E85 Roof not working (and fabric white mark/streaks issue)

[SDB_z4]

Summers here and the top on my E85 (57 plate) z4 has stopped working, on the plus side it’s going to be raining all week but nonetheless.

I push the button, no sound, windows don’t come down, just get the light and that’s it, before this happened my roof was not folding correctly and it made a lot of struggling sounds and now finally, not working altogether. Tried the window reset trick with the electrics but it’s still not working, I’m hopeless with DIY, so the other tips on the forum are beyond me. I live in Sheffield (happy to travel elsewhere), I’ve seen guys from Merseyside & Bristol posting on here but not sure if they are still active; my motor hasn’t been relocated.

The other side issue I have, is the roof fabric is now heavily marked and has these white streaks all over it, possibly due to the mechanisms of the roof struggling over the years. Is there a way to fix that, besides getting an ironing board out?

[rdm05z4]

I see this is your first post so don't forget to post pic of your car. Now for your issues. Get yourself a scanner and check the codes if you don't have one maybe someone on the forum near you can help scan. Second did you make sure the shelf in the boot is down? Have you checked the top pull in the boot to make sure not in the manual position? How old is the battery as they can cause several issues with these cars. Last do a search on this forum as there are many posts on top issues which may help. For the white marks possible a good cleaning will help again search forum for top cleaning. Good luck

[JamesClements]

I think there is a microswitch in the boot that might have been triggered? Also check the manual boot release hasn't unseated itself in anyway (Small red pull toggle beneath the boot shelf) if the roof motor isn't kicking in at all it might have failed. I think the Zed Shed is probably the nearest specialist to you, although I think he's quite busy at the moment. Although there is another motor that uncouples the locking system so you would probably still hear that actuating?

Cheers

James

[Lance]

If the roof doesn’t unlatch and the windows do not drop there’s a possibility that the micro switch in the boot is the issue, either because the parcel shelf is in the upper position, or the switch is faulty. This would be the very first thing to check!

The roof struggling comments is a concern here, although the motor failing generally wouldn’t stop the unlatch and window drop part of the process.

[Lance]

This thread explains and shows the micro switch issue. Read it carefully and open the photo link in the first post.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=113054

[SDB_z4]

Thank you guys, I’ll read that thread on the micro switch now Lance appreciate it. As for the struggling of the roof.. I noticed this past month when it did go down the folds were not even and didn’t look right and as mentioned during the process it would make some light cranking noises and generally struggle a bit.

I’m actually seeing my usual bmw specialist on the 28th of this month in Chesterfield (JWS), so possibly if these DIY’s don’t work I could ask him to scan for any faults related to it, not sure on battery age but it’s been reset recently due to an audio upgrade.

[bigwinn]

Nice cat!

Not a million miles from you in Lincs happy to help if needed

Stuart

[SDB_z4]

Nice cat!

Not a million miles from you in Lincs happy to help if needed

Stuart

Appreciate it, thankfully the micro switch guide seem to sort it, still a bit concerned by those streaks as I think it would indicate it’s not folding right and creases up but tested it a few times now after the fix and seems fine again. I might look into roof refurbishment, was thinking of getting it repainted anyway.

And yea, my girlfriends in fairness, she just had to release him in the zed on a vet visit, doesn’t like the cage.. left a lovely little scratch on the leather.

[bigwinn]

Nice cat!

Not a million miles from you in Lincs happy to help if needed

Stuart

Appreciate it, thankfully the micro switch guide seem to sort it, still a bit concerned by those streaks as I think it would indicate it’s not folding right and creases up but tested it a few times now after the fix and seems fine again. I might look into roof refurbishment, was thinking of getting it repainted anyway.

And yea, my girlfriends in fairness, she just had to release him in the zed on a vet visit, doesn’t like the cage.. left a lovely little scratch on the leather.

Ooooh not cool scratching the z

If mine did that they’d get a swift size 10

No worries glad it’s sorted for now!

[MarkG - E85]

I came on this thread as I have just had a problem with my roof not going down and all I was getting was the yellow light rather than the red light. Read this thread, checked the shelf and guess what? Now works perfectly

[blunderthumbs]

Nice cat!

Not a million miles from you in Lincs happy to help if needed

Stuart

Appreciate it, thankfully the micro switch guide seem to sort it, still a bit concerned by those streaks as I think it would indicate it’s not folding right and creases up but tested it a few times now after the fix and seems fine again. I might look into roof refurbishment, was thinking of getting it repainted anyway.

And yea, my girlfriends in fairness, she just had to release him in the zed on a vet visit, doesn’t like the cage.. left a lovely little scratch on the leather.

Roof repainted ? I don't think that would do any good other than make it stiff which would lead to closure problems. Other than washing it with a recommended soft top cleaner or Milton sterilising fluid I don't think applying dyes or paints would do any good at all.

[SDB_z4]

Nice cat!

Not a million miles from you in Lincs happy to help if needed

Stuart

Appreciate it, thankfully the micro switch guide seem to sort it, still a bit concerned by those streaks as I think it would indicate it’s not folding right and creases up but tested it a few times now after the fix and seems fine again. I might look into roof refurbishment, was thinking of getting it repainted anyway.

And yea, my girlfriends in fairness, she just had to release him in the zed on a vet visit, doesn’t like the cage.. left a lovely little scratch on the leather.

Roof repainted ? I don't think that would do any good other than make it stiff which would lead to closure problems. Other than washing it with a recommended soft top cleaner or Milton sterilising fluid I don't think applying dyes or paints would do any good at all.

That’s a shame as it was my only possible solution to the white marks you can see in that picture. The streaks look really bad on sunny days, clearly those parts of the roof have been under a lot of pressure from the mechanism of opening & closing. I’ve washed it with soft top cleaners before but it did nothing to eradicate this issue, probably going to have to get a new fabric roof entirely.

[blunderthumbs]

When I bought mine the previous owner gave me this kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-Fabri ... 149&sr=8-7
He said if you mix a small amount of liquid black shoe polish with it, it will re colour the fabric. I have never tried it as I've not heard of anyone else doing this and don't know what the consequences would be in the long term. If anyone else has done this to their soft tops with no ill effects I'm sure they will comment on this thread soon enough.

[SDB_z4]

When I bought mine the previous owner gave me this kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autoglym-Fabri ... 149&sr=8-7
He said if you mix a small amount of liquid black shoe polish with it, it will re colour the fabric. I have never tried it as I've not heard of anyone else doing this and don't know what the consequences would be in the long term. If anyone else has done this to their soft tops with no ill effects I'm sure they will comment on this thread soon enough.

Tried that and don’t rate it at all tbh, not added the shoe polish as mentioned though.