E89 She arrived... dead battery, boot locked, no circuit / connectivity to battery

[t-tony]

If the car has stop/start tech then yes I would say it should have. Surely where ever you shop for a battery will sell you the correct one for the car?
What rating is the Ford battery fitted to the car please? and is it a Calcium battery?

Tony.

ps. Looking on eBay most batteries for the E89 Z4 quoted as AGM.

 

[Nodzed]

Google it

 

[BigCL]

I did google and the battery sellers website - about 4 different batteries come up.

 

[t-tony]

What were the differences? Price? Rating (AH)? What was the Ford battery rated at? Has the car got Stop/Start tech?

Tony.

 

[ASA]

No sure to be honest. I think it would depend on your engine size/petrol or diesel/and if you have start stop in your car. I would go on Euro Car Parts and put your number plate in and see what batteries comes up. Sorry if this doesn’t answer your question

 

[BigCL]

This is weird - I hooked up a battery to the boot terminals... and she turned over and ran. BUT airbags already blown so I was expecting no engine running, as the battery safety terminal should have blown. Still can't get the damn roof working. Windows are still fully open. Boot won't unlock even with a good battery installed, so I have to do the grey/green wire trick every time. Hoping the plastic sheets keep 4" of snow off the seats. Getting fed up now...

 

[Saucy]

You sir, are a superstar - worked like a charm (grey / green wire)

Hi guys, i have done a similar thing with disconnecting the - battery terminal and shutting the boot! I have searched high and low for answers, tried jump leads etc. No ski flap, no boot release button in the car. My other car is at work at the moment, i have tried the fix using a 2AMP 12V battery, but i gather it needs to be a car battery? Will have to try later today fingers and everything else crossed!

So damn stupid of BMW to have a design like this for us EU owners.

I am in a similar boat as you BigCL having issues with my roof not operating and the close roof button flashing red, and the message saying roof movement impaired. Also have an excessive battery drain warning ( i think the battery is old, on its last legs and maybe causing the roof issues, as the electronics are in a sort of limp mode) If i go down the motorway for 15 minutes the warning goes and my blowers come back etc.

I had been charging the battery before these fun and games with the boot. I think a new battery is on the cards, but is it just wishful thinking this will resolve the roof issue? I have been reading i need to get a OBD reader and see what fault is causing the roof not to operate, however with my roof not working at all, i dont think i will be able to do much other than know what the fault is for a garage to sort it out. I am also up north not far from Manchester

I did find this video, which has helped my understand potentially what i am dealing with, but i cannot find any guides how to get access when the roof is locked shut

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q52HtkK6mU&list=PL31r6sSyvKwnezC3CebI0_QadPSehzki0&index=4

 

[BigCL]

The grey / green wire trick will work - you need to get under the passenger "glove box" and faff around with the wiring looms, but it works and the boot lid pops open when you apply 12 volts to the right wire. Look for info and pics in this thread. Will be interested to see your progress with the roof - we have snow tonight and the plastic bags over the windows are billowing away.

 

[Nodzed]

This is weird - I hooked up a battery to the boot terminals... and she turned over and ran. BUT airbags already blown so I was expecting no engine running, as the battery safety terminal should have blown. Still can't get the damn roof working. Windows are still fully open. Boot won't unlock even with a good battery installed, so I have to do the grey/green wire trick every time. Hoping the plastic sheets keep 4" of snow off the seats. Getting fed up now...

There is a system in the roof mechanism that locks it out in the event of an accident, not sure where I've seen that but I believe its in the Repair / maint doc you had off me. Possibly something needs to be reset following an airbag activation worth checking? Or its bent

 

[BigCL]

OK thanks - I'll have a look.

 

[Saucy]

Update, the stripping the wire and hooking up to the battery worked a treat and like you said the boot opened right away. Battery back and connected, car fired up etc. Everything is now working. Apart from the boot, i am now like you having to do the 'hot wire' thing to get the boot to unlock. Maybe it logs a fault when the boot gets opened this way and it needs to be reset or something?

 

[BigCL]

I also need to hotwire the boot every time. I think it is related to the roof / windows not being happy.

 

[Andyboy]

I'n fairly certain the roof won't open if the airbags have gone off. Same on the old Z4 iirc.

I'd concentrate on repairing the car first and when it's all done, trailer it to a specialist to finish off the electrical side to get it all working.

 

[BigCL]

I get what you're saying - but the roof is 95% closed and I just need it fully closed. I'm waiting for the snow and rain to stop before I start on the front corner so I want to try and close the roof and windows before then. Also I just heard (a week ago) that I am being made redundant, so trying to avoid payments to BMW specialists now. Timing is everything.

 

[BigCL]

UPDATE - I have just forked out for a CARLY OBD connector - I hope that will give me more detailed error codes to help me diagnose the problem.

 

[Stevo7682]

If its got start stop yes should be an agm .
Go on somewhere like Euro car parts website put in your reg should give you the aftermarket battery fitment for your zed.
Stephen.

 

[Nodzed]

I get what you're saying - but the roof is 95% closed and I just need it fully closed. I'm waiting for the snow and rain to stop before I start on the front corner so I want to try and close the roof and windows before then. Also I just heard (a week ago) that I am being made redundant, so trying to avoid payments to BMW specialists now. Timing is everything.

Most likely a stupid question you have got the boot tray locked in the down position??

 

[BigCL]

Yep And not a stupid question, as I'm a Z4 newbie so all questions are useful.

 

[Saucy]

I think to get it to shut you are going to have to get handsy with the electronics. The video i posted on the other page showed how a garage forced the roof to open by messing around with the roof controller system and hot wiring it. I would guess by the same method you could force the car to close the roof. In what the guy does in the video he explains that the sensors are in pairs, you find the broken/faulty sensor and hot wire the system to use the working sensor of the pair. So effectively the car ignores the reason why it wont close/open the roof and will then let you press the button to open/close.

I am at this stage, but it means buying a code reader, voltage tester etc. (the video pretty much shows the issue i am having with my roof. I am thinking is there even any point though as realistically do i know enough to fix it? Should i just save the money for the dealer to sort it out.

Ahh i see you have ordered the Icarly reader, that's what i was looking at getting. I think its as simple as fault read, then fix/replace the damaged sensor/switch/wire. Its just getting access to it that's the issue! And there does not seem to be hardy any info on the net regarding roof issues & fixing them.

 

[BigCL]

I'll let everyone know how it goes with Carly... hopefully it will give me some info on what is actually wrong.