Help with Soft Top

[mstandell]

Hi everyone. I have a 2004 Z4 E85 2.5i and I love it! My husband has recently replaced and relocated the roof motor into the boot. However, it doesn't seem to work properly. When opening it, it doesn't go all the way down, it sits an inch or two above where it should be. When closing it, the locking pins retract before it's actually locked in. I can get it to work if I open and close it in stages but that's not really ideal! Does anyone know if there's any way of 'syncing' it please? Thank you

 

[enuff_zed]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I wonder if your husband has knocked the hall sensors out of line on the left hinge?
Very easy to do if you use the 'gynaecological' method of pulling the motor through into the boot.
With the roof down you should be able to see a small black cube on the rear of the hinge. Underneath it, but out of sight, is another one. These tell the system when the roof is fully up or fully down and either stop it moving down, or tell the front motor to operate to lock it closed.

 

[mstandell]

Thank you, he certainly did use the gynaecological method! That's something we can check out for sure. I'll let you know how we get on, just need to find the time in the next couple of weeks

 

[enuff_zed]

Thank you, he certainly did use the gynaecological method! That's something we can check out for sure. I'll let you know how we get on, just need to find the time in the next couple of weeks

Whereabouts are you. There are experienced 'roof sorters' in Bristol, Newcastle, Lincoln and Norwich, who could help out. All members of this forum.

 

[Mr Tidy]

There's also one in Hook, Hampshire.

 

[enuff_zed]

There's also one in Hook, Hampshire.

Thank you. Knew I'd forgotten one.

 

[mstandell]

We're in Herefordshire, I think Bristol would be the closest from here. Thank you, it's appreciated, will post our success (or failure) once we've had a look.

 

[Aaronz4]

I have a hood problem too. It’s an electric one. When pressing the button, the windows drop, it unclips from the front, then the motor just makes a whirring noise without pulling the hood off. It worked yesterday! Any advice would be very much appreciated Thanks!
I forgot to say, I’m in Cambridgeshire, so if there’s any local hood specialists that would be great.

 

[bigwinn]

I have a hood problem too. It’s an electric one. When pressing the button, the windows drop, it unclips from the front, then the motor just makes a whirring noise without pulling the hood off. It worked yesterday! Any advice would be very much appreciated Thanks!
I forgot to say, I’m in Cambridgeshire, so if there’s any local hood specialists that would be great.

Suggest you start a new thread matey otherwise this will get lost

Sounds like the usual issue of the motor dying in a watery grave

If you are in Cambridge you have

enuff_zed

in attleborough or myself in Lincoln who can help you sort it

 

[enuff_zed]

I have a hood problem too. It’s an electric one. When pressing the button, the windows drop, it unclips from the front, then the motor just makes a whirring noise without pulling the hood off. It worked yesterday! Any advice would be very much appreciated Thanks!
I forgot to say, I’m in Cambridgeshire, so if there’s any local hood specialists that would be great.

Suggest you start a new thread matey otherwise this will get lost

Sounds like the usual issue of the motor dying in a watery grave

If you are in Cambridge you have

enuff_zed

in attleborough or myself in Lincoln who can help you sort it

Is the rear motor whirring? Your description seems to suggest so? Has the red ring in the boot been pulled?

 

[Aaronz4]

Yes the motor is whirring. Forgot to say it’s in the boot. I did give a slight pull on the red ring to see if it was loose but I can’t tell if it’s been pulled or not. I don’t think so.

 

[enuff_zed]

Yes the motor is whirring. Forgot to say it’s in the boot. I did give a slight pull on the red ring to see if it was loose but I can’t tell if it’s been pulled or not. I don’t think so.

Where exactly are you? If you can get it to me we should be able to sort it? Or bigwinn if he’s closer?

 

[StudioWizard]

When the roof stops retracting, leaving it about 1" from the latch, is the retract button flashing red? And does the roof motor stop? If so, that means the roof is bunching up and not folding properly. The outside corners of the canvas should be pointing out, not in. This is a common problem with this generation of Z4s. Mine does the exact same thing.

The fix, according to BMW, is to retract the roof about half way, then make sure the corners are not folding in. If they are, pull them, then retract the rest of the way. Then, you're supposed to leave the top down for at least 48 hours to "retrain" the roof fold. I tried this and it kind of worked, but it didn't stick. I've later determined that my roof is shot because glue is seeping from the inside to the exterior of the roof. If you see some sticky spots on your roof (not drops, but rectangular sections), it's the glue that attaches parts of the roof to the assembly and it's seeping through.

I'm resigned to replacing my roof at this point...

For you, though, try making sure those corners don't fold inward. See if that makes it go down the rest of the way. When I was experimenting with that, I had to do it several times, but then it started to work and actually latch. Otherwise, I had to push it down with my hand to get it to latch.

 

[Aaronz4]

When the roof stops retracting, leaving it about 1" from the latch, is the retract button flashing red? And does the roof motor stop? If so, that means the roof is bunching up and not folding properly. The outside corners of the canvas should be pointing out, not in. This is a common problem with this generation of Z4s. Mine does the exact same thing.

The fix, according to BMW, is to retract the roof about half way, then make sure the corners are not folding in. If they are, pull them, then retract the rest of the way. Then, you're supposed to leave the top down for at least 48 hours to "retrain" the roof fold. I tried this and it kind of worked, but it didn't stick. I've later determined that my roof is shot because glue is seeping from the inside to the exterior of the roof. If you see some sticky spots on your roof (not drops, but rectangular sections), it's the glue that attaches parts of the roof to the assembly and it's seeping through.

I'm resigned to replacing my roof at this point...

For you, though, try making sure those corners don't fold inward. See if that makes it go down the rest of the way. When I was experimenting with that, I had to do it several times, but then it started to work and actually latch. Otherwise, I had to push it down with my hand to get it to latch.

Thanks for the excellent advice! Sorry for the late response but I'm parking the hood problem due to more pressing issues with the car at the moment but I'll come back to it later.

 

[StudioWizard]

All good. Keep us posted on progress!

 

[Looby]

There's also one in Hook, Hampshire.

Hi All new member here, I'm looking for someone to help with checking, reconditioning, relocating the soft top motor into the boot of my Z4. I'm in SW Surrey - how would I contact the person in Hook please as I think that will be the closest from reading the thread above.

Thanks so much.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Hi and welcome aboard.

RBM Hampshire is run by Ross who was sorting out roof motors while he was working at Sytner, but after 15 years there he opened RBM in 2019 so can do pretty much anything you might want done to your Z4!

Here's a link:- https://www.rbmhampshire.co.uk/

I've been very happy taking both my cars there since he opened.

 

[Looby]

Thanks so much for your help - I'll get in touch with him - appreciate your quick response

 

[Mr Tidy]

No problem.

If it makes life easier for you Ross does have a couple of loan cars, you just might need to wait a bit longer for a booking if you want one of those.

 

[Looby]

Thanks for the heads up - I guess he can advise how long he thinks the job will take. Do you know if he reconditions motors?