[Smoke4U]

Hello,

I believe this is a bad pump but would like to hear about other E93 owners who have experienced this problem. Did anybody's top go up in stutters/jerkiness?

There have been owners who have said they've gotten their pump replaced but the symptoms were never explained clearly.

Please checkout this video starting at 0:39 to see what I mean. This is happening now in both opening and closing the top.

Salmon Colored Relays Replaced 1.5 yrs ago and again this weekend, so that isn't the problem. BTW BMW upped the amps from 22A to 32A on the new salmon colored relays.

I'd really like to know if anyone experienced this problem and their solution. I am loathe to take it to the dealer to get screwed. Thanks!

Forgot to add that I have the Mods4Cars SmartTop module installed. I have not taken it out of the loop to see if that is causing the issue, but I will probably test that later today.

[fun2drive]

Mine might make a little noise going up but nothing like yours. The top going up like that is when the hydraulic pressure and pump are working to their max. I would check your site glass on the pump reservoir and see if it is low. If not it sure looks like your pump is weak.
Have you done the lubing of the linkage by the way? It helps to lower the effort the pump has to put out to open the top.

[Smoke4U]

Thx for the response. The electric whine is due to not having the pump cover sealed up. It is incredibly loud but quiets down to normal when it is on.

Hydraulic unit is at the right fluid level and there are no leaks. I agree that the hydraulic pump is working to the max and that is why we're seeing the jerkiness.

I haven't lubed it in awhile so I'll hit it with the HKS spray, but that can't be the reason.

The weak pump is probably the reason but I cannot confirm this. I'd like to hear from some people who have had their pump replaced to see if it behaved similarly to mine and was fixed with a pump swap.

[Smoke4U]

HHS-K lubricant definitely helped, but didn't solve it entirely.

I sprayed all the joints down liberally with the lube and it began to help. It was still jerky and stopped the first 3 times opening/closing (all the while I'm lubing what I can when it's stopped and in motion).

After those 3 times it opened/closed 3 times normally.

Then it started having the jerks coming out of the boot again. Even when retracting I would hear the error chime, but it did go into the boot no problem.

So what I would say now is that I wouldn't be afraid to put the top down anymore, but the jerkiness is still there when putting it up and can cause it to either not lift out of the trunk or stop midway with the roof folded on top of itself at the midway point.

So anybody else seen this and solved this problem?

[Smoke4U]

Top won't come out of the boot without a manual assist now. Does the jerkiness thing again.

[fun2drive]

Manual assist is a pretty clear indication your pump is not pushing sufficient pressure to allow the top to operate as it should.
I am not sure you are going to get much more confirmation than that. When the top needs maximum effort the hydraulic pump is not giving it.
I think it is time to seek a replacement pump. I don't think they are rebuild-able but there might be a company out there that does that.

What else could it be but the pump?

[mxchris727]

Only thing I can think of besides the pump is the valve block not functioning properly. I believe that it is part of the pump on our cars.

[Smoke4U]

Thanks for the tips. I'll write back when I have it fixed to let you know the solution.

[Topless]

In never close or open my top if my engine is not running.

[Krynos]

I know you don't want to take it to the dealer, but realistically if your roof has issues - they are the best resource for getting it fixed. Check with the service advisor to see if they have a tech with the roof certification and E93 experience - that will help a lot.

Might not have to get it repaired there, but will probably be worth a couple of hours of diagnostic time to find out what the primary issue is.

Then you can try and DIY it, roll the dice on an Indy, or suck it up and pay the dealer

[Smoke4U]

Originally Posted by Krynos

I know you don't want to take it to the dealer, but realistically if your roof has issues - they are the best resource for getting it fixed. Check with the service advisor to see if they have a tech with the roof certification and E93 experience - that will help a lot.

Might not have to get it repaired there, but will probably be worth a couple of hours of diagnostic time to find out what the primary issue is.

Then you can try and DIY it, roll the dice on an Indy, or suck it up and pay the dealer

Good advice. I'll write back w/final status soon.

[Smoke4U]

Originally Posted by Topless

In never close or open my top if my engine is not running.

In my case it really makes no difference. I routinely opened the top without it running remotely using my key fob from inside the house. Also walking to it in a parking lot I'll hit the key fob and open it up. W/SmartTop if you're not using that feature (press once for 4 seconds and release) then you're not getting your money's worth out of it

This is definitely a bad pump/other weird sh!t outside of the electronic gremlins.