Roof oddities (blown brake bulb too?)

G

gameover000

Member
Hey folks, hope you can help!

Driving there I ended up with the red roof error in front of me. It went on and off a few times on a 30 mile drive.

Nearer home, I started getting the red light on the roof down button too.

I tested via that button a couple of times and if persistent it does start moving (the first part of movement) but it does feel like it’s struggling so I put it back - the red light on the button doesn’t seem to go away.

EDIT - I tried via the key from outside and the first panel moved totally fine, the boot lid moved...and then nothing. Reverted and tried again, on 2’nd attempt the first panel was fine again but the boot lid didn’t move an inch. Coincidental maybe...I had a lot of crap in my boot today doing Xmas shopping but I’ve cleared everything!

Any ideas where to start? I’ve been reading forum posts but seems there are SO many scenarios....but this half working seems a bit different? If anyone can help, I’d really appreciate it, thanks!

Mark
 
It will most likely be a hall sensor or a microswitch.

There are some very detailed writeups on these issues in the E89 problems section.

Each movement operation corresponds to a certain sensor or switch being activated, so by reading about the process, you should be able to figure out which part is failing.

Good news is, the fix is not that expensive.

Best thing to do, is take it to a BMW main dealer for a proper diagnosis and replacement.
You should be looking at around £200 for a microswitch replacement and maybe £350 if its a sensor.

There are people on here which may be willing to help also, but all of this is wholly beyond my technical ability to fix!
 
Try dietcokeman he did a good write up an has fixed a few others,
Ducklakeview is near Warrington an does lots of good work
There both on here
If near derby try bmwman.com a very good indie used by a few in here
 
Deepseaskateboard said:
It will most likely be a hall sensor or a microswitch.

There are some very detailed writeups on these issues in the E89 problems section.

Each movement operation corresponds to a certain sensor or switch being activated, so by reading about the process, you should be able to figure out which part is failing.

Good news is, the fix is not that expensive.

Best thing to do, is take it to a BMW main dealer for a proper diagnosis and replacement.
You should be looking at around £200 for a microswitch replacement and maybe £350 if its a sensor.

There are people on here which may be willing to help also, but all of this is wholly beyond my technical ability to fix!
Click to expand...

I would only take it to a bmw main dealer if money is no object, as already mentioned-take it to a recommended indie or an individual who is known to fix roof issues :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Thanks all. Yup, trying to avoid stealership prices since it cost £500 to replace a window recently....I imagine my local would find a way to create new issues, hmm.

I’ll dig out that write up, thanks! I must have missed it when searching :thumbsup:
 
Im having the same problem yesterday when I went to my car but no indie dealers around North Wales :( HELP
 
Yup, really good reference that. My errors haven’t come back since but I’ve yet to test the roof itself...I’ll wait for light before I do!

Either way, the PDF is super detailed so I’m confident if the issue’s still there, I’ll know where to start.
 
So ive had the issue where the roof would move and get stuck at a certain point, then id closes it but wouldn't go beyond that. One of the cheaper things and you can probably do yourself, to start off with is in the boot near the hydraulics motor. There's two orange set of relays, strangely one of the relays determines the close and the other the open. One of my relays was faulty, so when I took it to my indy and we had a play around we manually put the roof down, and used the button to put it back up again and it was completely fine. Then when we would press the button to open the roof it would start the movement and then get stuck. Swapped the relays around and boom the roof would open but get stuck on close. Replaced both relays with new ones and we are golden. If it was a the microswitch or a hall sensor I don't think the roof would open or close one bit unless it was intermittently working. BMW sells the relays for 13quid a pop and i dont see a harm in replacing them anyways as a test trial.

Hope this helps, its a bummer i know but eventually it'll be fixed
 
So a few days later, a 70 mile trip and no issues with the roof light - I’m going to start keeping a note of the trips when it happens to figure out what’s different, as I couldn’t get it to shut up on the previous 70 mile trip.

However, this time I ended up with the right side brake backup/inner (not sure which it is) bulb blown and the exterior light error. I replaced this one, or outer brake light a few weeks back....can’t think if it was the same one.

Could the roof and light issues be linked? There’s no obvious water. My tail lights do get a bit of condensation but not enough to pool etc.
 
gameover000 said:
So a few days later, a 70 mile trip and no issues with the roof light - I’m going to start keeping a note of the trips when it happens to figure out what’s different, as I couldn’t get it to shut up on the previous 70 mile trip.

However, this time I ended up with the right side brake backup/inner (not sure which it is) bulb blown and the exterior light error. I replaced this one, or outer brake light a few weeks back....can’t think if it was the same one.

Could the roof and light issues be linked? There’s no obvious water. My tail lights do get a bit of condensation but not enough to pool etc.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a coincidence to me, as you say no puddles in the boot so water ingress sounds unlikely.
Rob
 
I approve of your optimism Rob! :D

I’m 50/50 on whether this was the same bulb I replaced a while ago, and hopefully it wasn’t...helps the coincidence argument a tad if I’ve not lost 2 of the same in a couple of months! I’ll get it replaced this week anyways.
 
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