@Gilbert rubber had a longitudinal break, but I don't think anyone cut it. It had been reinforced with insulating tape, the wires were all close to the breaking point and the positive wire to the lock had broken gradually. I guess was mechanical wear of the cables and rubber, the old owners probably used the hatch a lot, I think they had dogs..
But who knowns what happened in 25 years, your hypothesis is not to be discarded.

And now ready for another adventure.. it's time to find out how to stop water leakage from the top corners of the top half of the tailgate seal

Hi, problem solved. Was the simplest and most obvious hypothesis: a broken cable in the rubber hose. Those white cables are very thin and quite rigid.
Maybe in the future I will change them all with something better (and with logic colors).
For the moment have repaired them with tinning and heat-shrink tubing.

Well, I've got ground from the door lock to button and from button to solenoid.
But I don't have +12V on the solenoid.
I'm going to check purple wire on the side of the boot.

Thanks Gilbert.
Trim is already off (I've got a simple piece of string connected to the lock. Lesson learned after the first not-opening). Today I will check if a ground is coming to the switch button with open doors.
If I don't find the ground on the button I can assume a broken cable from the door or from the tailgate or a broken switch in the right door lock...
But if there is power (and ground) on solenoid I think I should investigate the tailgate lock..

Hi, 1998 P38 2.5 DSE, tailgate started to have erratic behavior some months ago. Sometimes it opened, sometimes only but the upper half, but many times it didn't open.
Now it doesn't work at all, no signs of life.
Rear button rust free and working (it gives contact). Driver door lock mechanism (LHD) is brand new, fob working as it should thanks to Martin's magic filter, all other locks working trouble-free. Fuse on BECM is ok, interior lights working (I guess it's the same fuse).
And now many questions:
Any idea?
What should I check first? Is there any electric measure I can do? And where?

PS is the tailgate lock linked to right front door lock also on LHD p38s?

Many people (including me) are looking for it. Simply unobtainable.

Mirafiori-Max wrote:

Yes, I agree in that it looks like water condensing on the cold roof metal.
But the "wetness" of that area is so dynamic in that it will be totally dry when there has been no rain for a while and then soaking wet immediately after strong rain. And the more it rains the further the wetness creeps towards the middle of the roof, strting from the corner. And why would it only condense only in that small area and nowhere else ?
I have now removed the A-pillar trim and the windscreen top finisher (which would impossible to figure out how, if one didn´t know the trick) and have put a bead of silicone (ran out of caravan sealant) around the corner of the windscreen.
Let´s see if that changes anything, lots of rain forecast for the next days....

Had the same issue on my P38 (solved). IF drain hoses and sunroof seal are doing their work you should check other two things:
1) remove the sunroof glass (very easy, 4 torx screws as per Rave), remove the seal around it and carefully check corrosion on the metal frame. If rust has gone under the glass (where it is glued to metal frame) you will have water leaks for sure. The reason is that rust separates the sealant from the frame leaving a way for water ingress. This water is not collected by rails and drain hoses but goes over the headliner and then comes down from pillars.
2) check the seal between the sunroof cassette and the car roof. There must be a neoprene seal (approx 3cm tall) glued to the cassette all around. It should be in place and in perfect conditions. To check this seal carefully, headliner must be taken out.

Update: sunroof frame was brushed and painted, glass was reglued and seal was cleaned and treated.
Sunroof in the car again, for the moment no leaks. Also checked the four drain tubes, all free and working.

(yes I know, the Rangie deserves a respray)

I don't know, maybe that's a possibility. In the meantime I took the glass off and probably found the reason for the bigger leaks. In fact the glass has separated from the metal shell. There is no gasket between the glass and the frame, the seal is ensured only by the sealant which dries up over time and heat and, losing adherence, allows water to pass through. I'm proceeding with the restoration of the frame and the re-gluing of the glass.

Yes Pierre, this could be the way...I looked among the BMW seals but at the moment nothing seems to have a profile like that on the P38, which as I wrote yesterday seems to share the sunroof with late RR Classics (the part number is the same). The one that comes closest is for the E30 series but it's still not the same and I doubt it will work.
It would be great to find an alternative, the hunt continues.

It would seem that Lrparts.net has both lock kits in stock

Thanks a lot for your offer @Gilbertd, I'm awaiting a response from a couple of scrappers here who appear to have P38s to take parts from.

After a long and time-consuming search I can say it seems that the seal EEQ100400 (also mounted on the RR classic 1990-95, so before BMW ownership) is impossible to find all over the world. Even the US suppliers I've contacted don't have a single piece.
So I resign myself to search for a used one in better shape than mine.
I'm also comparing seal profiles from other cars sunroof but for now it seems the one in question (P38/Classic LWB) is quite unique.

Pierre3 wrote:

If the seal is available in the USA, and you want the seal to be new, then you may be advised to buy it from the USA.

I live in Ireland, in the EU, and I quite often buy parts from USA based suppliers. I just pay the duties. The way I see it, if the parts aren't available in Europe then it doesn't matter if they are free, if you can't get them then there is no point in saying that the parts are much cheaper than importing them from the USA. That means US prices are not expensive as you can't buy them from someone else in Europe.

Pierre3.

It is strict logic. I was simply asking if there was a source that I, being new to the P38 world, was unaware of. Thanks anyway.

@Gilbertd thanks, I will contact them and ask if they can get it.

I think it's Out of stock also on Island 4x4

Thanks for the suggestions, for sure I will also check the seal between the cassette and the roof when I have removed the headlining.
@Karlos seems that at the moment nobody has the seal available around Europe, JLR included. I've done a lot of research but everyone has it out of stock.
Maybe there is something in the US but shipping and taxes will be extremely high.
I don't know if there are seals from other cars that can be adapted to the P38 sunroof (after all, it's a rather simple item).

I'm about to take the headlining off to redo it so I'll check the drains and eventually fix them (I currently have major leaks inside) but the seal is in real bad shape, and as the car will be repainted I wouldn't want to put back an old half broken seal..
So this is the main reason I need one (possibly not used)

Yes STC171 or EEQ100400 but at the moment no one seems to have it available in Europe.

Hi everybody,
After many months of reading this very useful forum before buying a p38, let me introduce myself.
I write from Italy and this is my first Range Rover. I know I started with one of the models with the worst fame but I've always liked it and after bringing her home I can say I'm definitely in love.
It is a 2.5 DSE from 1998 with typical Italian equipment (full leather, headlight wipers, sunroof, manual gearbox, heated seats, etc). Oddly enough at the moment everything works (hevac, EAS, sunroof), just had a good service at an independent specialist and am now working on restoring all the little things that need to be fixed after 25 years of life.
Also bought immediately a Nanocom to stay on the safe side... ;-)
As you can see I updated the lights to the 2000 model because I prefer them (but of course I kept the original ones in storage), still waiting for the clear side repeaters delivery.
Let's get to the question: I'm desperately looking for a new sunroof seal which seems impossible to find. Do you have any suggestions?