely at the unit and you will see the letters.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

This is the one we need to connect to the relay back in the footwell. Pin 14 is memory serves me correctly. The wire presses in, then metal clips wrap around to hold it in securely.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

All taped up nicely and ready to plug back in:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

And pop the climate back in, then we're pretty much done. Make sure the 2 x 12V constant feeds are connected to the 10mm spade at the bottom of the footwell (where the original blower feed came from) and all should be good. Heres a final reference:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1348001790

Sorry its a bit rushed... i'm on a laptop and battery is going flat lol.

Any questions, ask +++

great thanks Ian - I've made it a sticky in upgrades +++

Very very interesting Ian. Glued at reading.

solar panel install
 

I agree...very useful and good write up...quite alot involved there but very doable with this guide.

Fingers crossed I've got the wiring I need for mine - not investigated the box full of wiring loom I've got lol

Wonder if the connectors can still be had from Audi if needed?

If you don't have the connectors, you could do it easily with anything else really.The relay is a 373 which there are a few of in a D2 and the rest is just splicing wires.

Very important point to note...

After several sweary words, and a 'period of time' we discovered that the earth connection Ian refers to above is no ordinary earth connection. Having failed to find it in Jim's car to start with, I proceeded to simply earth to the chassis, but the fan wouldn't run when ignition was off. Another rummage revealed the connection, and whoosh, away the fan went.

Well.. when I say whoosh... more of a 'whhhh'. The words asthmatic and straw spring to mind :)

Relay part number 8AO 951 253A. The 373 relay that came from Gordon's old S8 with the sunroof, was the wrong type. A million tanks again, Richard. +++

You're absolutely right, it is much more of a whhhh than a whoosh, especially when it's not really bright sunshine, but it does more when you need more, which is what you want

A month or so after Ian fitted it in mine, I can vouch for it making a significant difference - just don't expect an chilled cabin when you turn the engine back on.