SmartTop Installed :)

[persian54]

I had a chance over the weekend to head to EAS and have Tom install my SmartTop

I originally had it on my e93, and was going crazy since the day I removed it...

Happy I finally got it installed

Anyways, took a quick iPhone video yesterday :P


First I wanted to show the comfort access feature :P

Then the rest is I think self explanatory

[T89]

T

[persian54]

Originally Posted by T89

T

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by persian54

I had a chance over the weekend to head to EAS and have Tom install my SmartTop

I originally had it on my e93, and was going crazy since the day I removed it...

Happy I finally got it installed

Anyways, took a quick iPhone video yesterday :P


First I wanted to show the comfort access feature :P

Then the rest is I think self explanatory

Thanks for taking the time to post a video, this will definately help those that may be on the fence abut the modules.

Since this was originally on your e93, all that was needed was a quick software update and config change and we were back in business, ready to install on your Z4.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

Thanks for taking the time to post a video, this will definately help those that may be on the fence abut the modules.

Since this was originally on your e93, all that was needed was a quick software update and config change and we were back in business, ready to install on your Z4.

Yup

My girl and I just took a nice nap (2.5+ hours to drive the 80mile trip; I hate LA traffic) in the lobby while Tom did his thing.
Even stayed past closing and showed me the programming guide.

Very Clean install as well.

I was even missing a small connector thing that I guess the previous installer forgot and they fortunately had one in stock I could buy so the install wasn't delayed

Thanks again Tom and EAS

[Chuck76]

Curious if anyone had any issues with the smartTop. I had one particular issue that I resolved by disconnecting the battery.

Issue was the car would not completely power down, electrical wise, and the symptom was this constant noise coming from the control unit (not smartTop) but the junction box next to the smartTop in the trunk. This drained my battery so I initiated my trouble-shooting by disconnecting the smartTop and disconnecting the battery. This resolved it. After re-installing the smartTop it was fine, until it happened again. So I disconnected the battery and it resolved, (did not remove the smartTop). I'm not sure what is triggering it, but I am pretty certain it has something to do with the smartTop and a function that you trigger, either if its closing the top when you're driving at slow speeds, or maybe opening the top when ignition is off, or the press once top open/close feature...I haven't spent much time troubleshooting it. Anyone with similar issues?

You'll see the push button ignition stay lit, flickering of your iDrive knob lights, and your parking break light (red), go on and stay on, then go off and then on again.

Once you park your car and push to lock your car, the interior lights go off and all other lights take a brief moment to shutdown, but in this case, the lights flicker a bit, you'll hear the junction box and then power off/on repeatedly. I took a vid, but by accident deleted it off my iPhone.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by Chuck76

Curious if anyone had any issues with the smartTop. I had one particular issue that I resolved by disconnecting the battery.

Issue was the car would not completely power down, electrical wise, and the symptom was this constant noise coming from the control unit (not smartTop) but the junction box next to the smartTop in the trunk. This drained my battery so I initiated my trouble-shooting by disconnecting the smartTop and disconnecting the battery. This resolved it. After re-installing the smartTop it was fine, until it happened again. So I disconnected the battery and it resolved, (did not remove the smartTop). I'm not sure what is triggering it, but I am pretty certain it has something to do with the smartTop and a function that you trigger, either if its closing the top when you're driving at slow speeds, or maybe opening the top when ignition is off, or the press once top open/close feature...I haven't spent much time troubleshooting it. Anyone with similar issues?

You'll see the push button ignition stay lit, flickering of your iDrive knob lights, and your parking break light (red), go on and stay on, then go off and then on again.

Once you park your car and push to lock your car, the interior lights go off and all other lights take a brief moment to shutdown, but in this case, the lights flicker a bit, you'll hear the junction box and then power off/on repeatedly. I took a vid, but by accident deleted it off my iPhone.

The modules have been bulletproof in my experiences.

Is there a chance you can send over hi res pictures of your wiring so I can verify everything is connected properly?

[persian54]

Hm.. never experienced this on my e93

Will let you know if it happens on the e89

[tot]

Originally Posted by Chuck76

Curious if anyone had any issues with the smartTop. I had one particular issue that I resolved by disconnecting the battery.

Issue was the car would not completely power down, electrical wise, and the symptom was this constant noise coming from the control unit (not smartTop) but the junction box next to the smartTop in the trunk. This drained my battery so I initiated my trouble-shooting by disconnecting the smartTop and disconnecting the battery. This resolved it. After re-installing the smartTop it was fine, until it happened again. So I disconnected the battery and it resolved, (did not remove the smartTop). I'm not sure what is triggering it, but I am pretty certain it has something to do with the smartTop and a function that you trigger, either if its closing the top when you're driving at slow speeds, or maybe opening the top when ignition is off, or the press once top open/close feature...I haven't spent much time troubleshooting it. Anyone with similar issues?

