E89 Roof wont fully open anymore

[jay_p1999]

Hey, tried going through a fair few threads but i cant seem to find the root of my problem. for some reason when trying to open the convertible roof, the tailgate does not close down on top of the roof that is now folded up into the boot of the car. The roof can be closed with no issues but continues to get stuck at that final stage when attempting to open it.

I have attempted to change out of the the hall sensors on the rightside ram in the boot but it does not seem to have made any effect.

So my question is does anyone know what my issue would be or what wire/sensor is responsible for this final movement to complete the opening cycle?

[B21]

Have you read the codes ?

Have you changed the micro switches?

[jay_p1999]

hi thanks for the reply, yes so far i have changed both of the micro switches on the ram in the rear right side/boot. the codes i have been able to pick up is a696 and a692 and so i was expecting changing the micro switches to fix this but so far no luck with those ones. would any other switches cause this?

[B21]

So no codes now ?

Fluid level ok?

[jay_p1999]

no codes anymore present... fluid level seems fine too at max so my last option is going to be changing out the 2 relays to see if that has any effect but so far all seems pretty unlikely. roof opening button goes red at the final stages of opening thats the only sign the car is showing

[B21]

The relays should be changed as a matter of course..but in this case I doubt it’s the issues..hopefully RobbiZ4 the roof guru will be along shortly..

[RobbiZ4]

Originally Posted by jay_p1999

so far i have changed both of the micro switches on the ram in the rear right side/boot.

A692 is a code of the right microswitch on the front top of the ram.
A696 is the code of the hallsensor with the yellow wire on the ram.

In total there are 2 microswitches on both rams as well as 2 hallsensors on the right.
What exactly have you already renewed?

[jay_p1999]

hey, sorry for the late reply. so far i have replaced the hall sensor responsible for the delay on the roof, i was going to replace the one behind it on the ram but when i moved it out of place the roof stopped working so i assumed that it was still in working order. same as when i unplug them the roof stops working. everything seems to be working fine until the final step where the roof is in the boot, the tailgate does not lower onto it and i can just hear the hydraulic sound no movement

[jay_p1999]

i have not touched any micro switches as i did not know that could be causing this issue. do you think it would be worth a try?

[RobbiZ4]

Originally Posted by jay_p1999

i have not touched any micro switches...

But you have written that.

Well, it's my general recommendation to get both microswitches replaced every decade as well as the 2 hallsensors checked against housing cracks and traces of rust.

They don't fail classically like "dead", but they won't switch their state anymore in time. The CTM tracks the timing of each single step while the roof is moving. If there is a deviation, it just stops - "funily" with or without a fault code.

My roof maintenance thread:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130932

[jay_p1999]

Sorry! after trying to read up on so many different posts i got abit confused with what exactly each sensor did. i just saw that the sensor that has the spring on it is quite hard to change out! ill go through your maintenance guide and give them a go changing out the switches next! thankyou for your responses so far

[RobbiZ4]

These 2 microswitches only can be replaced by removing the complete coupling unit, fastened by 3 nuts. These nuts have to be marked around with a white edding pen to remount it on the exact same position as before.

Details can be found on the following thread:

E89 roof maintenance
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130932

[Rah-Vee]

I've had this happen as well a few times. What happens if you release the button to retract the top wait a few seconds and press the button again? does it complete the cycle?

[RobbiZ4]

⌛E89: Retractable Hardtop (roof) Maintenance (and additional) tasks
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=130932

4 simple maintenance tasks:
- check if there is any water on the bottom of the trunk or below(!) the hydraulic pump's foam
- renew 2 salmon relays
- renew 2 microswitches on the rear rams
- check both hallsensors on the right ram against traces of rust
Just do it!

Done this, there are in most cases only 2 possible issues:
- broken sensor wires in the rear roof shell
- broken wires in the locking system of the trunk lid

Identical posts worldwide:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic...55332#p2055332
https://e89.zpost.com/forums/showthr...7#post30910617
http://www.bmwz3club.fr/forum/viewto...75733#p1775733
https://www.zroadster.com/forum/thre...3/post-3634310

[jay_p1999]

when i try to wait a few seconds and complete the cycle i can just hear the sound of the hydraulic pump but no movement, then the opening button goes red.

So far with the maintenance tasks I have checked the pump for water, changed out the salmon relays, replaced the hall sensors on the right ram and now just received my 2 new micro switches. so will follow instructions and replace those tomorrow or Monday.

if those options all seem to fail i will start checking over wires for any problems, hoping thats not the issue as i have never had the displeasure of searching for a break in a wire before...

[RobbiZ4]

Originally Posted by jay_p1999

...replaced the hall sensors (HS) on the right ram

Replaced with new E88 ones? Did you check the old HS against traces of rust and/or cracks? Mounted a new zip tie around the ram together with the wires of the rear HS as before? Important!
Have a look at my examples:
https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic...35307#p2035307

Originally Posted by jay_p1999

when i try to wait a few seconds and complete the cycle i can just hear the sound of the hydraulic pump but no movement, then the opening button goes red.

Nevertheless, that's good news.
Well, as far as you really can hear the sound of the hydraulic pump,
- it is not dead
- there are no broken wires anywhere in the roof mechanism sourcing "this" issue :thumps:

The latter is due to the CTM checks nearly all sensor lines as well as the two salmon relays for availability, before any roof activity will be started. If it "drives in the wrong direction", it got irritated by a wrong, unexpected sensor signal.

There is one microswitch (MS) in the upper area of the trunk on the right side, that identifies the position of the roof package inside of the trunk. If this MS get's pressed by the roof package, the trunk lid starts lowering. That is the step you are missing.

You can try to press this MS manually, as it's mounted on the passengers shoulder height. This MS switches it's resistors as well between 570 ohms and 2.77k and can be measured on a tiny 2 pole connector an inch below it.

AFAIK these switches hardly ever fail, but get it checked as well.