E46 Fanatics Forum banner

E46 Convertible Top Problems - Help

79K views 71 replies 33 participants last post by  searey 
#1 ·
Hello to all,
I recently purchased a windscreen for my wifes 2004 325Ci. When I installed it I didnt have the tabs, that go under the rear top flap, properly alligned. When the top flap went to close, I heard a two clicking sounds and the system quit working. It met some resistance. I was receiving a flashing red light on the top "down" control button and the trunk would not open electronically.
I put the top back up manually and took the vehicle to an after market BMW mechanic, since the warranty just expired 3 months ago! The mechanic acted as though he could repair it and when I went to pick it up, he still had no idea what was wrong.
Long story short is I have diagnosed the problem as being the Top Flap Drive Unit located under the rear seat of the vehicle. If I push down on the top of this unit and operate the top, it works like a champ. This also cleared the light and allowed the trunk to operate properly.
I am told that the plastic top to this unit holds the gearing in place and when it meets resistance, the plastic breaks and the gearing pops out. Of course I have been unable to find the plastic piece and I just bought the entire drive motor from BMW (part # 51-25-8-248-308) for $261. I want to make this a DIY project but I wanted to check with the members to know if this is possible or if there is resynchronization that needs to take place, etc.
Your input is much appreciated.
Thanks.
 
See less See more
#28 ·
I just hear clicking when I let the (down) button go. I also tried to loosen by hand the (visor) latches.
 
#29 ·
You'll have to describe your problem in far more detail to get good help. Start your own thread, list exactly the steps you take, what the roof does during those steps, and where the noises are coming from.

Also describe how you broke the top and what it did when it broke.
 
#33 ·
2001 330ic
My instrument panel lights have been flashing on and off and my turn signals work but the green arrows on panel do not light up. I disconnected the battery for 2hrs. and reconnected them. Everything worked fine for 2 miles. I put my top


down and then could not get it back up. I followed directions in manual-removed center seat panel, found allen wrench and release button and tried to unlock the convertible compartment to start the manual process of pulling tip up by hand. Nothing happened. The Compartment did not open. 53 yr. old/young woman who does not accept defeat easily. Mechanic told me the codes (before l put top down) were indicating that two of the 20 computer modules showed up being faulty. Didn't know which of the two were causing the electrical pRoblems. Now the radio is coming up as disabled and top won't Come back up. HELP! ! First tHings first. Any help on manually putting top up? The car runs fine. Just whacky electrical symbols not working
 
#34 · (Edited)
Remove the rear seat (pull!) and remove the plastic cover at the bottom of the motor to check where the cables are, they need to be in this position for the locks to release. I bet you're not turning the motor enough cause it feels like you're going to break something.



If the cables are in the correct position then maybe one of them snapped. Yet without any tension on the cables the locks should disengage as the lid is lifted.

The rest of the issues sound like you need a new battery.
 
#40 ·
So I used the hose clamp fix and it worked for a while, but recently stopped working. The gears are popping and sound like they're stripping again. Even if I lean on the cover pretty hard, it still skips 50% of the time. I finally got it closed and I'm worried that there's something else wrong that's causing so much torque that it's popping the gear.

Is there any other maintenance that needs to be done to the mechanical parts of the convertible top?
 
#42 ·
So I got tired of manually latching the decklid. I pulled the gear out and ground down all of the rounded teeth until the entire gear was flat. There's also a nylon bushing that I reversed. It now lays perfectly back down. As a precaution I'm still using the radiator clamp to prevent it from piping out, but have not had a single issue so far. Not a single pop. I'll probably need to do the washer fix as well since the plastic will only continue to wear over time.
 
#43 ·
fixed mine soft top myself

the last few weeks ive had this red flashing light problem with no movement what so ever.
stripped all the panels down to check wiring etc and not found anything. i then decided to take it to an indy which cost £40 plus vat for diagnostic. i would recommened this as you probably wont diagnose a failed sensor yourself.
if it flashes red, then there is a short, so either a wire is broken or sensor down.
amber light is to do with the storage compartment in the boot, if it is pushed flat it means the soft top cant store anywhere so will stop it from opening, make sure this compartment is down and if still is an amber light, then prob the sensor in that storage is failing.

anyway, it was diagnosed with a sensor down, located on the nearside lid, which opens vertically for the hood to drop into. its basicsally the catch which holds the lid shut whether open roof or closed.
it has a plated sleeve on the catch mechanism with a sensor , and plugs into a connector underneath the top interior panel on the rear passenger side (very close to the small passenger window)

i bought a second hand catch with plastic sleeve cover and sensor for £20, but on ebay around £25-£30, i manually put the hood down and opened the lid, and replaced the plastic cover sensor onto my existing catch, connected it up and resynced it by hold the close button and hold it whilst turning the ignition to position one, keep hold until it shuts the lid and then performs the fully closed function.
all working in original order.
 
#68 ·
How do you manually put the hood down

the last few weeks ive had this red flashing light problem with no movement what so ever.
stripped all the panels down to check wiring etc and not found anything. i then decided to take it to an indy which cost £40 plus vat for diagnostic. i would recommened this as you probably wont diagnose a failed sensor yourself.
if it flashes red, then there is a short, so either a wire is broken or sensor down.
amber light is to do with the storage compartment in the boot, if it is pushed flat it means the soft top cant store anywhere so will stop it from opening, make sure this compartment is down and if still is an amber light, then prob the sensor in that storage is failing.

anyway, it was diagnosed with a sensor down, located on the nearside lid, which opens vertically for the hood to drop into. its basicsally the catch which holds the lid shut whether open roof or closed.
it has a plated sleeve on the catch mechanism with a sensor , and plugs into a connector underneath the top interior panel on the rear passenger side (very close to the small passenger window)

i bought a second hand catch with plastic sleeve cover and sensor for £20, but on ebay around £25-£30, i manually put the hood down and opened the lid, and replaced the plastic cover sensor onto my existing catch, connected it up and resynced it by hold the close button and hold it whilst turning the ignition to position one, keep hold until it shuts the lid and then performs the fully closed function.
all working in original order.
Hi mate,
I read that you manually put the roof of your e46 convertible down. Please can you help me with steps to do this. My top is stock and won't go down with just clicking sounds coming from the rear seat when trying to close it fully.
 
#44 ·
also, i noticed that my rear window demister was not working during my failed sensor, apparently it will only demist and work if there is no short circuit or failed sensor.
so if a motor has broken then im assuming the demister will still work. just thought id mention this as now my roof is fixed, my rear window demister is working again.
hope this helps
 
#45 ·
I think the demister will not work if any sensor is tripped. You don't want the demister on the soft top to operate while in the compartment. This is especially important with the hard top. Fortunately it's all automatic. When I had installed my hard top I did not need to program anything on the car, and all the electric components of the hard top just worked.
 
#49 ·
I've a 2004 330ci conv. I read the possible fixes, but top still isn't working. Here's what's been going on:

I hadn't had the top down for a few days and all was fine top went up and down no problems I put the top up (no lights flashing etc...). Then one day I was driving home (top up) and the red light started flashing. I read the owners manual which said the top function hadn't completed it's cycle...? So I held the top up button red light went solid, but nothing happened. So I tried holding the top down button, but got the same result - nothing but a flashing red light. I tried manually tightening the top same result.

So I read the possible fix, and removed the back seat. Popped the lid off the motor, but all gears seemed to be in place. I pushed down the top of the far gear it I heard a tightening sound. Started car red light still flashing, no movement or sound except engine idle, and now the remote trunk release won't open then trunk...? So now I've 2 problems. 1 top won't work (red light flashes, no window or top movement at all). 2. Trunk release (key fob or interior release) aren't working?

Please help
 
#53 · (Edited)
I manually tightened then top. When I pulled the Allen wrench out the lock/unlock part it popped up?
I still can't open the trunk with the key fob or from inside.
The windows (all 4) did go down when I held the key in unlock position in the door.

So now:
1. I may have tightened the top too much.
2. Neither trunk release works
3. The damn red light for the top is still flashing, and the top still doesn't go up or down. Let alone make any noise while I depress the button.
 
#54 ·
If you are talking about the rear deck lid under the back seat, I don't think you can tighten it too much using the allen key. There are some manual adjustments that can be made with the cables, but I wouldn't mess with that unless you know how much to tension them. The allen key just spins around until its locked or unlocked. Sounds like it's now unlocked. The trunk won't open until it's completely locked. You may also need to tighten down the front latch, but I'm not sure it's necessary for the trunk to release. Once it's all tightened down, you may want to try putting your key in the door into the locked stated and hold it there to see if there's any further it needs to go into the closing pattern. Then try opening the trunk. If that works, you should be able to do the full reverse (key in unlocked position) and the top should open fully. Once the decklid is locked the trunk should also be accessible.
 
#55 ·
BTW, if it opens fully, and the lid goes down, it should be fully locked before the windows start to raise. The pattern for opening or for closing the top doesn't end until the windows are all the way up. It will usually raise the windows in the opening pattern about 2-3 seconds after the deck lid is closed.
 
#56 ·
Tightening the deck lid worked thank you. I can remotely open my trunk.

The top still doesn't work though. I'm getting zero noise from to motor located under the back seat. The only noise I hear is the quiet engine idle. The windows don't move nothing when I hold the top down button. The windows do go up & down when I use the key in the door and the buttons by the shifter. The ONLY thing that happens when I depress the TOP UP or DOWN button is the red indicator light goes from flashing to solid. That's the only thing that happens. I tried putting weight on the plastic cover but that didn't work. Since I've an 04' 330ci the middle gear is metal and it seems to be in place and all teeth look fine. I did notice the plastic part of the lid that holds the center gear down os broken, but shouldn't I hear some kind of noise coming from the motor?
 
#57 ·
If the red light started flashing on its own then a code was stored. Either you suddenly had a sensor go bad (unlikely), a wire suddenly break (unlikely), or your battery is probably on its last legs.

I'd start by load testing your battery. If that fails, then suck it up and pay a shop to read the code to determine why the red light is blinking.
 
#58 ·
Excellent point. I'd completely forgot about the battery. If the battery is low, it's normal to get the blinking light. I too had this issue, but the top still always worked. I would keep my engine running until I'd completed the open or closed cycle to help assist power. Otherwise, my radar detector would always get mad at me and shutdown from low power. After I had my battery swapped out (warrantee) it fixed it. If you suspect your battery is dieing early, get it looked at right away. Mine was dieting only one week before the battery warrantee was up, and once I replaced it, the warrantee is no reset back to 0!
 
#59 ·
2002 E46 Convertible Problem ~ Fix is in sight...

This my 1st post.... hope we can all fix this problem once and for all.... I believe that many of you actually have the same problem, but are missing the root cause. After months of trying to fix this problem, I ask that you confirm that I am correct. And, if I am correct, please help me (and you) save $150 by finding a source for a replacement white plastic gear inside the Folding Flap Drive Motor.

If everyone takes the "Folding Top Flap Drive" (motor ~ Bosch AHC RealOEM.com part number 67618380036) apart, 1st you will need to remove a few torx screws and carefully (I broke mine) pry, the hinges off of the motor assembly. Once this motor is opened, you will notice that the square metal post that fits into the white plastic gear has been stripped out. The compression fix seems to work temporarily as they are forcing the metal square drive to bite into the plastic. But, the real and, I believe only fix is to replace the stripped out white plastic gear.

I will try to figure out how to attach pictures, but in the mean time, can anyone help me find a source for this internal gear?

Yeah, I know I can spend $150 and be enjoying Memorial day with my top down, but I am saving money to fix my leather seats that are ripped out and my tires that seem to wear out after each trip around the block.

A big thanks to anyone who can resolve this issue....
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top