Should Roof Motor Be Secured In The Boot?

[darchard]

I owned a 2003 3.0i Z4 for seventeen years and absolutely loved it. I had to sell it tho as, at the time, I needed something with lots of bot space for work reasons. I always regretted selling the beloved Z and so I just bought myself another one almost exactly the same
The previous owner has moved the roof motor to the boot, which is a good thing, but he didn't secure the motor in any way; it's just loose in the boot on the end of the cables.
My question is, to those of you in the know, is this a problem? Should it be secured somehow or is it fine left loose? If if needs securing, any suggestions on the easiest way to do this?
Many thanks in advance!

 

[enuff_zed]

Secure it!
A big hefty cable tie through the carpet would be sufficient.
I would also check those pipes aren't being pinched or chafed by ythe plastic trim. you may need to cut a bit out to clear them.

 

[Pabby1980]

I can take a pic of how mine is secured in the boot if it helps?

 

[enuff_zed]

 

[darchard]

Thanks for the advice and pictures guys; much appreciated!
Maybe my cables are slightly longer than yours enuff_zed, but when I put the motor as suggested there's a bit of compression pressure on them; not a huge amount but I'm not sure what the cable connections are like at the other ends. Should I worry or is that normal?

 

[enuff_zed]

Thanks for the advice and pictures guys; much appreciated!
Maybe my cables are slightly longer than yours enuff_zed, but when I put the motor as suggested there's a bit of compression pressure on them; not a huge amount but I'm not sure what the cable connections are like at the other ends. Should I worry or is that normal?

Do you mean cables or pipes?
Ideally you should take the parcel shelf support out and reach through to ensure all the pipes and wires lay nicely without any kinks.
Use a few cable ties to hold them together, away from the roof as it moves.
Also worth putting a bit of foam or rubber under the pipes where they run over the edge of the plastic trim, so they don't chafe at all.

 

[darchard]

Thanks for the suggestions.
So I took the parcel shelf out and checked the cables and pipes were laid nicely and they seem fine.
I managed to tuck the motor behind the carpet. It was a bit of a tight fit but I got there in the end.
I tested it once and all seemed fine, so I tidied up and prepared for a little test drive in the sunshine (any excuse to get out there).
Now when I try to open the roof the windows go down and the roof unlocks but then nothing! Nightmare!

I checked the wires to the pump and they seem to be connected ok. The parcel shelf is down and the red motor disengagement handle hasn't accidentally been disengaged. I'm not sure what do next? Any suggestions?

BTW I'm in Guildford in case there's anyone local who knows how to trouble shoot this. I'm happy to travel! :-?

 

[enuff_zed]

Thanks for the suggestions.
So I took the parcel shelf out and checked the cables and pipes were laid nicely and they seem fine.
I managed to tuck the motor behind the carpet. It was a bit of a tight fit but I got there in the end.
I tested it once and all seemed fine, so I tidied up and prepared for a little test drive in the sunshine (any excuse to get out there).
Now when I try to open the roof the windows go down and the roof unlocks but then nothing! Nightmare!

I checked the wires to the pump and they seem to be connected ok. The parcel shelf is down and the red motor disengagement handle hasn't accidentally been disengaged. I'm not sure what do next? Any suggestions?

BTW I'm in Guildford in case there's anyone local who knows how to trouble shoot this. I'm happy to travel! :-?

Sounds like you have somehow disconnected the power to the rear motor.
It is possible to put the connectors on with the spade going between the female part and the plastic cover, rather than fitting the metal bits together. If it still won't work, try connecting the motor to the battery with a couple of bits of wire, to see if it's wiring or the motor.
Not sure why you tried to squeeze it in tight behind the carpet? Maybe that's enough to cause the connection to be lost?

 

[darchard]

Hi enuff_zed and many thanks for the quick response.
I tucked the motor behind the carpet because I couldn't get it lie flat alongside the carpet to attach it with a cable tie. It was sticking out at a weird angle. Maybe my motor is slightly bigger than normal, I'm not sure :?
I checked the spade connectors and they are definitely connected metal to metal.
Re. connecting the motor to the battery, can I run a couple of wires straight to the battery or should I disconnect the battery from the car first? I don't want to blow any fuses.

 

[enuff_zed]

Hi enuff_zed and many thanks for the quick response.
I tucked the motor behind the carpet because I couldn't get it lie flat alongside the carpet to attach it with a cable tie. It was sticking out at a weird angle. Maybe my motor is slightly bigger than normal, I'm not sure :?
I checked the spade connectors and they are definitely connected metal to metal.
Re. connecting the motor to the battery, can I run a couple of wires straight to the battery or should I disconnect the battery from the car first? I don't want to blow any fuses.

Should be fine to run them straight to it. But disconnecting the battery would be doubly safe

 

[darchard]

Thanks again for your help enuff_zed.