You'll see the push button ignition stay lit, flickering of your iDrive knob lights, and your parking break light (red), go on and stay on, then go off and then on again.

Once you park your car and push to lock your car, the interior lights go off and all other lights take a brief moment to shutdown, but in this case, the lights flicker a bit, you'll hear the junction box and then power off/on repeatedly. I took a vid, but by accident deleted it off my iPhone.

The same thing happened to me just last week, I had to disconnect the battery to stop it. It was a cool day and I had not operated the roof that day, and it is the only time I that has happened in the six months since I installed smartTop.

It seems that something was waking the system up when it wanted to go to sleep. At the point when the light from the start/stop button went away the lights on the gear selector lit up and cycle repeated.

I did not try to locate what makes the noise when going to sleep and waking up, but that happens always when car goes to sleep (and by that I mean when start/stop button light goes away.)

When it started I had just left the car unlocked outside. Before disconnecting the battery I tried turning the power on and off (not starting it since it was late night) and locking the car, but nothing helped.

[tot]

Originally Posted by tot

The same thing happened to me just last week, I had to disconnect the battery to stop it. It was a cool day and I had not operated the roof that day, and it is the only time I that has happened in the six months since I installed smartTop.

Now that I started thinking about it, there is one oddity that I have noticed that is reproducable and might be related.

If I park the car and don't lock it and sometime later just open a door and close it, the light on the start/stop button comes on never goes off unless I lock the car (or start it and drive away). If you leave the car in that state over the weekend for example, you will get low battery warning.

When the endless cycle happened, I did just that earlier in the evening. That's how I noticed the odd behaviour because I went to the car to lock it.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by tot

Now that I started thinking about it, there is one oddity that I have noticed that is reproducable and might be related.

If I park the car and don't lock it and sometime later just open a door and close it, the light on the start/stop button comes on never goes off unless I lock the car (or start it and drive away). If you leave the car in that state over the weekend for example, you will get low battery warning.

When the endless cycle happened, I did just that earlier in the evening. That's how I noticed the odd behaviour because I went to the car to lock it.

How long is the button staying on? Usually this is an indicator of MOST devises still alive - which can stay on for up to 30 minutes after ignition cutoff, this is normal.

The timer resets if the door is opened or key is used.

[Marc45]

The SmartTop mod should have been included by BMW as standard. It is the most useful mod I have ever made to any car I've owned. If you don't have it, GET IT! You won't be disappointed.

[Chuck76]

Originally Posted by tot

The same thing happened to me just last week, I had to disconnect the battery to stop it. It was a cool day and I had not operated the roof that day, and it is the only time I that has happened in the six months since I installed smartTop.

It seems that something was waking the system up when it wanted to go to sleep. At the point when the light from the start/stop button went away the lights on the gear selector lit up and cycle repeated.

I did not try to locate what makes the noise when going to sleep and waking up, but that happens always when car goes to sleep (and by that I mean when start/stop button light goes away.)

When it started I had just left the car unlocked outside. Before disconnecting the battery I tried turning the power on and off (not starting it since it was late night) and locking the car, but nothing helped.

YES!! That is the symptoms. I'm glad I'm not the only one. The start/stop ignition button does stay on/off and the idrive controller light flickers on off in correspondence. I even hooked the smartTop to a laptop to check if the settings were correct, for e89 z4, and attempted to update the firmware, but it stated it was the latest.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by Marc45

The SmartTop mod should have been included by BMW as standard. It is the most useful mod I have ever made to any car I've owned. If you don't have it, GET IT! You won't be disappointed.

I don't know why it doesn't do the auto open on the e89

i know in the e93 it was cause the license plate wasn't exposed (which is illegal for a car to be moving and for the plate to not be exposed 100% of the time)

but in the e93 the license plate is never covered..

[tot]

Originally Posted by tom @ eas

How long is the button staying on? Usually this is an indicator of MOST devises still alive - which can stay on for up to 30 minutes after ignition cutoff, this is normal.

The timer resets if the door is opened or key is used.

Usually the light goes off in less than 30s after closing the door.

If the door is opened and closed in one minute after that, it still works and the light goes off in 30s.

If the door is opened and closed two hours later, it the light never goes off, never meaning at least overnight.

I don't know what happens if you would combine the two scenarios together, i.e., open the door at one minute and again at two hours.

The times are just gut feeling times, I have never timed them and I don't know where is the thresholds are. And the car is unlocked all the time (no confort access).

[persian54]

Originally Posted by tot

the car is unlocked all the time (no confort access).

I lock my car all the time.. even in my garage.. Iono feels weird not too

[tot]

Originally Posted by tot

If the door is opened and closed two hours later, it the light never goes off, never meaning at least overnight.

I tested this with smartTop disabled and it is still the same. However, pressing the start/stop button to get interior lights on before closing the door and the car goes back to sleep as expected.