[mobilolsen]

I had two problems that I will here try to explain:
1) The sun-roof motor was problematic, and after this was fixed:
2) The second part of the ops process did not start.

First the sunroof problems:
The sunroof part of the convertible was difficult to open/close, and the motor created an awful noise when operating it.
Reason: Because of the lack of lubrication on the sliders, the electro-motor driving the sunroof will get hurt.
Solution: I purchased a new motor from "Roof Motors" in the UK. The motor from them is cheaper than from BMW, and they are originals that have been restored. The motor is located in the mid bar across the roof and is held by 3 Torx T25 screws. Remember to lubricate the moving parts so the new motor will not get hurt.

Then, the second part: The complete open function will not start - it stops after the sunroof has been opened, and the LED at the open button will start to flash, and it freezes. When turning off the ignition and starting it up again, the roof will close when pressing the close button, but the same happens when trying to open it again - it stops with a blinking LED.

This symptom may have many reasons/solutions:
1) You have to check the micro switches in the trunk... The parcel shelf must be located correctly and both handles must be in the locked position.
2) If the micro switches in the trunk are not the problem, try to open all windows before opening the convertible roof. This could reset the system.
3) If still a problem, try a hard reset of the system. This is done when all windows and the roof are completely closed. Press and hold the central lock toggle switch in the UP position for 5 seconds. This will start the opening process.
4) If still no luck, checked the fuses (there are two) powering the roof.
5) It could be that the battery is weak - the opening process needs a lot of power. Try to charge the battery or install a new battery.
6) Finally, it could be that even if the sunroof is open, it is actually not completely open... Maybe it lacks a millimeter or two before a sensor somewhere says that it is OK to start the hydraulic pump. When opening the second phase, the electric motor is retracting the sunroof even a short bit. While this is happening, try to help the motor by pushing the sunroof a millimeter or two longer back using your hand. Then the hydraulic pump should start.

A permanent solution will be to do a real cleaning of the sunroof sliders and better lubrication on all moving parts will make the sunroof go a couple of millimeters longer back, which hopefully will tell the sensor that it is open, which again will engage the phase two opening... I even lubricated the plastic parts with a silicone spray.

So this worked for me and saved me a real amount of money. Hope this will bring help others as well.

PS: if the top cables snap or get hurt, it is possible to fix them for a DIY person. There are a series of 4 short videos on youtube explaining the whole process, but luckily this did not happen to me. I cannot post a URL here, but search youtube for "Mini Cooper Convertible Top Repair"

-John

 

[pencarrow]

Great post....Where/ how and with what should I lubricate?
Cheers
Fritz

 

[69plymouthrr]

Conv top not opening flashing fault light

after hours of research both here and on the car I found that the latches need to be fully closed to start the cycle by that i mean fully closed I had a broken drivers side latch ordered and replaced the latch after i installed it the sunroof would open first phase fine when i went to second phase pressed the open button the second time the roof would move a little more and i would get the flashing fault light if I held it to long it would need a recycle of the keyswitch to close it would close fine latches would lock and all was ok and you could attempt the reopen and get same result. I found that the latches were not 100 percent closed took my finger with the top closed and pushed both latches fully in and then opened roof fully whats funny is that when i closed the roof with the hydraulic's the latches closed 100 percent warning if you get these latches out of sync it will appear as you have a problem in the trunk with the shelf micro switches.

 

[juls86]

Hey I know its a long time since anyone commented on this but my 04 mini roof wont wouldnt open whilst the motor tried and i played with the parcel shelf and it opened,
But it only open the sunroof bit then stopped, I dont even know if its fully open,
Anyhow all it is doing now is making a clicking sound when i press the open button and no noise of the motor, Ive checked the fuses and fine.
HELP!!!!

 

[John Cooper]

Has anyone ever had a problem with the fuse keeps blowing

 

[Mini Cooper s Andy]

Hey I know its a long time since anyone commented on this but my 04 mini roof wont wouldnt open whilst the motor tried and i played with the parcel shelf and it opened,
But it only open the sunroof bit then stopped, I dont even know if its fully open,
Anyhow all it is doing now is making a clicking sound when i press the open button and no noise of the motor, Ive checked the fuses and fine.
HELP!!!!

Hi Did you get to bottom of this issue? I have just replaced both cables and have same issue. Also checked both boot micro switches and they are fine. Appreciate any support

 

[Milescricket]

Hey I know its a long time since anyone commented on this but my 04 mini roof wont wouldnt open whilst the motor tried and i played with the parcel shelf and it opened,
But it only open the sunroof bit then stopped, I dont even know if its fully open,
Anyhow all it is doing now is making a clicking sound when i press the open button and no noise of the motor, Ive checked the fuses and fine.
HELP!!!!

Hi Juls.
This is probs a bit late for you, but it may happen again, so here we are!
These are very common faults in the Mini's I have found.
I have two solutions for you hopefully!!! Free also!! My wife's Mini One Convertible had both these symptoms and I went onto a mini forum and found the answer to the window and the roof retracting problems.
1) Window not working;
Turn the ignition on, but do not start the car. Hold BOTH window switches in the 'Up' mode. On each door, there are two speakers. While holding the window switches up still, bash with you closed fist, half way between the speakers. Try to open and close the window now. If it doesn't work, repeat until it does. It may go again in the future, but just repeat the procedure!
2) Retracting Roof/Sun roof not working;
In the boot, on BOTH sides, there are black levers, that when pulled up vertically, will release the rear of the roof. Pull these levers to the vertical 'up' position, towards the direction of the roof. You will now be able to see the parcel shelf 'seats' and shelf. Turn the ignition on, but do not start the car. Go to the rear of the car again. If you look the the left, below the parcel shelf, you will see the left hand parcel shelf 'seat'. Lift this up and down and holding your ear close to it, you will hear a faint contact sensor sounding. Do this a couple of times, this makes sure that the parcel shelf is sat correctly. Now pull the black levers down again to the vertical 'down' position, towards the wheels and make sure they are pushed firmly in. Go back to the driver's seat and try the sun roof and whole roof. Once you have used it a couple of times, it should reset and you will be fine!
Good luck! Please share these if they work. It's a very costly fix otherwise!!! Both solutions worked for me.
Regards

Miles

 

[Gohanni]

Hi Guys,
I have poured over these pages of helpfully info,tips and hints to getting my soft top to work.
I have by-passed the parcel shelf micro switch but left the latch safety microswitch intact.
This has given some fruit for my efforts, i can you fully open sun roof and retract roof but
only on the first turn of the key!
It WILL NOT work with reds on or engine running.

Has anyone heard or know why this may be happeneing ??

2004 Mini Cooper

 

[mike1967]

Hi Guys,
I have poured over these pages of helpfully info,tips and hints to getting my soft top to work.
I have by-passed the parcel shelf micro switch but left the latch safety microswitch intact.
This has given some fruit for my efforts, i can you fully open sun roof and retract roof but
only on the first turn of the key!
It WILL NOT work with reds on or engine running.

Has anyone heard or know why this may be happeneing ??
View attachment 280373
2004 Mini Cooper

i try and and avoid these cars but sometimes i have no choice to repair them, hmm to say its a day or two of pain is underestimate and feel your pain,, what i do s i have a access to 4 volt meters and can use these on all the micro switches also need to strip can out in the rear to gain access to pump and relays and roof mech etc and start with checking every sensor switch,, if only have one meter thats mine can just don one at at time once proved all switches to be working then work backwards to pump unit ,,, ie check for power and power for the servo's,,, most likely cause is water ingress from roof rain rails the plastic eyelits break up with age and if the roof is not tight to the side trim around side and back of car its most likely the cause, if so its seats out carpet out and dry all out and check wiring for rust and any body control model water ingress,, ie thats by foot well ,,, i got a gen two car in at mo with same issues was flooded with water in foot well was rain rails in rear,,, very common

 

[Gohanni]

i try and and avoid these cars but sometimes i have no choice to repair them, hmm to say its a day or two of pain is underestimate and feel your pain,, what i do s i have a access to 4 volt meters and can use these on all the micro switches also need to strip can out in the rear to gain access to pump and relays and roof mech etc and start with checking every sensor switch,, if only have one meter thats mine can just don one at at time once proved all switches to be working then work backwards to pump unit ,,, ie check for power and power for the servo's,,, most likely cause is water ingress from roof rain rails the plastic eyelits break up with age and if the roof is not tight to the side trim around side and back of car its most likely the cause, if so its seats out carpet out and dry all out and check wiring for rust and any body control model water ingress,, ie thats by foot well ,,, i got a gen two car in at mo with same issues was flooded with water in foot well was rain rails in rear,,, very common

I have looked in the rear for any signs of water ingress, all seams dry, but will check again after next rain fall.
what i am most querious about is why these features are not working when the engine is running.
Even the sun roof will not close or open when driving.
Is this something you have encountered before ?

thanks for the quick reply !

 

[calvin graedel]

I had two problems that I will here try to explain:
1) The sun-roof motor was problematic, and after this was fixed:
2) The second part of the ops process did not start.

First the sunroof problems:
The sunroof part of the convertible was difficult to open/close, and the motor created an awful noise when operating it.
Reason: Because of lack of lubrication on the sliders, the electro motor driving the sunroof will get hurt.
Solution: I purchased a new motor from "Roof Motors" in UK. The motor from them are cheaper than from BMW, and they are originals that have been restored. The motor is located in the mid bar across the roof, and is hold by 3 torx T25 screws. Remember to lubricate the moving parts so the new motor will not get hurt.

Then, the second part: The complete open function will not start - it stops after the sunroof has been opened, and the LED at the open button will start to flash, and it freezes. When turning off the ignition and starting up again, the roof will close when pressing the close button, but the same happens when trying to open it again - it stops with a blinking LED.
This symptom may have many reasons/solutions:
1) You have to check the micro switches in the trunk... The parcel shelf must be located correctly and both handles must be in locked position.
2) If the microswitches in the trunk is not the problem, try to open all windows before opening the convertible roof. This could reset the system.
3) If still a problem, try a hard reset the system. This is done when all windows and the roof are completey closed. Press and hold the central lock toggle switch in UP position for 5 seconds. This will start the opening process.
4) If still no luck, checked the fuses (there are two) powering the roof.
5) It could be that the battery is weak - the opening process needs a lot of power. Try to charge the battery or install a new battery.
6) Finally, it could be that even if the sunroof is open, it is actually not completely opened... Maybe it lacks a millimeter or two before a sensor somewhere says that it is OK to start the hydraulic pump. When opening the second phase, the electric motor is retracting the sunroof even a short bit. While this is happening, try to help the motor by pushing the sunroof a millimeter or two longer back using your hand. Then the hydraulic pump should start.
A permanent solution will be to do a real cleaning of the sunroof sliders and better lubrication on all moving part will make the sunroof go a couple of millimeters longer back, which hopefully will tell the sensor that it is open, which again will engage the phase two opening... I even lubricated the plastic parts with a silicone spray.

So this worked for me, and saved me a real amount of money. Hope this will bring help to others as well.

PS: if the top cables snaps or get hurt, it is possible to fix for a DIY person. There are a series of 4 short videos on youtube explaining the whole process, but luckily this did not happen to me. I cannot post a URL here, but search youtube for "Mini Cooper Convertible Top Repair"

-John

Had all the latches redone. All the hall sensors in the top checked ok, replaced CTM checked all the relays, latch id trunk seems to work, any suggestions??

 

[Synat38]

Hi. Can anyone help. Back in november my roof went down, locked and wouldn't go back up. Error of roof and padlock. I had to manually do it.

I reset the windows and did a full reset with the central toggle.

My passenger window won't automatically go down, or up by one tap of the window toggle. (And have tried reset numerous times.)

Since then. My sunroof opens, the latches release and the motor starts, but the roof won't lift to retract. Then flashes with the boot and lock icon again.

Any ideas.??

 

[Gohanni]

It may seem odd but will the roof retract on 1st key position? Still trouble shooting my roof issues but have found no movement on 2nd turn (reds) or engine start, but on 1st position sun roof retracts and roof opens and closes.

Might be worth a try.

 

[Synat38]

Thank you. What do you mean 1st key position.? I have a round key that slots in. Not a turn key.
Or do you mean with battery on but not starting the engine? 😁

 

[Gohanni]

Hi Guys
First day i have been able to even look at the car between work and bad weather, it has very much been on the back burner.
Still hunting down the gremlins in the system, My current thought process is heading towards the hall sensors.
Other that the name and understandting there is 5 of them checking different possitions: before, during and after operation, i am a very lost. To show how far i have got and perhaps @Synat38 explain better what i have acheved so far please see link !
I am still unable to operate roof at all during engine running or with car reds on. Also a futher note: I can retract roof fully using 1st key possition process, and if i dont drive anywhere i can put roof up.
If i DO drive the car, the roof will not go back up even if i use the foremenchioned 1st key possition process.
Again this is leading me to a sensor issue not giving the green light to the motor to run.
Any insight from any one would be more than welcome as i am drawing a blank.

Roof retract test 1st key possition

 

[Ayman]

I had two problems that I will here try to explain:
1) The sun-roof motor was problematic, and after this was fixed:
2) The second part of the ops process did not start.

First the sunroof problems:
The sunroof part of the convertible was difficult to open/close, and the motor created an awful noise when operating it.
Reason: Because of lack of lubrication on the sliders, the electro motor driving the sunroof will get hurt.
Solution: I purchased a new motor from "Roof Motors" in UK. The motor from them are cheaper than from BMW, and they are originals that have been restored. The motor is located in the mid bar across the roof, and is hold by 3 torx T25 screws. Remember to lubricate the moving parts so the new motor will not get hurt.

Then, the second part: The complete open function will not start - it stops after the sunroof has been opened, and the LED at the open button will start to flash, and it freezes. When turning off the ignition and starting up again, the roof will close when pressing the close button, but the same happens when trying to open it again - it stops with a blinking LED.
This symptom may have many reasons/solutions:
1) You have to check the micro switches in the trunk... The parcel shelf must be located correctly and both handles must be in locked position.
2) If the microswitches in the trunk is not the problem, try to open all windows before opening the convertible roof. This could reset the system.
3) If still a problem, try a hard reset the system. This is done when all windows and the roof are completey closed. Press and hold the central lock toggle switch in UP position for 5 seconds. This will start the opening process.
4) If still no luck, checked the fuses (there are two) powering the roof.
5) It could be that the battery is weak - the opening process needs a lot of power. Try to charge the battery or install a new battery.
6) Finally, it could be that even if the sunroof is open, it is actually not completely opened... Maybe it lacks a millimeter or two before a sensor somewhere says that it is OK to start the hydraulic pump. When opening the second phase, the electric motor is retracting the sunroof even a short bit. While this is happening, try to help the motor by pushing the sunroof a millimeter or two longer back using your hand. Then the hydraulic pump should start.
A permanent solution will be to do a real cleaning of the sunroof sliders and better lubrication on all moving part will make the sunroof go a couple of millimeters longer back, which hopefully will tell the sensor that it is open, which again will engage the phase two opening... I even lubricated the plastic parts with a silicone spray.

So this worked for me, and saved me a real amount of money. Hope this will bring help to others as well.

PS: if the top cables snaps or get hurt, it is possible to fix for a DIY person. There are a series of 4 short videos on youtube explaining the whole process, but luckily this did not happen to me. I cannot post a URL here, but search youtube for "Mini Cooper Convertible Top Repair"

-John

Thank you Thank thank you, A million Thanks. It worked like magic.
I bought the car few months ago knowing that the roof will not open only the sunroof, Tried few things but without any luck, till i did read this article. i did not give much attention thought it is another guy with some of his ideas, till today thought ok lets try that,
first i was sure my battery is good and strong, then jumped to part 3 when all windows and the roof are completely closed. I Press and hold the central lock toggle switch in UP position for 5 seconds, it did lock the doors so i pressed it up again for another 5 secound.
after that i fully opened all windows and Saied her we go, is gona be true or not......sunroof opened as usual (ok thats normal, Saying to my self) ... unbelieving my eyes .. Iam seeing the roof opening for the first. waw.. That was absolute AMAZING.
Thank you a million, you are credit to the web.

 

[Ayman]

Thank you Thank thank you, A million Thanks. It worked like magic.
I bought the car few months ago knowing that the roof will not open only the sunroof, Tried few things but without any luck, till i did read this article. i did not give much attention thought it is another guy with some of his ideas, till today thought ok lets try that,
first i was sure my battery is good and strong, then jumped to part 3 when all windows and the roof are completely closed. I Press and hold the central lock toggle switch in UP position for 5 seconds, it did lock the doors so i pressed it up again for another 5 secound.
after that i fully opened all windows and Saied her we go, is gona be true or not......sunroof opened as usual (ok thats normal, Saying to my self) ... unbelieving my eyes .. Iam seeing the roof opening for the first. waw.. That was absolute AMAZING.
Thank you a million, you are credit to the web 👌👌👌

 

[Gohanni]

From my last post i still was having no success in using the roof in my mini, along with a string of issues it had when purchased a few months ago i was finaly able to get some of them resloved . This month was the rear supsension.
( bare with me it will all make sence )

The guy i got the car from said it looks to have been lowered from previous owner. I took it on faith, and searched up new sping,shocks, mounts and abs sensors as the abs light was on in the dash.
*side note: the speedo was also no working .

Okay jump forward to this weekend, got a friend i trust to swap out all of the above parts.

During the install, alarm bells rang ...........loud

The reat springs where snapped at the tails, meaning there where not on the shockbase plate but now being suppeneded but the abs sensor wire.!!!!!!

Once i picked myself of the ground we set about replacing the shocks,springs,upper mounts and installed new abs sensors.

Both sides where the same, and after many hours in the sun shine she was all fitted up and lowered to the ground.


Now the test drive was a dream, speed rams where not killing my back or needing crawled over but just as important the speedo was now working.

With socially distance high 5`s all round, and a coffee latrer, i drove home.

Then remembered the central locking rest trick which i read here , hold central locking for 5 seconds and the windows went down. Gasp !

From i boughtthe car, i could open the sun roof but only on first key turn, not with reds or engine started and no roof retracting......................... But now it works , sun roof while driving , roof with engine running it alll works!!!

It turns out the Body control module tells the sun roof the speed of the car as a safety measure. If there is no speed information or cant reach the abs sensors , it defauls to NO movement to protect the roof mechanism.

I realise this was a long winded way of saying well that last 2 sentances, but i am hoping the more details put in these posts, the more help it can give someone.

Massive thanks to all the support i have got from here, it has been invaluable!!
Bring on the sunshine

 

[Miniwhisper]

Hi Did you get to bottom of this issue? I have just replaced both cables and have same issue. Also checked both boot micro switches and they are fine. Appreciate any support

I've heard that replacing the control module located behind the rear left panel fixes this issue. I have a 2009 convertible that has similar issue but the sunroof wont open but once it is manually opened I can operate the hydraulic portion. I'm my case i have replaced the convertible top control module and that didn't work, replaced the sunroof module which didn't work either. I'm wondering if its the foot module that controls the windows that's the issue. anyone have this issue and solved it?

 

[Winni]

I have the same problem. It was working while engine was running and now only works in the first key position. Any solution?

It may seem odd but will the roof retract on 1st key position? Still trouble shooting my roof issues but have found no movement on 2nd turn (reds) or engine start, but on 1st position sun roof retracts and roof opens and closes.

Might be worth a try.