Z4 roof, help!

[Z Victor 1]

Calling Z4 roof experts. My roof is not 'locking down' when open. What are the possible causes? I had my motor relocated a while ago and now the roof appears to open normally, it goes down with the red light flashing and then the red light goes out. Seems to be OK, but after driving off and going over any bumps the red light starts flashing again. On getting out to look at the roof it appears that it is not quite completely down. The parcel shelf is in the lowered position. No orange lights, the roof opens and closes normally except for this problem.

 

[t-tony]

When you say not completely down, do you mean along the top of the windscreen Ken?
You can remove the centre cover and try winding it down with the Allen key to see if the light goes out. But don't operate the system with the Allen key in the screw, it goes round very fast.

Tony.

 

[Z Victor 1]

No, completely open. As I say, the roof appears to work perfectly except that apparently it does not fold completely into the 'parcel' area.

 

[t-tony]

Oh right. Is the release cable for manual use fully "off"?

Tony.

 

[Z Victor 1]

Been looking at the problem again and it just seems that the roof isn't clicking into position when down. If I open the roof as normal then get out of the car and press down in the centre of the front edge of the roof behind the stowage compartment it clicks into place. So that's the problem why is it not doing this as normal?

 

[t-tony]

The release cable unlatches this catch for manual operation, is it in the correct position?

Tony.

 

[Z Victor 1]

Hi Tony, Just been searching for more info and found the same problem on Z4 Forum. Seems it's a common problem and that as a result BMW got rid of the locking latch on the facelift version. Something that can also cause the roof not to lock down is it not folding correctly at each side which I am just about to check as well as the latch itself.

 

[Number5]

This is common and can be down to a number of things :-
1) There is something obstructing the roof from completely folding down.
- Silly I know but you'd be surprised at the amount of objects I've found lost around the corners of roofs when relocating the motors. (I've even found the leather bound Owners manual pack lost around there in the past)
2) Folding issues
- Sometimes when people give the roof a new weather proof coating/restoration treatment, it affects the way the roof folds as the
material becomes slightly stiffer,
3) Your pump motor is getting weaker.
- The last 'suck down' is one of the hardest parts of the operation for the motor as its meeting its most resistance. (That and the lift from the windscreen) If you've not relocated the motor to the boot yet, there is a good chance that its sat in water and this will affect its operation capacity.

I hope that helps a little ?

 

[t-tony]

I think the OP has had the motor relocated into the boot and thus issue has started since. The guy who did the relocation has offered to have a look at it but Ken is hoping to fix it himself to save a long journey. Thanks for the tips all the same.

Tony.

 

[Number5]

I think the OP has had the motor relocated into the boot and thus issue has started since. The guy who did the relocation has offered to have a look at it but Ken is hoping to fix it himself to save a long journey. Thanks for the tips all the same.

Tony.

Sorry Tony , I missed that bit !
The other possibility then is that the hydraulic lines that are now passing over the passenger side tray into the boot are stopping it going as low as it would normally. Try cable tie-ing these down into a neat loom if able and also gauge if the roof is level after the down operation or resting slightly higher on the passenger side, which may suggest this is the issue, as the 'down' hall sensor is located on the passenger side Ram.

As the motor is now in the boot, (and you're confident) you can reverse the operation of the pump, by swapping over the lines on the pump and then also swapping the Pos & Neg connections on the motor. If this solves the problem, it will tell you that one direction of the pump is weaker than the other

 

[t-tony]

Sorry Tony , I missed that bit !
The other possibility then is that the hydraulic lines that are now passing over the passenger side tray into the boot are stopping it going as low as it would normally. Try cable tie-ing these down into a neat loom if able and also gauge if the roof is level after the down operation or resting slightly higher on the passenger side, which may suggest this is the issue, as the 'down' hall sensor is located on the passenger side Ram.

As the motor is now in the boot, (and you're confident) you can reverse the operation of the pump, by swapping over the lines on the pump and then also swapping the Pos & Neg connections on the motor. If this solves the problem, it will tell you that one direction of the pump is weaker than the other

All the above is good info. Thank you.

Tony.

 

[Z Victor 1]

Thanks folks, I think I've narrowed it down to a problem with latching down. Maybe a fuse, but I' m not spending any more time on it at the moment due to the weather.I'll get it sorted before the weather is such that I want the top down!

 

[Paul Rice]

Thanks folks, I think I've narrowed it down to a problem with latching down. Maybe a fuse, but I' m not spending any more time on it at the moment due to the weather.I'll get it sorted before the weather is such that I want the top down!

Next week then?

 

[Z Victor 1]

A bit cold for a wimp like me Paul! I was out on my bike yesterday and spent most of the time cursing the wind,rain and cold.