Roof stuck down , fully stowed - Sorted!
- Thread starter kinger
- Start date
No, it's indeed the front locking system, that locks as well in the boot.
The BMW way is to unscrew the 2 bolts in the trunk below the lower roof shell. But that is very difficulty with a tiny wrench and a 3mm hex bit.
Better to unlock it electrically like I do with my box, but you have to get access to the 2-pole connector on the CTM!
Gotten it unplugged, you can sent power into this 2-pole cable to drive the motor for locking/unlocking.
The BMW way is to unscrew the 2 bolts in the trunk below the lower roof shell. But that is very difficulty with a tiny wrench and a 3mm hex bit.
Better to unlock it electrically like I do with my box, but you have to get access to the 2-pole connector on the CTM!
Gotten it unplugged, you can sent power into this 2-pole cable to drive the motor for locking/unlocking.
The manual way, I didn't manage successfully in the past.
Be aware, these tiny 3mm screws are glued! You will destroy it and won't be able to drill a new hole for a spare screw. Forget it.
The electrical way:
The trunk partition cover is currently your blocker on the way to the CTM.
The right plastic "foot" has two parts clipped together. With a flat screw driver both clips can be raised and separated without destroying it. There are two small flat holes when looking from the trunks mid.
Another option would be to just break it, as it's available as spare part.
Part 2 & 3:
https://realoem.com/bmw/en/showparts?id=LM51-EUR-05-2011-E89-BMW-Z4_30i&diagId=54_0495
Together ~26 Euros.
Tbc
Be aware, these tiny 3mm screws are glued! You will destroy it and won't be able to drill a new hole for a spare screw. Forget it.
The electrical way:
The trunk partition cover is currently your blocker on the way to the CTM.
The right plastic "foot" has two parts clipped together. With a flat screw driver both clips can be raised and separated without destroying it. There are two small flat holes when looking from the trunks mid.
Another option would be to just break it, as it's available as spare part.
Part 2 & 3:
https://realoem.com/bmw/en/showparts?id=LM51-EUR-05-2011-E89-BMW-Z4_30i&diagId=54_0495
Together ~26 Euros.
Tbc
Next step - removal of the right interior trim
Two black pins have to get pulled out from the right wall pulled to the mid. Two additional brackets must be raised. Hopefully you know already how to remove this part above the CTM!
Next step is to remove the hardcover on top of the CTM.
And then, yes, then you will get access to this required 2-pole plug.
12V plus/minus or reverse will drive the Motor to open.
Two black pins have to get pulled out from the right wall pulled to the mid. Two additional brackets must be raised. Hopefully you know already how to remove this part above the CTM!
Next step is to remove the hardcover on top of the CTM.
And then, yes, then you will get access to this required 2-pole plug.
12V plus/minus or reverse will drive the Motor to open.
Hi Robbi (Spelled Correctly) 
Thank you so much for all your input...You really are the font of all roof knowledge ...massive respect to you.
I think ill go with the Ista Option, it seems the less stressful way and i shouldn't break anything
My wife has a e93 330d convertible so it will come in useful for her car as well.
My 35is will go up for sale as soon as this roof is working again, its a fairly low mileage car with a very high spec.
I haven't driven it since last July as i bought myself a Jaguar F-type
I'll let you know how i get on with the job as soon as i get the software & cable .
And i'll put the beer in the boot of the e93 for you!
Cheers
Mike
Thank you so much for all your input...You really are the font of all roof knowledge ...massive respect to you.
I think ill go with the Ista Option, it seems the less stressful way and i shouldn't break anything
My wife has a e93 330d convertible so it will come in useful for her car as well.
My 35is will go up for sale as soon as this roof is working again, its a fairly low mileage car with a very high spec.
I haven't driven it since last July as i bought myself a Jaguar F-type
I'll let you know how i get on with the job as soon as i get the software & cable .
And i'll put the beer in the boot of the e93 for you!
Cheers
Mike
Finally, my roof is out of the boot and i can start to repair my broken wire, i’ll do both sides while i’m at it.Eventually i bought ista/inpa and leads and did it that way.
Huge thanks to Robbi for all his advice and also to flybobbie
I bought my kit from Tools4cars online, very good service and tech back up as well as online installation tutorials.
A note of caution though, my first attempt at installing the software ended in a ‘missing files error.
I tracked it down to a corrupted file but was given a link to download from their server.
If when installing you get checksum errors, stop at that point and ask for a good copy
Mike