E85 roof is not activating (no lights, no sound)

B

Brennanc

Member
Hey everyone! I just picked up my 2007 e85 Z4 a few days ago, and the roof seems to only work some days. When I got it the roof worked fine, and on the second day it didn’t function. The third day the roof was able to open but now we can’t close it.

When I press the open roof/close roof button, no lights come on, and I do not hear any roof motor noises. I’ve checked for blown fuses (12,31,55), and I’m still unsure what the issue is. I don’t think it’s a micro switch issue because there is no amber light. I've checked the car battery with a voltage meter, scanned the car for codes, and can’t diagnose the issue. I think that it must be some electrical issue as I know the motors function properly. Perhaps there’s an issue with the buttons relaying the signal to the roof? Does anyone know what I can do?
 
you could takeout the button/ashtray thing and check for any exposed or unplugged wiring? no clue. these roofs don’t like to stay functioning :headbang:
 
Hey thanks for the reply! I’m gonna try disconnecting the battery and I’m hoping it will magically start working again haha. If that doesn’t work it’s probably an issue with the button wiring because I realized that the windows don’t go up/down when the buttons pressed either. Now I need to figure out how to take apart the trim to check for an issue.
 
If you try to open or close the top by turning the key in the door and holding it there, does that bypass the switches?
If that works it may help narrow down where to look.
 
enuff_zed said:
If you try to open or close the top by turning the key in the door and holding it there, does that bypass the switches?
If that works it may help narrow down where to look.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the help... so I tried holding my key in the door and my windows opened/closed, but the top didn’t move. I’m not sure whats wrong with the stupid roof haha but I appreciate you teaching me a new trick/feature!
 
Brennanc said:
enuff_zed said:
If you try to open or close the top by turning the key in the door and holding it there, does that bypass the switches?
If that works it may help narrow down where to look.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the help... so I tried holding my key in the door and my windows opened/closed, but the top didn’t move. I’m not sure whats wrong with the stupid roof haha but I appreciate you teaching me a new trick/feature!
Click to expand...
does it not even unlatch? maybe the “latch motor” has an electronic issue or maybe it’s dead. never know but you can take off that plastic trim and manually undo the latches, and see if it works then? Otherwise there’s two things i can think of. on the motor itself there is a switch that connects to the red pin, and i know my switch personally is greasy and sometimes gets stuck in the middle (which would correlate to the red pin being halfway out) which results in basically nothing, so you could try that. Otherwise your problem may be that the hydraulic wires and or positive and negative wires are either the wrong way, or that the motor is submerged in enough water that they can’t send any signal. Have you done a relocation yet or checked out either motor?
 
Brennanc said:
Hey thanks for the reply! I’m gonna try disconnecting the battery and I’m hoping it will magically start working again haha. If that doesn’t work it’s probably an issue with the button wiring because I realized that the windows don’t go up/down when the buttons pressed either. Now I need to figure out how to take apart the trim to check for an issue.
Click to expand...
also, i don’t know if you’ve already done this but it’s really simple! the black actual “ashtray” part comes out in its own, and then there is one screw underneath that comes out and then it’s just a matter of wiggling! Probably best to have your shift knob as far away as possible, so keep that in mind for manual transmission otherwise put it in drive with your foot on the break, or put it in drive and turn off the car! For the rest of the trim there’s lots of videos online if you want to do a more in-depth check
 
NewToZ4 said:
Brennanc said:
Hey thanks for the reply! I’m gonna try disconnecting the battery and I’m hoping it will magically start working again haha. If that doesn’t work it’s probably an issue with the button wiring because I realized that the windows don’t go up/down when the buttons pressed either. Now I need to figure out how to take apart the trim to check for an issue.
Click to expand...
also, i don’t know if you’ve already done this but it’s really simple! the black actual “ashtray” part comes out in its own, and then there is one screw underneath that comes out and then it’s just a matter of wiggling! Probably best to have your shift knob as far away as possible, so keep that in mind for manual transmission otherwise put it in drive with your foot on the break, or put it in drive and turn off the car! For the rest of the trim there’s lots of videos online if you want to do a more in-depth check
Click to expand...

I really appreciate you trying to help me with my issue. The latch motor doesn’t work/function when the buttons pressed so maybe the issue is there. I have not relocated the motor yet but it’s been garage kept these past few days and I don’t expect any motors to be submerged in any water atm. It could definitely be a wiring issue and I’ll try to take a look at it today. If I can’t find anything I’ll probably just bring it to a shop somewhere where I can get a proper diagnosis for the issue. I asked this same initial question in the “general z4” section on Bimmerpost and I also got some responses there. One guy sent me a good video on taking apart the trim but it seems like a pretty big task. I’ll let everyone know if the problem gets solved. Thanks again!
 
Brennanc said:
The latch motor doesn’t work/function when the buttons pressed so maybe the issue is there.
Click to expand...
So if you remove the trim above the mirror and turn the lock mechanism with an Allen key, does the rest of the roof function then work?
 
Sounds vert much electrical, first step is to verify the power at the fuses and move forward from there or else it could be the module.
 
Hey everyone I’ve go some great news. I managed to get my roof to work again by resetting my windows. I’ll leave instructions down below. Thank you everyone for leaving me with various ideas/solutions for me to test out. I really appreciate it!

Instructions:

Ensure that the doors and the Roadster's convertible top are closed before initializing.

1. Open the window completely.
2. Press the switch 4 times within approx.
10 seconds.

Afterward, perform the following procedure twice for each window:

1. Close the window completely by pulling the switch.
2. After the window is closed, keep pulling the switch for approx. 2 seconds.
3. Open the window completely by pressing the switch.

Link:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104699
 
Well done. I had no idea the window reset could affect the roof that way.
I guess they weren't dropping the half inch before the roof started to move.
Thanks for updating us. Something else to file away in the back of my brain.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom