Roof stopping half way down.

[matlock328]

Hi mehanics,
I tried putting my roof down today and it stopped just after the tonneau cover opened. The back of the roof had just made it to the storage area when it stopped. I got out and gently manually lifted the back of the top up an inch, tried the opening procedure again and it worked. It seemed like a jiggle did the trick. Quite strange. Sometimes it all works as normal and sometimes it does this. Its fully auto and any ideas are appreciated.

[B328iC]

When was the last time the tops joints got lubed?
If it's been a while check out this: http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=121097

[matlock328]

I always dismiss the most logical approach with this car, but you may be onto something here.. WD40 time and ill go from there. Thanks for the link. B328IC

[acbx]

Looks like we have almost the same problem, except mine doesn't want to go down at all. Let us know how it goes. I'll be working on mine tomorrow now that it stopped raining.

[matlock328]

Well I lubed up everything in the roof resembling a hinge and it is now quicker, quieter and most importantly, it works. I used WD40 spray with a small nozzle to get into all the joints. I also sprayed in and around the plate at the base of the roof storage compartment where the two rods meet. For $5 and 5 min work, its well worth doing.

[B328iC]

Way to go. Amazing how something so simple helps. I'll have to look around as i have a book that tells you what, where and when to use on your top to keep it working smooth.

[flyfishvt]

Nice to see it working. Don't be surprised if it starts doing the same thing very soon. The most likely source of your problem is worn tension straps. The straps serve many purposes. One of them is to act like a shock absorber/damper as the tension bow drops. They prevent it from slamming down. Worn tension straps the tension bow to slam down causing it to drop too far down. It goes past horizontal. One of the micro switches in the top motor assembly (S1, S2) require the tension bow to be horizontal before it will proceed to the next step in the process. (Been There).

[matlock328]

I actually had got a flat battery after spending too much time playing around/installing my new head unit with a 10 inch screen, and the roof became faulty just after that. So I went through the entire re sync procedure first. I am glad I now know how to disconnect the motors/manually take down the roof and re set the motors, which was trickier than expected (lining up the cogs). Anyhow, after re syncing, it would still (sometimes) stop half open, but when it did open, I would hear a small clunk sound as it went through the troublesome phase, so I have a feeling its not the micro switch. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. The lube appears to have fixed this, hopefully permanently. Also worth mentioning, I installed my reverse cam wire in through the trunk and through the roof storage compartment incorrectly. I thought it was out of the way of all moving roof parts (along the side, up to the front and in the hole that leads into where the speakers live), but a faulty reverse camera led to an inspection of my work, and the cable looked like the rats had got to it. Anyhow, point being it is possible some roof part may have bent slightly being forced against the wire during this stuff up. Anyhow, I have fixed the cam wire to a more secure location and my roof is back up and running which is the main thing.

[padan1]

I would also consider the motor movement with a problem like this.

Sometimes when you use the emergency release, you need to hold the "top down" button with the motor disengaged to bring the gear to the position in which you would start the reset procedure with the roof fully OPEN/DOWN. Sometimes when the roof stops moving mid-way through its opening/closing it's because the motor is out of sync.

Vert roof reset procedure:

1. Bring the emergency release handle to its normal resting position under the seat (not released)
2. Roof is stored under the storage cover
3. Have someone sit on the center of the cover (you will hear the trunk unlock actuator work)
4. Open the trunk and re-engage both vert motors
5. Hold "top down" button to initialize the reset procedure while someone is still sitting on the cover. Cover should lock down and windows should move when reset.

[matlock328]

Ok so my roof has once again stopped just after the tonneau cover has lifted, and the rear of the roof has dropped into the compartment, so the front of the roof is stationary about 8 inch above the windshield. If I then push the front of the roof in an upward/rear direction, I can feel it kind of unlatch almost like it has a stiff hinge somewhere. I can then continue automatically closing the roof. My question is which hinge should I be looking at? The most obvious hinge (first one from front of roof) appears fine. I have not had the fortune of watching the inner workings of the roof (without the canvas) so its difficult to get any sort of picture in my head. Thanks in advance!

[flyfishvt]

Ok so my roof has once again stopped just after the tonneau cover has lifted, and the rear of the roof has dropped into the compartment, so the front of the roof is stationary about 8 inch above the windshield. If I then push the front of the roof in an upward/rear direction, I can feel it kind of unlatch almost like it has a stiff hinge somewhere. I can then continue automatically closing the roof. My question is which hinge should I be looking at? The most obvious hinge (first one from front of roof) appears fine. I have not had the fortune of watching the inner workings of the roof (without the canvas) so its difficult to get any sort of picture in my head. Thanks in advance!

That is caused by weak tension straps. Been there done that. The tension bow is dropping too fast from its vertical position. I bet it kind of slams down into the storage compartment. This causes the hinge to lockup and prevents the top from moving until you raise the front. Raising the front unlocks the hinge.

Your tension straps are toast

[matlock328]

Ahh, spot on. Yep, it slams down now I think about it. I did the bungee chord fix a few years back as the t cover was hitting the roof whilst opening, but it may be time to have another look. Thanks fly.

[BKKBeemer]

Mine has just started to do this.....



I noticed that at the point where the roof stops lowering into the storage area the actuator rods are separated - can anyone advise me if this is normal or not?



(pics not mine - borrowed from BARTINE on bimmerfest)

I've known for a while that I need to do the bungee fix and the rear deck shock replacement too. I guess I can't delay these fixes much longer.

[prodjay10]

Did you ever fix this?

[lees1]

Hi, did you manage to solve the problem? Mine has exactly the same problem.

Looks like we have almost the same problem, except mine doesn't want to go down at all. Let us know how it goes. I'll be working on mine tomorrow now that it stopped raining.