Roof problem

[Smelf36]

Hi All. My roof has randomly decided to play up. 2 days ago opened and closed without issue, today - starts to open, roof fault light pings up and roof stutters and pauses, light goes out, roof continues and repeat, the worst point being the final closing of the boot lid, which start stops and takes an age to finish closing and it’s the same on closing. Taking finger off the button seems to help when it stops, but not much and not always! It will open and close but is very slow and start stop! Any ideas??

 

[Anonymous]

Could be a dozen different things. I'd check battery charge for starters

 

[flybobbie]

Well you have two options.

1/ Sell the car and get rid of quick.

2/ Use the search function on this site, your problem is not unique.

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Smelf36]

Could be a dozen different things. I'd check battery charge for starters

Interesting you say check the battery, car had been sat for about 3 weeks, and only a couple of short runs, starts without issue though, is this a known problem?

 

[Anonymous]

Could be a dozen different things. I'd check battery charge for starters

Interesting you say check the battery, car had been sat for about 3 weeks, and only a couple of short runs, starts without issue though, is this a known problem?

I had various problems. Roof worked intermittently, sometimes it went half way up and stopped, sometimes it didn't work at all.

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

 

[RobbiZ4]

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

Let's bet.

 

[Anonymous]

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

Let's bet.

Pretty sure charging a battery doesn't fix busted hoses, and failed microswitches like you insisted my problems were

Would be a silly bet to be fair. I'll NEVER see any problems with that roof again

 

[Smelf36]

Could be a dozen different things. I'd check battery charge for starters

Interesting you say check the battery, car had been sat for about 3 weeks, and only a couple of short runs, starts without issue though, is this a known problem?

I had various problems. Roof worked intermittently, sometimes it went half way up and stopped, sometimes it didn't work at all.

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

So a partial success. Battery was low under 12v surprised it started so well. Charging fine with the engine running, over 15v and back up to 12.6 after a good run. The roof seems to be working better, a little hesitant on one occasion, but it still pings up with a roof fault warning on the dash, even when it opens and closes smoothly, weird? I’m not gonna loose any sleep over it, just a bit puzzling!

 

[Smartbear]

Interesting you say check the battery, car had been sat for about 3 weeks, and only a couple of short runs, starts without issue though, is this a known problem?

I had various problems. Roof worked intermittently, sometimes it went half way up and stopped, sometimes it didn't work at all.

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

So a partial success. Battery was low under 12v surprised it started so well. Charging fine with the engine running, over 15v and back up to 12.6 after a good run. The roof seems to be working better, a little hesitant on one occasion, but it still pings up with a roof fault warning on the dash, even when it opens and closes smoothly, weird? I’m not gonna loose any sleep over it, just a bit puzzling!

I’d get that sorted out before it bites you on the arse, it’s going to get stuck at the worse time possible as you know!
Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting you say check the battery, car had been sat for about 3 weeks, and only a couple of short runs, starts without issue though, is this a known problem?

I had various problems. Roof worked intermittently, sometimes it went half way up and stopped, sometimes it didn't work at all.

Charged the battery and all problems disappeared

So a partial success. Battery was low under 12v surprised it started so well. Charging fine with the engine running, over 15v and back up to 12.6 after a good run. The roof seems to be working better, a little hesitant on one occasion, but it still pings up with a roof fault warning on the dash, even when it opens and closes smoothly, weird? I’m not gonna loose any sleep over it, just a bit puzzling!

Well would you look at that

Let the battery charge with the engine running for an least 30 mins and take it out for a good run. Mine was similar, then after that it was perfect again

 

[Smartbear]

The op’s battery is now charged & he’s still getting a warning light on the dash, sounds like there’s still an underlying problem here that isn’t just the battery.
I wouldn’t be happy leaving it like that, it’s a world of pain & expense if it gets stuck somewhere
Rob

 

[kinger]

This all sounds so familiar.....i would get it diagnosed properly, will save a a heap of heartache and time.
Mike

 

[RobbiZ4]

 

[Smelf36]

Hmm, once all this bloody Covid crap is out of the way I will get it looked at properly at a local Indy, gonna be expensive enough without main stealer prices! I should imagine? I mean it’s not like the suns out or anything........oh, bugger hey ho

 

[stijohnny]

Hmm, once all this bloody Covid crap is out of the way I will get it looked at properly at a local Indy, gonna be expensive enough without main stealer prices! I should imagine? I mean it’s not like the suns out or anything........oh, bugger hey ho

Ask your garage to drop test the battery. If it is original/old it may appear ok on starting but the roof motor takes something like 40amps to function correctly. A drop test will tell you if the battery has got enough umph left in it. They should do this test for free.

 

[kinger]

If you want a full diagnostic on your roof i can highly recommend Cayman Auto Services in Redhill
They charge about £90 for a full diagnostic check, if you ask them to do the job they refund 50% of that cost.
Your problem sounds exactly the same as the one i had, including parts and labour my roof was corrected for roughly £500.
All they do there is Convertible roof repair, its not cheap but its a lot cheaper than a main dealer and it will be covered by a 12month warrantee.
in not connected in any way to the business other than a very happy customer
Cheers
Mike

 

[Smelf36]

If you want a full diagnostic on your roof i can highly recommend Cayman Auto Services in Redhill
They charge about £90 for a full diagnostic check, if you ask them to do the job they refund 50% of that cost.
Your problem sounds exactly the same as the one i had, including parts and labour my roof was corrected for roughly £500.
All they do there is Convertible roof repair, its not cheap but its a lot cheaper than a main dealer and it will be covered by a 12month warrantee.
in not connected in any way to the business other than a very happy
Cheers
Mike

Nice, thanks. I’ll bare them in mind. Gonna replace the battery 1st as having checked again it’s still dropping to 12.2v even after a full charge. So either way sounds like it’s on it’s way out. If I still have problems, I’ll get it checked

 

[Smelf36]

If you want a full diagnostic on your roof i can highly recommend Cayman Auto Services in Redhill
They charge about £90 for a full diagnostic check, if you ask them to do the job they refund 50% of that cost.
Your problem sounds exactly the same as the one i had, including parts and labour my roof was corrected for roughly £500.
All they do there is Convertible roof repair, its not cheap but its a lot cheaper than a main dealer and it will be covered by a 12month warrantee.
in not connected in any way to the business other than a very happy customer
Cheers
Mike

Can I ask what They found and what you had done for £500?

 

[bowser134]

Hi All. My roof has randomly decided to play up. 2 days ago opened and closed without issue, today - starts to open, roof fault light pings up and roof stutters and pauses, light goes out, roof continues and repeat, the worst point being the final closing of the boot lid, which start stops and takes an age to finish closing and it’s the same on closing. Taking finger off the button seems to help when it stops, but not much and not always! It will open and close but is very slow and start stop! Any ideas??

When we’ve had stuttering motion, especially on the bootlid closing it’s always been the rear microswitches in the boot that have been faulty. A diagnostic check on our BMW ISTA has also shown up what the fault is. We’ve repaired quite a few of these now and had every fault going, low battery voltage, roof relays, roof motor in water, boot microswitches, roof shell hall sensor and microswitch wiring broken.