I connected the motor directly to the battery as you suggested and it worked fine. So I located the fuse box, checked the fuses and found fuse 55 (40 amp) was blown. I replaced it and the roof motor kicked back into action! Hallelujah! I guess when I put the motor behind the carpet it must have shorted somehow on the bodywork.

So now I'm back to trying to attach the motor to the carpet. Not sure how clearly the photo shows it but the bottom of the motor is 3-4 inches away from the wall carpet making it difficult to attach. If I try to push it closer it puts pressure on the electrical connections. There must be a solution :?

 

[enuff_zed]

Thanks again for your help enuff_zed.

I connected the motor directly to the battery as you suggested and it worked fine. So I located the fuse box, checked the fuses and found fuse 55 (40 amp) was blown. I replaced it and the roof motor kicked back into action! Hallelujah! I guess when I put the motor behind the carpet it must have shorted somehow on the bodywork.

So now I'm back to trying to attach the motor to the carpet. Not sure how clearly the photo shows it but the bottom of the motor is 3-4 inches away from the wall carpet making it difficult to attach. If I try to push it closer it puts pressure on the electrical connections. There must be a solution :?

Glad you sorted that issue. I've never had one I couldn't get fitted as per my earlier photo. I know it means pulling it all apart again, but the way I (and I think the other guys) do it is to remove the shelf support and cut a section from the front inner flange, then cut a corresponding piece out of the thinner black plastic underneath that. The pipes etc should all fit neatly through that gap and give enough room to orientate the motor in the corner. Try if you can to get the unions facing downwards and the reservoir up as high as possible.
You may also need to snip a couple of the cable ties holding all the pipes in place to get enough flex.

 

[colb]

Behind the sidewall carpet you will find a bracket that the motor can be tie wrapped to in pretty much a vertical position and is hidden behind the carpet when installed. The shelf side rail plastic needs cutting to form a path for the pipes to pass through as described by those posting earlier. the electrical connections should be insulated to prevent any shorting.

 

[DerekE85]

My motor is secured using a short piece of steel around 2.5 inches by 1/2 inch and 2 holes drilled each end this then secured a hose clip to the side panel through the carpet to a steel section The motor is then secured by the hose clip
I have added an image

 

[darchard]

So I removed the shelf support and found that the existing cutout cut in the front inner flange was rather small and restricted the angle of the pipes and cables. So I made the cutout larger as suggested by enuff_zed and after putting it all back together was then able to orientate the motor and squeeze it into the corner. I attached it to the side carpet using a cable tie and hid it behind another piece of carpet and job done!
It all looks neat and tidy and hopefully now it's secured there'll be no wear on the pipes and cables.
Many thanks again for all the help team!

 

[StudioWizard]

I just had my stop reinstalled and asked the guy to put the motor in the trunk, which he did.... and that's ALL he did... meaning the motor isn't secured to anything - it's just laying there. So I'm in the same situation the OP was in where I can carefully wedge the whole motor assembly into the corner, but that seems like a bad idea.... and it comes loose after opening the top once or twice.

Can anyone share pictures of how and where they cut any parts to make the motor sit upright, and how the motor is secured? If it sits at a bit of an angle, does that weaken the hydraulic process?

Bonus points for showing how to make a panel to cover the whole thing.

 

[hollie040]

Can anyone share pictures of how and where they cut any parts to make the motor sit upright, and how the motor is secured? If it sits at a bit of an angle, does that weaken the hydraulic process?

Bonus points for showing how to make a panel to cover the whole thing.

As long as there's enough hydraulic oil in your reservoir, it doesn't matter what angle the motor is mounted at. Hydraulics don't care. The common thing to do is mount the motor diagonally as it then fits nicely in the space in the boot.

A common way of mounting is to make two small holes in the carpet behind the motor, and thread a large-ish cable tie/zip tie through and then around the motor, this will hold it in place. And can always be removed again if required.

Stealing Martin's post from the previous page to demonstrate, he did mine recently and it looks exactly the same, and works brilliantly:

Regarding covering, Martin's trick is to use some extra boot carpet to make a cover, and a small amount of velcro to hold it in place.

 

[StudioWizard]

Thanks for pictures!!

 

[StudioWizard]

How are you guys attaching a zip tie to the car that then attaches around the motor? Is it threaded through the existing carpet or something?

Alternatively, can I drill a small hole or two into the metal (is that the wheel well?) and attach a thin plate that I can run a zip tie under and around the motor?

 

[enuff_zed]

Everyone seems to do it differently. I thread a zip tie behind the bracket holding an electrical connection behind the carpet and form a loop with it.
Then two small cuts in the carpet and feed a large, reusable zip tie through the carpet and through the loop of the first tie.