C5 Solar panel sunroof, cool option or goofy gimmick?

[Grainreaper]

My car has the solar panel sunroof panel, this allows the blower to run constantly to keep the cabin from becoming sweltering in the summer and from fogging up in the winter as far as I have gathered, is there any other benefit? Or has anyone modded this to trickle charge the battery? It seems like a cool feature that was never fleshed out in the real world......

My car is a mystery of options, comfort seats, non sport suspension, but I'm turbo and manual trans, the solar sunroof and navigation in a 2000... money spent on spendy options but I'm confused on the logic, performance powertrain but none of the usual options...

thoughts of the rabble here?

[mr_dave]

If you're in a hot climate it's definitely beneficial. Otherwise, it doesn't do much. In the real cold I'd install a switch to turn it off or divert it to the battery as you mentioned, so that the interior doesn't get too much moisture pumped in.

[alien_brain]

wana sell it?

[rollerton]

My S6 has it and when I bought the car I was pretty stoked just to have another gadget to brag about. But after seeing how it works through last summer I have to admit it makes a HUGE difference. It's not like you get into an air conditioned car on a hot day in the summer, but compared to my S6 that doesn't have it, parked in the same place for the same amount of time I bet there's a 20-30* difference in the interior. And that's comparing the almost black S6 with the solar roof to a white S6 that doesn't have it.
If it's 100* outside then the interior of the car can easily be 115-130* . The solar sunroof cuts that interior temp down noticeably.

[alien_brain]

so does a winscreen shaped sun blocker

[4rings2turbos]

If the engine is up to temp then it will also keep warm air circulating for up to 30 minutes after the car is shut off. Imagine going into a store or something and coming back to a still warm car.

Very cool/effective option.

You have an A6?

[Grainreaper]

If the engine is up to temp then it will also keep warm air circulating for up to 30 minutes after the car is shut off. Imagine going into a store or something and coming back to a still warm car.

Very cool/effective option.

You have an A6?

Yes, 2000 A6 2.7t 6-speed

[rollerton]

If the engine is up to temp then it will also keep warm air circulating for up to 30 minutes after the car is shut off. Imagine going into a store or something and coming back to a still warm car.

Very cool/effective option.

You have an A6?

Really? Mine doesn't..mine works 100% off the amount of sunlight it's exposed to. Engine temp/ inside+outside temperature has no effect. It runs if it's sunny, if it's cloudy or night time it don't run. That's basically all I know about it; though I've heard it was still an option throughout the C6 chassis too and had some options that you can access/ adjust through the MMI. But AFAIK on the C5 it either just runs or it doesn't. There's no module for it and no options I can find in any OBD modules. You'd think there would be coding or adaptation for basic settings in the HVAC but I haven't been able to find anything...

[Grainreaper]

Really? Mine doesn't..mine works 100% off the amount of sunlight it's exposed to. Engine temp/ inside+outside temperature has no effect. It runs if it's sunny, if it's cloudy or night time it don't run. That's basically all I know about it; though I've heard it was still an option throughout the C6 chassis too and had some options that you can access/ adjust through the MMI. But AFAIK on the C5 it either just runs or it doesn't. There's no module for it and no options I can find in any OBD modules. You'd think there would be coding or adaptation for basic settings in the HVAC but I haven't been able to find anything...

I think what he means is that if the engine coolant is hot enough with the blower running it will use the heat in the cooling system to help maintain temperature in the car

[4rings2turbos]

You're right grainreaper. You push the econ button.

[rollerton]

I think what he means is that if the engine coolant is hot enough with the blower running it will use the heat in the cooling system to help maintain temperature in the car

Well..sure. If you use common sense then YEAH. Duh. But where am I gonna get some common sense!?

[Grainreaper]

Well..sure. If you use common sense then YEAH. Duh. But where am I gonna get some common sense!?

I've not a dram of common sense left myself..... this might explain my propensity for being enamored by over-complicated stuff. My fastest car was my 65 chevelle that I stuffed full of 572 cubic inch 14:1 compression big block, it ran on straight methanol, and had a 500hp nitrous fogger system, it was my daily driver too, my 5 mile commute made that almost reasonable... it was cool but too much endless adjusting of rocker arms, twiddling with the magneto ignition, swapping out carb jets based on temps... best handling car was a Mazda RX-7 set up for road racing, endless heim joint link replacement, burned up wheel bearings, and a set of tires per race... this Audi falls in line, endless fiddling, parts replacing, diagnosing.... what's not to love right???

[MMFC58]

Are any of you able to provide any troubleshooting information? I have a 2002 S6 Avant with the solar panel. My fan does not run. I have looked at the 385 relay per another post and have none of the cold sloder joints others have seen. The relay is around $130.00 and with that price I'd like to do some schematic chasing before I replace it. Thanks

[Grainreaper]

I am looking for those schematics myself

[Grainreaper]

I'm going to connect it to my battery for the winter, should be a simple process once I know how it drives the fan, I can just connect to the battery with a diode to prevent back voltage from messing things up.

[quattronut]

I am looking for those schematics myself

Solar Slider wiring diagrams

hope this helps (item C20 is the Solar Slider panel itself)

[cord4530]

Are any of you able to provide any troubleshooting information? I have a 2002 S6 Avant with the solar panel. My fan does not run. I have looked at the 385 relay per another post and have none of the cold sloder joints others have seen. The relay is around $130.00 and with that price I'd like to do some schematic chasing before I replace it. Thanks

Did you make any progress on your problem? I'm currently troubleshooting the solar sunroof on my C5 S6 as well. My 385 relay is good, and I have voltage at the contacts on the sunroof. But it looks as though the driver side body contact pin is messed up. Now I need to try to find that part.
-Dan

[Gogeees]

I want this really bad, my Nemo Blue w/ black leather is unbearable in the summer. You guys think it is worth the hassle/price of tracking one down and installing it? Currently in the process of removing my alcantara headliner to fix a bit of sag caused by a leaking GPS antenna seal, would be a nice time to hit two birds.

[chris86vw]

My headliner is out so I've been thinking about it too, was going to rig to also trickle charge if needed but the cooling part would be great. When I looked last year they could be found on ebay and prices were good. When I looked a free weeks ago couldn't find any but there were lots of listings calling normal ones "solar glass".

At 350 or so I'm in, think it's worth it not much more.

[Gogeees]

Saw some on Ebay for 200 bucks, plus another 20-25 for the wiring loom. Not to bad, I might just pull the trigger on this one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Audi-A6-C5-...kAAOSwbOtbWFc0

[geovan]

How do I start working with solar panels? I want to install some and make money this way

[Vzsgzsas1z29]

I feel you, my car has a bunch of features that I'm not sure what to do with either! I totally get the confusion. The solar panel sunroof is a really cool feature. I haven't been able to find a way to mod it to trickle-charge the battery, but I think it would be awesome if that were possible. I just checked out yenex.com, and it looks like they have a bunch of options for modding solar panel sunroofs. They can help you make the right choice in regards to choosing the right solar panel. It's been 6 yrs, but I think it's worth checking out! What do you think?

[blairdude]

I feel you, my car has a bunch of features that I'm not sure what to do with either! I totally get the confusion. The solar panel sunroof is a really cool feature. I haven't been able to find a way to mod it to trickle-charge the battery, but I think it would be awesome if that were possible.

Surely you could wire the solar panel directly to an aftermarket 12V Solar controller.