Boot lock and roof

[Ouroux71]

Hi folks

Roof warning light in dashboard. Checked the famous parcel support - ok. Noticed the boot lock opens with the motor but doesn't soft close.

Is this the famous wire repair needed inside the rear mechanism? Just before I take things apart.... :x

I believe getting the white connectors off is tricky - any tips? I have watch some videos (Geeman) about the subject...

Regards

Mark

 

[Anonymous]

Could be a dozen different things. Best place to start would be reading for error codes. Battery not always a culprite but free and quick to check as low charge can occasionally caused issues like these

 

[Ouroux71]

Could be a dozen different things. Best place to start would be reading for error codes. Battery not always a culprite but free and quick to check as low charge can occasionally caused issues like these

Thanks... A new battery has been on order for 2 weeks now - hoping it arrive soon. I know the battery is at 30%CCA as I have tested that and hence why I have a battery on order. I charged up the battery and the charger is drawing no current. Of course that could mean it is still not good enough for roof operations.
My Foxwell showed the fault - although it just talked about roof etc which I could see from the instrument cluster warning light.
The fact the boot lock is not soft closing is what made me think of this being the issue.. The boot was soft closing before and then the warning light was on the dash and the roof won't open so I'm assuming it's all related there.

I hope so because after the battery and the rear locking system I can't think where I would look next :?

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

Thanks Robbie,

I'll check those links out - so of a bit funny the roof operation failing after we talked about it the other day.

MY foxwell code is below.. With the soft close not working I think it's going to be (hopefully) the boot mechanism wires.

I did charge the old battery fully and ran the motor to test but the fault was still there - I believe it's not the battery at this point in time...

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

Thanks again Robbie...

So it's lots of BMW trim plugs and then is it attached by some Torx bolts?

The white plug seems to be the difficult part... I will have to beat the Zapfenstreich and go to my other house to find my soldering iron...

Keeping the motor supported by a string is a good plan..

I'll tackle that in the morning.. It's 'Paulaner' hour now...

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

Went out today and was planning to attack the problem.. Boot lock was opening and soft close working - and the roof functions....
So I have for sure a problem that is related to the boot lock but it's only happened once...
I'll get my soldering iron and heat shrink ready for the weekend - If I repair it, it will be a proper repair no twisted wires and electrical tape for me... I won't be going anywhere so no danger of being stuck with a roof problem.
I'm just relieved the problem is the boot and not elsewhere..

Big thanks to Robbie in Munich for his input...

 

[Ouroux71]

Okay, new Goodyear tyres fitted today and they make the car less 'crashy' over uneven surfaces but I can now see where the suspension issues are that will need addressed later...

**********

Anyway the boot issue has come back to haunt me after the soft-close worked yesterday.. Is it the battery causing the soft close not to work or is it the 'infamous' broken wires....???

So I bit the bullet.

1. remove warning triangle
2. Unscrew two TORX T20 screws...
3. Remove lots of BMW trim clips and the two big screw in boot stoppers...
4. Remove large boot trim
5. Tie up the motor assembly so that once unscrewed it won't be hanged on wires... :!:
6. There are then 6 further TORX screws (bigger but not sure exactly which size?) three each side.... Kind of hidden so check first to located where they are.. Then there is a further TORX T20 to unscrew at the centre point...

So I can see the soft-close is not working.. Is it the weak battery or the sensors??? As I'm 'still' waiting on the replacement battery I will check the wires on those connectors...

Wiggling them did nothing - not conclusive...

In the photo I have attached you can see I have removed one side (lift and remove connector and then de-clip out the white part... (shown by the Yellow arrow)
The other side (shown by the pink arrow) has me a bit puzzled.. How does it unclip?? A bit worried to start trying to unclip just any-old-way.... and breaking

Any help please??

 

[Ouroux71]

Okay... gave up trying to get that connector out (fear, lack of experience etc)... So decided to cut back the outer sheath with a fine pair of wire cutters with angled nose..

So as you can see from the photo - no broken wires on LHS.. I haven't checked the RHS yet...

Beginning to think it might just be my old battery even if I have charged it fully... Could it be that? It was working for a week, then it stopped working two days ago and then it worked for a while before the soft close failed again.. Could this be correct?

 

[Ouroux71]

And the RHS - also no broken wires...

So that leaves me with:

1) New battery will solve all??? Please....
2) Boot mechanism is failing and it's in intermittent ready to die state...??

Can those pin on the first connector be checked with a mutlimeter to prove anything? I can't check for continuity through the whole strap as I can't get it disconnected at the lower side.... Still with the sheath stripped back just to the lower connector I see no breaks..

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

Afternoon Robbie..

Just saw your message, thanks for the reply...I'll have a look at it again.. I did look at those videos...

So looking at Video 1 (Teil 1)... All I can get is from 0.00 seconds to 009 seconds. I click up the two locks as shown in my photos by the arrows (are these locks or switches?) please correct me if I'm doing the wrong piece . Then there is no movement of the mechanism moving to lock the system - The soft close mechanism...

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

So the fact that locking it in the up position and doesn't activate the the motors suggests that the tailgate locking mechanism has died - either the micro switches or something else? The trunk light is working..

The black plug is that the one that the one that the one that clips into the cable that often breaks?

I could not see how the clip undoes (the photo with the red arrow)... I guess I could try anything now as if I break it it will not make any difference..

Looked at the wiring diagram but I'm not great on this. S419 is the part with the micro switch? I can't see how to unclip this part out? I do have a multimeter if I can get it out...

I guess the next step is a replacement....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-Z4-E89-Heckklappenschloss-51247354924-Schliesmodul-Komplett-Neu/264645197072?hash=item3d9e153d10:gvAAAOSwxMFeVhj8&shqty=1&isGTR=1#shId

 

[Ouroux71]

Ordered a replacement boot closing unit (always good to have a spare for the future) but I now think the problem is the remote control box unit that I installed made by cabrio-module.de

I spoke with someone who installed this unit and it worked for a while.. Then he started to have problems with the soft close.. After exhaustive checks he removed the cabrio unit and the soft close worked without any more issues... I will refit the boot/trunk closing mechanism today and try to get my car back to how it was... I say try as I'm not sure how I can fully uninstall the unit as the roof was partially opened for the install...

I'll add further info when and if I get things working...

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Ouroux71]

Morning Robbi,

Your help was great... I have found out disconnecting the box makes the soft close work... So the trunk closing is not faulty and has never been... There is some clash between the car and the cabrio-roof remote module that makes the soft close work intermittent... Unfortunate as I though the module was great but I'll need to find another unit to do the remote open/close.... But I'm having a big break from roof work after this.

Buying a spare trunk close module is an unwelcome expense but I think having a spare unit could be helpful in the future...

And once again thanks and hopefully a decent weekend despite the lockdown...