Electric roof problems

R

rickynoberts

New member
Hi all,

I've been having some problems with my electric hood recently.

I've been having a good dig through all of the existing posts regarding the electric roof failing, and they have helped a lot, but I still have a few questions...

The story is:
For the past few months, the electric hood has needed a helping hand to go down. When I press the button, the windows go down, the catches release and the motor can be heard but it just seems like there's not enough power to get it moving. If I offer a little bit of assistance by pushing the roof back it will start to move under its steam but it needs another push at the end of the sequence to get it fully down. The roof comes up without any problems at all (quicker than it goes down too).

That was until today when the motor stopped working altogether. When I press the button, the windows go down and the catches still release but I can no longer hear the motor kick in.

Could this just mean that the motor was getting weaker over the last few months and it's finally gone?

After reading a few posts I thought I would try manually lowering the roof by pulling the red tag in the boot to dis-engage the motor. Unfortunately, I still can't lower the roof all the way. After releasing the catches via the button, I can push the roof back about 10 inches but it puts up a fight and wont move any further. I'm not putting masses of force on it (because I didn't think it would need it).

Can anyone shed any light on the above?
Is there a sure fire way to diagnose if it is actually the motor which has gone?
Is there anything else I have to do (other that pull and twist the red tag) to manually lower the roof?

Thanks in advance.
 
I think you're doing it all correctly. You pull and twist the red loop so it stays pulled out.

Bing had to do this, hopefully he'll be along shortly to confirm...
 
100% certain that your roof motor has given up the ghost and will need replacing. The only way you can be certain is to remove the roof. Although you are pulling out the Bowden cable using the red handle it should disengage the hydraulics to allow manual operation of the roof. The fact that you are struggling to perform this operation could mean that the cable has seized and will also need replacing. I needed a new motor and Bowden cable a couple of weeks ago costing me just under £650 including the removal and replacement of the roof which takes around 4 hours.
 
You are doing it all correctly as long as you are ensuring the cable stays pulled by turning the red handle 45 degrees. If that's the case then I think Lillywhite is right.

The roof will go down with a fair amount of effort without the hydraulics disengaged, but I wouldn't force it personally.
 
Bing said:
The roof will go down with a fair amount of effort without the hydraulics disengaged, but I wouldn't force it personally.
Click to expand...

Once my motor had packed up I opened it manually once but it was quite heavy and I was worried that I might cause more damage by twisting the roof so I bit the bullet and booked it into my local Indy who said that they had fitted these motors before and then I ordered a motor from BMW Sopers in Lincoln which cost £306 including forum discount and postage. My garage initially couldn't get the hydraulics to work and subsequently found that the Bowden cable was faulty and not pressing the little button on the pump so they obtained and this cost nearly £50.
 
Yup, I had the same experience - felt like I was breaking the car. Then I RTFM and realised I had to pull the cable :lol:

When I got my motor I also ordered new sound insulation - effectively the casing for the motor - as I thought the old one would be sodden (which it was). Cost about another £56 IIRC. I guess my Indy could've reused the old one, but I just bit the bullet for a whole new set. I am sure my motor was 'only' £289 from Sopers with the discount...
 
Bing said:
When I got my motor I also ordered new sound insulation - effectively the casing for the motor - as I thought the old one would be sodden (which it was). Cost about another £56 IIRC. I guess my Indy could've reused the old one, but I just bit the bullet for a whole new set. I am sure my motor was 'only' £289 from Sopers with the discount...
Click to expand...

Jamie quoted me £56 for the housing and insulation which included 20% discount but when I mentioned this the Service Foreman at my Indy said they would reuse the existing housing and dry out the insulation. They also drilled a hole in the bottom of the housing and sealed the housing around the joints with some sort of sealant. He said water gets in the housing and then won't drain out so that why he recommended drilling a small hole in the base.
You may have got 12.5% discount on the motor!

The long term answer is obviously to ensure the drainage hole above the rear arch is cleaned out on a regular basis and this should be on the service schedule IMHO.
 
Weird now they take different approaches - my guys didn't seal the motor, or drill a hole in the casing, but they did drill the drain holes bigger and removed the plastic plugs at the bottom of the drains (which they said was the BMW 'fix'). I did ask about putting holes in the casing and their response was that if the drains did get blocked again then that would pretty much ensure the motor housing filled up even faster...

Delighted I appear to have gotten a healthy discount :D
 
Yes Bing, I did read a discussion on here about the pro and cons of drilling a small hole in the base of the housing but it is suspended above the drainage hole on a bracket and clearly the answer is not to allow this area to build up with a few inches of water. It's not rainwater that's a problem but leaves, pine needles and other c**p that blocks the hole and also the fact that the BMW designers made a basis mistake by not locating the motor in an easy accessible space such as the boot.
 
Indeed. I will be checking my drains at least once a year, even though it lives in the garage.

To the OP - as a guide, all in you should be looking at £650-700 max to source a new motor and have it fitted. Call Sopers BMW in Lincoln, ask for Jamie in Parts and tell him you are a member on here. Should get you at least 10% discount on RRP of the motor, then find a decent Indy to change it over. There is a guide for doing it yourself if you feel brave / are competent with spanners and can get some help to lift the roof out and back in.
 
Thanks for the advice folks.
Sounds like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and order a replacement motor. Really grateful for the Sopers referral, I'll give Jamie a call.

I've taken a look at the guide to removing the hood and replacing the motor and think I will give it a go with the help of a friend.
 
Bing said:
Indeed. I will be checking my drains at least once a year, even though it lives in the garage.
Click to expand...

I did read that a quick blast with some compressed air on a regular basis to the bottom of the drainage hole would do the trick. :wink:
 
rickynoberts said:
Thanks for the advice folks.
Sounds like I'm going to have to bite the bullet and order a replacement motor. Really grateful for the Sopers referral, I'll give Jamie a call.

I've taken a look at the guide to removing the hood and replacing the motor and think I will give it a go with the help of a friend.
Click to expand...

No problem - all you owe us is a post in the newbies section with some pics and the spec of your car - this place is a bargain :wink:
 
The power of the forum :thumbsup:

Maybe it's also a good time to repost the how-to on motor removal and drain cleaning...

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=10190&hilit=Drain+cleaning
 
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