[Keith325i]

Hi all,

As the weather has been getting a bit warmer, I have started using the car with the roof down. I have noticed intermittent roof failure during the closing process. Usually when the roof is about to close above the windscreen, the red roof light will flash, and the process will stop. I try again after 5 seconds and it closes successfully.

It is also a bit jerky closing and I have to hold down the button for a good few seconds before the roof will start closing.

Is there a test on ISTA to diagnose this? Would it be worth changing the salmon relays? I want to avoid the dealer at this stage as the roof hasn’t yet failed
Thanks

[Serf27]

My e93 did something similar.
I cannot remember if it was a red light or a yellow light but it would stop in between motions and I had to wait and it would continue to open and close.

I had to remove transport mode so it could operate in 1 smooth motion.

[Keith325i]

Thanks Serf27. I don’t think that is my problem as I don’t have any symptoms of the car being in transport mode. But now I suspect it may be related to the battery.

The battery is original, December 2007 so ~15 years old. I’m impressed. I’m going to trickle charge the battery overnight and see if I can recreate the problem.

[Serf27]

Yes, the transport mode was odd and my car ran fine.

Removing transport mode fixed it for whatever reason.

If the car is running, does it have the same error? Or only with the engine off?

[Keith325i]

It only happens when the engine is running. I haven’t tried operating the roof with the engine off.

[Serf27]

I doubt it’s a battery office if the car is running and it still malfunctions.


Is there any codes on Ista?

I believe Ista can operate the roof and bypass the switch. Can you try that to see if the roof functions normally?

[Keith325i]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I doubt it’s a battery office if the car is running and it still malfunctions.


Is there any codes on Ista?

I believe Ista can operate the roof and bypass the switch. Can you try that to see if the roof functions normally?

There are no codes on ISTA. I do get the following message through the error history: “no release received from CAS: I’d transmitter out of range”. I’m not sure what that means. When it stops raining I’ll try out the functional test with ISTA.

[Serf27]

Try to control it through Ista to bypass the switch.

[CharlotteE93]

When you say press the button, do you mean the console button or key fob button? When my battery was going out, the key fob buttons led to a similar problem of stopping halfway through.

When my salmon relays went, the top would just randomly not work. It would be down, I would go to close it and nothing. I would wait 30-60 minutes and try again, and it would close all the way just fine. Replacing the salmon relays fixed this.

Good luck!

[Keith325i]

Originally Posted by CharlotteE93

When you say press the button, do you mean the console button or key fob button? When my battery was going out, the key fob buttons led to a similar problem of stopping halfway through.

When my salmon relays went, the top would just randomly not work. It would be down, I would go to close it and nothing. I would wait 30-60 minutes and try again, and it would close all the way just fine. Replacing the salmon relays fixed this.

Good luck!

I only ever use the button in the centre console. It opens perfectly, but when I try to close it, I find myself pushing the button for up to 10 seconds before it start to activate the roof. Then it will get stuck during the closing process and the red warning light will flash. When I try again after a few seconds, it continues and finished closing. Hopefully ista will point to salmon relays. It was been raining here non stop so I haven’t had the chance to test it since.

[Keith325i]

Update: I was able to try out the roof today with ista connected and it did not detect any faults. The roof operated perfectly. I did notice that I really had to press down hard on the button at the centre console for the roof to start closing, so I think the button itself may have something to do with the previous failure (I let up on the pressure mid way through). It is annoying though as it seems like excessive pressure to get it to work.

Is it difficult to replace this switch?

[Serf27]

Ahh, faulty switch found.
It’s not difficult. You just need to remove the center console trim and replace the switch.

[skyliner]

The hardtops on E93s use a lot of battery power. Mine has become wonky each time I needed a new battery. In a car with a battery dating to 2007, I would definitely replace the battery before you start replacing switches, etc. You are way overdue in any case. I'm on my third and each of the first two lasted about seven years.

[Dx11]

Wait the battery is from 2007? Yeah, absolutely you need a new battery. I got some issues with mine last year, in 2022, while my car and battery are from 2012, so 10 years. Yours is 16 years! Damn that's way too long to keep a battery. Get a new one NOW before you will be stuck somewhere without starting very soon.

PS this is the one I bought, and it fits perfectly (not very fun to do alone!), and you can never have too many Ah!:

Varta Start Stop Plus G14 AGM accu 12V 95Ah 353x175x190x190

If you do replace it yourself, make sure to PROGRAM IT IN!!! That way the car knows it's new and will start charging it properly like it should. Some people say you don't have to program it in. This is REALLY WRONG.

[roadkillrob]

Please tell us how on earth you got 15 years out of your battery, that is a miracle, mine I thought I did good getting 7-8 years as always on a trickle charger!

[Keith325i]

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

Please tell us how on earth you got 15 years out of your battery, that is a miracle, mine I thought I did good getting 7-8 years as always on a trickle charger!

I was surprised when I realised too. It says 12/07 on the positive (I think) terminal which is the production month/year. I bought the car about 7 months ago from the original owner with 55k miles on it. Battery is still going strong anyways. In my case the switch was clogged with dirt so I cleaned it out and it’s working fine now.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by roadkillrob

Please tell us how on earth you got 15 years out of your battery, that is a miracle, mine I thought I did good getting 7-8 years as always on a trickle charger!

I just picked up a 2007 e93 335i and it was struggling to start. I figured the previous owner had it sitting a long time and it needed a charge, so I removed the battery to check. Original battery from 2007! The stamp on the terminal is the week and year they were made. I replaced with a new H8 90AH AGM (and registered the replacement) and all is good!

I think these batteries last so long because they're AGM, and they're in the trunk away from high heat like most batteries in the engine compartment. I bought a lottery ticket later that day too, I need to check it.

[Brandoch]

I had to do the heater core in my e93 M3, upon removing my center consol I noticed that the switch for the top was badly corroded. My top was operating ok ish before but was jumpy at times. Now it operates much smoother after cleaning the corroded terminals.