Soft Top Packed Up 2008 Z4 E86 (I think) 2.0l

I

Ian Thompson

Member
2008 Z4 E86 (I think) 2.0l

After disconnecting the battery the soft top wouldn't power open as it used to. The motor was turning, you could hear it. I suspected a hydraulic line had packed up so I went to some trouble taking the roof off. The motor was full of water, but working, cleaned everything out. Blew compressed air through everything. All well. Partially refitted the roof and connected the wires to find I was getting no action at all from the roof up and down controls. I found a new controller box, from abroad, and replaced it. It seems the same as before. It will not lock into the top of the windscreen now. The motor still turns. I'm aware of the shelf switch and the red boden cable that disconnects the hydraulics. I can push the roof up and down. Thank you in advance if you have any suggestions.
 
Welcome to the forum Ian. Do you have a picture of your car? I assume it's an E85. However depending on your interpretation of Soft top, it could just possibly be an E89 as I think both were available that year.

Edit: must be an E85. Just checked E89 production started Feb 2009. :)
 
Ian Thompson said:
2008 Z4 E86 (I think) 2.0l

After disconnecting the battery the soft top wouldn't power open as it used to. The motor was turning, you could hear it. I suspected a hydraulic line had packed up so I went to some trouble taking the roof off. The motor was full of water, but working, cleaned everything out. Blew compressed air through everything. All well. Partially refitted the roof and connected the wires to find I was getting no action at all from the roof up and down controls. I found a new controller box, from abroad, and replaced it. It seems the same as before. It will not lock into the top of the windscreen now. The motor still turns. I'm aware of the shelf switch and the red boden cable that disconnects the hydraulics. I can push the roof up and down. Thank you in advance if you have any suggestions.
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Hi, if you can push the roof up & down it sounds as though the release cable’s been operated & the hydraulic system’s been bypassed? If it was working ok before you accessed the boot to work on the battery connections then I’d be looking for something you may have disturbed while you were there :?
Rob
Rob
 
Make sure the gold ball is not stuck. You should be able to push it in and it should pop back out. If it is stuck "in" that means the pump is in bypass mode and the top will not move via the pump/motor.
 

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Thank you BumpyZ4, that could be just what I'm looking for.

Thanks Smartbear, I'm pretty sure nothing has been disturbed. I'll get to the bottom of it.

Back soon. Things to try.
 
There have been a spate of wiring breaks in the roof lining down the left-hand side just lately. Stuart (Bigwinn) did a very good write up on it.
It is possible that removing your roof has been the final straw for a kinked wire.
Hopefully it's just the plunger stuck, but failing that, check the wiring too.
 
I got the motor of again so I could look for the gold ball, but there doesn't seem to be one. There's two silver balls, the one on the left had yellow paint on before I cleaned it up. Underneath the cable mechanism there's a small brass screw that seems to be a contact for the Boden cable. When the cable is released, it breaks this contact.

The two silver balls don't seen to move at all. Is it because they are stuck. If it is, I can fashion some way of freeing them.

Thank you.
 

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Yes, the gold ball.

It needed agitating by turning it with a 5mm socket. Some oil and it started to move. Re-assembled and the roof moved. If you end up doing this, you'll need more hydraulic oil. I used cheap jack oil, though I reckon it's no different.

All sorts of strange things happening now, windows work/don't work. Roof will not lock into place. I'm still at it.
 
This dude will show you how to lock the roof back into place manually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ez4anjz-hc

This is where I currently am. The roof will open and fold back from a locked position. It won't go back up. It WAS going back up and now it's decided something else. It's doing some strange stuff. I've removed the battery and done a full charge.

If you are re-fitting a soft top, the two Torx 40 screws that hold the roof into the frame, put the bottom ones in first, only tighten the thread about three quarters, lift the roof frame up and forward onto the bolt. It'll then be seated in the right place for the upper bolt. Leave them all loose till they are all in place then tighten.
 
Well done for persevering :thumbsup:
Other people have noted that the wires can break in the top left of the roof. Maybe you've been really unlucky and this has happened while you've been fiddling with the roof.
 
Ian Thompson said:
Yes, the gold ball.

It needed agitating by turning it with a 5mm socket. Some oil and it started to move. Re-assembled and the roof moved. If you end up doing this, you'll need more hydraulic oil. I used cheap jack oil, though I reckon it's no different.

All sorts of strange things happening now, windows work/don't work. Roof will not lock into place. I'm still at it.
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Glad you got it fixed!
 
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