Z4 NEWBIE

[Rafa8]

Morning All

I'm new to the forum having recently taken ownership of a Z4 2006 2.0 some 3 weeks ago.
Unfortunately the roof has decided it no longer wants to work!! When pressing the roof button the orange light appears but nothing happens, any ideas what is causing the roof not to work? is this going to be a costly job?

Thanks to anyone for some good advice.
Rafa

[MikeyH]

Hi Rafa8, Welcome to the forum, from what others say it’s probably the motor has failed as it is positioned in a drain hole and gets wet and rusts. Mine came with it moved into the boot, nice and dry. One I looked at had the pump on the way out. There are forum members in different parts of the UK that can do this for under £500.00 I think, much cheaper than main dealers. I’ve read that Number 5 at Bristol does a good job.b

[MikeyH]

By the the way nice colour

[Rafa8]

Thank for the quick reply.
I thought it might be the motor as there is zero noise and nothing happening. Could it be something else? other members from the forum chats have mentioned some other areas.
The annoying thing is it worked all good when i test drove the car twice, and the warranty I have doesnt cover cabriolet roofs apparently.
The £500 you mention does this include moving to the boot?

[MikeyH]

Yes it does, The car I looked at before the one I bought was local to me, when I went firstly the roof worked fine, I went back a second time with my wife and it got stuck and needed a push, I asked on the forum and was told that it was likely to be the pump as the motor was whirring okay. The seller said it was the battery and had charged it and the roof was now working, I decided to forget the car as I trusted the forum members advice more. Glad I did because I ended up with a nice one from a forum member. This is a common fault with the Z4 but seems to be easily fixed and there are lots of videos showing how to do it yourself if you feel up to it. Put 'roof not working' into the search engine. Please don't let it put you off the car.

[Scubaregs]

Welcome, was it a private purchase?

[Dave1971]

There are two motors that work the roof down mechanism, the first unlocks the roof from the windscreen and the second lowers it. If you are not hearing anything when you press the roof down button I'd be very surprised if it's the roof motor.

The first thing to check is the parcel shelf in the boot. Quite often people forget they have moved it and think they've got a broken roof, make sure it's in its lower position.

If it is, the next thing to look at is the micro switch that the parcel shelf engages into. I believe its mounted centrally on the rear firewall but best check that as I'm not 100% sure.

Check those to start with and if it's not them then you'll need to start digging a bit deeper.

There are a couple of roof experts on the forum. Where abouts are you so a local one can be recommended to you?

[Rafa8]

Thanks for the info, I'm based Worcestershire.

[Rafa8]

Just checked on the parcel shelf you mentioned and found the sensor arm on its own.
See attached photos.

[zriha]

Unfortunately the roof has decided it no longer wants to work!! When pressing the roof button the orange light appears but nothing happens, any ideas what is causing the roof not to work? is this going to be a costly job?

First, congrats on the buy, great colour! Second, the roof is very stubborn, so don't worry. People already highlight the shelf problem in the boot, but let me just start with a simpler thing.

When you press the button, do you hear the motor (above your head that releases the locks) and the motor in the boot?

What I had as a problem is very common, wires are coming thru the roof, from the lock motor to the main motor in the boot. I dangle the wires, and the roof started to work, so if that's the case, you should change the wires.

[bigwinn]

Just checked on the parcel shelf you mentioned and found the sensor arm on its own.
See attached photos.

There is your problem

The roof wont move with that armature not working

Very easy to fix- if you get the switch housing off the car its easier to work on
Youll see the arm sits in one place and works on a microswitch

Get the arm pivot points back into shape so it doesnt pop off again and reassemble- shouldnt take too much to sort

[Rafa8]

Great thanks for your reply, i will look into this.
From your experience will this be the main source of the problem?

[bigwinn]

It won’t move without it and (in my humble experience) is the most frequent primary thing stopping roof function

If you get stuck drop me a message

[Rafa8]

Thanks again for your feedback.
I am going to have a discussion tomorrow with a local mechanic and gather his thoughts based on your feedback.

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome to the forum Rafa. Your car looks great with those red seats!

I hope you can get the roof sorted fairly easily.