E89 top failure

[meatball]

Having some issues with my top not going down (2009 e89 n52)

Somehow water magically got in my trunk and surrounded my battery. I've dried it out and charged the battery which is now functioning perfectly along with all the electronics. Leak is not happening now (checked drainage channels and let the car sit in the rain... Nothing).

All working... Except the top... I push the button and it dings at me. The glass starts to lift from the back in a sort of chugging fashion, bit by bit. Then the back lifts up similarly. Finally, I hear the roof unlatch, but the party stops there.

Ive replaced one of the orange relays on the hydraulic pump, but no luck. Gunna get the second in a few days and replace that next. Here are some photos of the hydraulic pump and a video of it opening. Any thoughts?



Do I need to replace the pump?
Maybe just the second relay?
Disassemble the pump and clean it out?

Thanks for any and all help. Writing on a phone now, will update shortly

[meatball]

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eenadf04f...lNdB9IZIa?dl=0


Photos and video in the folder above

[NoQuarter]

Closing seems to be working fine, and the opening is trying to work so it seems sensors and such are ok.

It does look like you have had water in there for a while. Hard to tell but is that corrosion on the wire harness?

Perhaps an amperage problem running the pump at full power if the contacts are all messed up.

[meatball]

Good thoughts. I appreciate the response. Ill get some better pictures up (somehow, the other 6 I had disappeared). Yeah, looks like a fair amount of corrosion. I have no clue how the water got in there. BMW had actually tested the battery a few weeks prior and said nothing to me.

Ill take a wire brush to some of those contacts to clean them up.

[sjeupie]

Got the same issue. Haven't used the car for a while, took it through the car wash today and it doesn't open since. Your post makes me think there is a link with the car wash.... In fact, first time it occured was earlier this spring, aftrr hsving spend the winter outside underneath the snow and rain for the first time....

How do you get to the motor and harnass? I'd be curious to see if I've got similar corosion

[sjeupie]

This afternoon I checked my hardtop motor: turned out that it was swimming in a couple cm of water and the foam it is located in, acted like a massive sponge thus surrounding the motor unit constantly in a damp environment.

I noticed the water was soapy, so highly suspect the car wash I took earlier this week (for the first time ever....). So I dried it all, checked the electrical connections but nothing corroded yet luckily. Then closed the car and hosed it, checking regularly to see where the leak is. I did not manage to find it; it must be the high pressure water from the car wash that mess the seals up.

After everything was dry, the roof still did not work like it should in opening. The back window would not raise and if aided, operation was smoothly afterwards. Together with a friends, I raised and lowered the roof multiple times, helping the back window with muscle power. Then it suddenly started running smooth again.....no freaking clue howmor why, but it works again.

[fmorelli]

You got it wet and connections are shorting. It needs to dry out.

Filippo

[meatball]

Good call on forcing it, Sjeupie. I tried the same and it worked. I had to let it "rest" for a moment to unlatch the roof in the final step. I then pressed the button again after about 5 seconds of waiting and pushed up on the roof. After that, it started to work and I had my top down. When pressing the close button, it beeps a little but eventually closes.


I'm going to get back in the trunk this afternoon and take apart the pump to see what I can find. Thanks for all the help and recommendations so far

[sjeupie]

You can disconnect the relays and take apart partially some connectors to clean and dry. Perhaps add some connection spray too. I didn't disconnect any cables from the connectors themselves because there was no corossion in my case and I did not want to mess stuff up, but that would be the next step. Make sure to make pictures if you go that route so you can put everything back together the right way.

I added anti-rust spray to the double layered bottom of the trunk as a miniscule bit of rust seemed to appear where the battery fixator bolts to the plate; I might replace the bolt itself too cause it started to rust and it would be a shame if such a cheap bolt would 'infect' the body work with rust.

Finally I put a plastic bag around the foam spongy thing wherein the top-motor resides, cause that darn foam is a b*tch to dry out: when there are some sunny days I'll lay it in the sun to dry out completely cause lying it outside on a cloudy day didn't suffice yet. For now, the plastic bag should do the trick to keep the motor dry.

Good luck!

[toddcrowd@gmail.com]

I am a new member but have used this forum successfully many times in the past. I recently had this problem and fixed it myself. The top was pulsing and would not go all the way up. My scanner reported that my hydraulic temp was like 395 degrees, even when the car was cold. First I found my leak in the top-mounted brake light and removed and resealed it. Next I disconnected the battery and removed the foam surrounding the hydraulic pump and replaced it with a heavy towel while it dried for a few days. Next I pulled the right end (motor end, not pump end) cover of the hydraulic unit by loosening the two end screws and wiggling off the cover. It was full of water and had corroded the stators and magnets. I sprayed WD40 to displace the water and blew it out with air hose. Repeated 3 times until no more water was blowing out. Carefully sanded the surface of each rotor pad with 220 sandpaper to remove surface corrosion. Cleaned off the magnets in the cover and reassembled unit. The entire operation took about an hour and I didn’t even have to remove the pump. I only disconnected the electrical connections to make it easier to maneuver the pump unit into position to remove the cover. This description is extremely oversimplified, but I just wanted to share that it is possible to speedily dry out the electrical side of the hydraulic pump without taking it to the dealer. I will gladly share more info and even take photos if anyone is struggling with a waterlogged pump causing a hardtop malfunction.

[carjerr]

Many thanks for all your posts. Very useful!.