Temporary roof fix?

[therealmc]

I’m away with Mrs S in the Z4 and on the journey from the south coast to the Yorkshire Dales on Sunday we had no problems but then I didn’t have the roof down for hours of motorway driving. Today the weather was definitely good enough to have the roof down while touring. After some initial complaining bongs I thought I might need to raise and lower the roof a couple of times to try and clear things but actually made things worse and the whole thing ground to a halt neither up nor down with the dash saying that the pump has overheated!

After cooling down (both me and the car) I got the roof up and am now planning to continue our week away without touching the thing but are there any temporary tricks I can employ to stop the still intermittent bongs; like disconnecting the power to the hydraulics or something?

Any advice is welcome and I’ll do a more thorough investigation when we get home

 

[Smartbear]

As far as i know there’s no easy tricks to silence the warnings, it needs a proper fix!
Rob

 

[Deepseaskateboard]

The best thing to do is get it diagnosed and fixed.

It likely will be about £300ish to get it sorted. If the roof still
operates somewhat it will probably be a microswitch, but get it checked.

Don’t mess about with the electrics or try to stop the bongs, you will likely incur more cost when fixing it.

 

[RobbiZ4]

The bongs are caused by a roof, that is definitely NOT locked. Damages may occur in addition on the mechanics, if you continue driving with this constellation over a longer period or longer distances.
So join the bongs as a warning, or request the Z4 roof emergency service to help onsite.

But I actually don't know, if I have to go into quarantain.

 

[therealmc]

Thanks for the replies.

As far as further damage is concerned if I continue without getting things fixed would I be right in thinking that the hydraulic pump continues to operate because, for example, the micro switch hasn’t told it to stop? I don’t want a burnt out pump added to the list of items to be replaced obviously

 

[2k35is]

So join the bongs as a warning, or request the Z4 roof emergency service to help onsite.

So if poster in uk is a company based in Germany going to be able to help says also in Switzerland, France and Austria
Just asking
Ps when mine stopped working changed salmon relays they were original dated 2009. Easy to take out and look at date on them and if originals BMW usually have them in stock and not expensive.

 

[therealmc]

I changed my salmon relays last year so hoping that’s not the issue but given they switch the power on and off to the hydraulic pump (yes?) then my idea was to remove one or both of them as my temp fix to stop the pump overheating; probably wouldn’t stop the bongs though…

 

[RobbiZ4]

So if poster in uk is a company based in Germany going to be able to help says also in Switzerland, France and Austria
Just asking

Everything is possible, if asked for. :roll:

Btw, the named company is a friend of mine, who only offers a platform to get in contact with me. I'm willing to travel, if expenses will be taken.

 

[RobbiZ4]

...as my temp fix to stop the pump overheating; probably wouldn’t stop the bongs though…

It's easier to pull the grey plug out of the red fuse box next to the battery.

 

[mcbutler]

Sit the wife on the roof, that'll keep it shut

 

[SV8Predator]

would I be right in thinking that the hydraulic pump continues to operate because, for example, the micro switch hasn’t told it to stop?

Surely you can hear if the pump is constantly operating?

 

[Smartbear]

would I be right in thinking that the hydraulic pump continues to operate because, for example, the micro switch hasn’t told it to stop?

Surely you can hear if the pump is constantly operating?

Probably, it’s not such an easy thing to turn off quickly though & they can burst into flames!
Rob

 

[RobbiZ4]

... & they can burst into flames!
Rob

I would not expect "flames". The motor simply continues turning around as intended. But it gets hotter and hotter until internal(!) plastic parts will get overheated and melt away. Then the rotating unit will stop, cool down and is destroyed.

 

[2k35is]

I do wonder about the complexity of the roof car looks great but compared to my E46 330ci convertible which you had a way to raise or lower the roof without worrying about what could happen to eclectics/pumps.
Sot what's the correct way to stop stop pump overheating and being able to continue to use the ?

 

[Smartbear]

I do wonder about the complexity of the roof car looks great but compared to my E46 330ci convertible which you had a way to raise or lower the roof without worrying about what could happen to eclectics/pumps.
Sot what's the correct way to stop stop pump overheating and being able to continue to use the ?

The pump won’t overheat if all is working correctly? :?
Rob

 

[davegt]

I've had two roof issues in my 20 months of Z ownership, both were traced back to broken wires that connected to the microswitches on the rear roof shell (one on each side) I had the wires repaired and switches on both sides replaced for good measure just in case.

Best bet is to get it plugged into a good quality code reader, if it's a switch, remove the loom tape on the side indicated and give the individual wires a gentle linear tug, chances are you'll end up finding the issue quite easily.

I figure that if it occasionally "bongs" when driving but the boot can still be opened/closed when stationary (my initial problem), the car at some point was happy that everything was secure and that the "bongs" have been caused by a broken wire on it's limit of breaking whist moving i.e. at a stand still the damaged ends are making contact so the car is happy but when moving the wires move around loosing contact resulting bongs -same when it fails midway through the opening cycle.

 

[2k35is]

I do wonder about the complexity of the roof car looks great but compared to my E46 330ci convertible which you had a way to raise or lower the roof without worrying about what could happen to eclectics/pumps.
Sot what's the correct way to stop stop pump overheating and being able to continue to use the ?

The pump won’t overheat if all is working correctly? :?
Rob

Yes but comparison was that if it went wrong in E46 no problems could still use car. take hood up and down .
It can go wrong anywhere but if you are on holiday how do you continue journey in E89 without running risk of anything being damaged in roof mechanism. Ok if find out about it if roof up but if down and cant get it sorted cant just let car become a fish bowl. Had it happen with mine took dealers three attempts to get it right. Fortunately able to get car home and into garage without getting soaked. So two potential problems not getting car soaked and not causing damage to roof mechanism.
Just my opinion but E46 seemed far better arrangement.

 

[SV8Predator]

would I be right in thinking that the hydraulic pump continues to operate because, for example, the micro switch hasn’t told it to stop?

Surely you can hear if the pump is constantly operating?

Probably, it’s not such an easy thing to turn off quickly though & they can burst into flames!
Rob

Gosh, that must've given you a fright! How did you resolve it?

 

[Smartbear]

Surely you can hear if the pump is constantly operating?

Probably, it’s not such an easy thing to turn off quickly though & they can burst into flames!
Rob

Gosh, that must've given you a fright! How did you resolve it?

Where does it say that was my car? :?
Rob

 

[therealmc]

My update: ‘local’ BMW specialist couldn’t see me for a week as he’s busy but based on our phone call he believed that if the roof is up and secure (physically everything is in place, there’s no hint of any movement in the roof panels and I’ve put quite a few miles in since the beginning of the week with no other issues) and I’m now only getting random warnings, I’m safe enough to continue as is and get it looked at when I’m back home.

Seems to me that some sort of broken wire or similar could be my problem. Sometimes all is ok and no issues reported then after stopping for a couple of hours it reports a problem which clears after the next stop. I’m not attempting to put the roof down at all and the pump doesn’t appear to be running when the issue is live so it’s hard to see that I could be building up future problems.

Travelling home on Friday and will report further once more investigations done.