Boot soft close failure-Fixed
- Thread starter flybobbie
- Start date
flybobbie said:
Thanks for the video and help, frustratingly I still can't get it to work. At one point, it was going through the cycle on both sides as many as 4 and then stops, so it seemed to be working in some ways. However when testing it doesn't seem as if the mechanisms turn through their full range of movement and the photos below show where the locks on both sides sit, with the top image I think being in the wrong position which means the boot won't close but I can't get it to move.
Its no longer going through the cycle for some reason, however the other micro switch fell off and I have put it back on. I used connector blocks rather than soldering not sure if this has an effect, not the prettiest job I know
flybobbie said:
Have never soldered before it is something I can do by simply following a youtube guide and buying the kit from Screwfix? The other microswitch on the other side keeps falling out of place, as I took the whole unit off to fix the wires, I am now concerned that this is another reason its not working, it doesn't even lock in place anymore, so my boot isn't secure.
arugula375
New member
Hi guys, just registered to post back on this thread. I had the same sort of problem with my e93 (3 cabrio). The trunk would pull-push and just continuously do that until interrupted by pulling the handle or inserting the key manually.
As soon as I saw 3 people stating similar symptoms i've gotten my courage together to dig down and disassemble that sucker.
I found the wire and immediately saw that the sensor changes state if wire is bent a little bit by pressing on it. That was confirming the cut wire theory.
So the cycling (pull to closed - release to open) comes from wire losing contact when pull happens so it goes back to open. This bends the wire in a tighter bend. Then it regains the contact and pulls again etc. etc.
On e93 all the wires were differently colored. The sleeve was black with brown (the cut one), white and green wires. I'm posting a picture in case that helps someone
As soon as I saw 3 people stating similar symptoms i've gotten my courage together to dig down and disassemble that sucker.
I found the wire and immediately saw that the sensor changes state if wire is bent a little bit by pressing on it. That was confirming the cut wire theory.
So the cycling (pull to closed - release to open) comes from wire losing contact when pull happens so it goes back to open. This bends the wire in a tighter bend. Then it regains the contact and pulls again etc. etc.
On e93 all the wires were differently colored. The sleeve was black with brown (the cut one), white and green wires. I'm posting a picture in case that helps someone
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Just a quick thank you to flybobbie for posting the initial solution.
I experienced the exact same problem with my e89 (2011) on Friday. The boot didn't close properly although it was locked. Sometimes the soft close would just cycle without actually latching the boot down. Had a look this morning and when I gave the left hand switch wires a light tug, all three just broke away. I soldered them back together and all is ok now. I'm sure it would have cost a fortune if I'd taken it to BMW. Great work, thank you!
I experienced the exact same problem with my e89 (2011) on Friday. The boot didn't close properly although it was locked. Sometimes the soft close would just cycle without actually latching the boot down. Had a look this morning and when I gave the left hand switch wires a light tug, all three just broke away. I soldered them back together and all is ok now. I'm sure it would have cost a fortune if I'd taken it to BMW. Great work, thank you!
Davyand said:Just a quick thank you to flybobbie for posting the initial solution.
I experienced the exact same problem with my e89 (2011) on Friday. The boot didn't close properly although it was locked. Sometimes the soft close would just cycle without actually latching the boot down. Had a look this morning and when I gave the left hand switch wires a light tug, all three just broke away. I soldered them back together and all is ok now. I'm sure it would have cost a fortune if I'd taken it to BMW. Great work, thank you!
I think someone got charged £400 for a new mechanism and £200 to fix.
BMW should just own up and fix for free, their supplier provided these with a manufacturing fault.
Thanks from me to..I had same symptom including boot light not activated. Removed assembly as suggested and trimmed away the sleeving and found clean cut about 20mm away from the LH microswitch on the green and half cut on the blue. Cut, trimmed and remade all 3 via inline solder joints and shrink sleeving. Perfect- im sure ive saved myself at least £200 by not going to my BMW dealer
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Mittellegi
New member
Same problem here on my 2015 e89 on LHS - all 3 wires severed with a gentle tug on the black outer sheath...thanks for the OP flybobbie
BMW should have made this a call back item,or at least fix for free.
My car 2009 and still on 2015 cars.
There supplier must of made 10's of thousands with the same defect.
It's intriguing to note the cut point is at the edge of the white plastic.
I wonder if someone measured to the white plastic and then realised the wires were too short, they forgot to add the extra length inside the white bit to the micro switch. But the earlier measurement still ended up in the machine cutting the wires.
My car 2009 and still on 2015 cars.
There supplier must of made 10's of thousands with the same defect.
It's intriguing to note the cut point is at the edge of the white plastic.
I wonder if someone measured to the white plastic and then realised the wires were too short, they forgot to add the extra length inside the white bit to the micro switch. But the earlier measurement still ended up in the machine cutting the wires.
Mittellegi
New member
My experience was thankfully in the winter: no recycling of the soft-close function, no failure of the boot light...the lid just wouldn't close. How much more 'inconvenient' this would have been had the failure have occurred mid-summer, on my annual trip to the Alps, roof down...open boot, boot fails to close on closing...roof will not close. This is a shocking failure on the part of BMW...not to acknowledge and recall this f*ck*p by their supplier. My failure was on the LHS...but I will be stripping down the RHS next weekend!!! Apart from this...I still love my Z4, well, apart from the cost of new tyres :rofl:
flybobbie said:Well set about fixing today.
Initial symptom was a juddery roof operation, when closed the boot soft close would cycle and not shut, but boot would latch so secure.
So removed the mechanism, needed t15 and t40 torx.
The servo motors would initially run, but had completely stopped.
Began to trouble shoot.
First thing I noticed the boot light was off.
So that would suggest a fault with the left micro switch.
Waggling it's wires the boot light would flash intermittently.
So something wrong that area.
Stripped out the switch and found to be open circuit on testing with multi-meter at the ends of the wires at connector, Bingo!
The switch mechanically worked ok.
So decided to chop off the wires at about one centimetre from the switch, the switch tested ok on the multi-meter so something wrong with the wires to connector.
So stripped back the rubber tube the wires ran through.
Before I had chance two equal lengths of insulation fell out.
It would appear at manufacture the wire stripping machine had already cut into the wire slicing the insulation and possibly the copper core, weakening the wire, before the wire was used with this switch.
Then it got assembled into the switch cable.
The blue I pulled off the wire, the other two fell off with wire inside.
Is this just a one off or a production fault on many switches?
This cable flexes as the servo motor runs.
Video here of the fix and mechanism running.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEeFPf01714
You can see the loop wire flexing.
A bit smug, I think I saved myself £405 on a new boot latching mechanism
Flybobbie, thanks for the info, I had a look at mine today and after stripping the outer sheathing back found the cut insulators and i have remade them up by soldering and heat shrinking. I didnt realise that the right hand side was actually a plug and was wondering if you have any idea of the item code of the actual piece that is breaking, I have done a search but cant pin it down ?
