Roof motor - help required - reassembly.

E

Easty-5

Member
 Aberdeen
My roof motor started to die on me yesterday so I took it out last night and gave it a good clean up and dried it out. It's spinning perfectly now. However, upon putting the roof back in I am left with 2 problems;

1. I have a spare cable and connector on the passenger side. Cannot for the life of me figure out where it goes.

2. The roof won't go up or down. You can hear the motor spinning but no movement of the roof. The Bowden cable is in the correct position.

Any thoughts or pointers would be appreciated.
 
What does the spare cable look like? on the motor side there will be four, three of them look similar 2 black 1 white and a small oblong connector with iirc 8 very small connector holes. One of the leads has a silver ring which clips onto the top of the roof post, this is a sensor for a hardtop which connects farthest towards the back of the car. The other 2 are connected to same coloured connectors.

The little oblong one connects to the bottom of the static connector block.

Also, there is a problem with your boden assembly, if it is crimped or caught up in any way it will not work. Best thing to do is reach and hold the cable itself and check to see if it feels free, if it feels really tight then it is trapped. Push and pulling the red ring several times sometimes free's it for operation.

Cheers, tug.
 
Tug, all cables sorted now and I think I know the problem with the motor.

I spilt quite a bit of oil when splitting the unit. When I hold the unit completely vertical it works fine but when I hold it at an angle it doesn't work, so I think the oil level must be low. There is no oil in the reservoir when held upright. I'll top it up and hopefully that will solve the problem.
 
Yup, I was surprised myself considering it spends its life in the garage. It didn't fail completely, just got very slow, so I decided to address it sooner rather than later. Good job really as although the drain was bone dry, the foam Inside the motor housing was saturated. A good proper clean and 10mins with some WD40 and a hair dryer and its spinning freely again. Just need to top up the hydraulic oil and hopefully all will be well again.
 
Easty-5 said:
Yup, I was surprised myself considering it spends its life in the garage. It didn't fail completely, just got very slow, so I decided to address it sooner rather than later. Good job really as although the drain was bone dry, the foam Inside the motor housing was saturated. A good proper clean and 10mins with some WD40 and a hair dryer and its spinning freely again. Just need to top up the hydraulic oil and hopefully all will be well again.
Click to expand...

Did they fit different motors to M's then ??
 
That's good news mate, you probably know but on the side of the reservoir there is a line, don't fill it pass that or you might encounter more probs.

Also mate, use a lot of silicone especially where the lines enter the housing cos thats where the water is getting in.

Cheers, tug.
 
tug said:
That's good news mate, you probably know but on the side of the reservoir there is a line, don't fill it pass that or you might encounter more probs.

Also mate, use a lot of silicone especially where the lines enter the housing cos thats where the water is getting in.

Cheers, tug.
Click to expand...

Yea, the line that's drawn in marker pen? It stops just below the + mark.
 
firebobby said:
Easty-5 said:
Yup, I was surprised myself considering it spends its life in the garage. It didn't fail completely, just got very slow, so I decided to address it sooner rather than later. Good job really as although the drain was bone dry, the foam Inside the motor housing was saturated. A good proper clean and 10mins with some WD40 and a hair dryer and its spinning freely again. Just need to top up the hydraulic oil and hopefully all will be well again.
Click to expand...

Did they fit different motors to M's then ??
Click to expand...

Nope, exactly the same motor and same stupidly stupid design.
 
I guess that in general, the M's are less likely to be used as a daily, are newer (March 2006 onwards) and probably more likely to be parked in a garage.
 
Yes, in 2006 with the facelift. In practical terms it meant that they survive longer than the pre-facelift ones but eventually will go if exposed to a lot of water.
 
Easty-5 said:
tug said:
That's good news mate, you probably know but on the side of the reservoir there is a line, don't fill it pass that or you might encounter more probs.

Also mate, use a lot of silicone especially where the lines enter the housing cos thats where the water is getting in.

Cheers, tug.
Click to expand...

Yea, the line that's drawn in marker pen? It stops just below the + mark.
Click to expand...

Don't know if you have done it yet mate, but the line protrudes slightly on the reservoir casing. It is together with the + sign. Mine also had a marker pen line on it, filled it to where i thought was right with that mark and the motor was very loud and slow! Took some fluid out and left it level with the molded line and it's been perfect ever since. :thumbsup:
 
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