I am pleased.

A couple of weeks ago, I drove my just purchased 1995 325i Convertible home from Vancouver, Washington to my home in Federal Way, Washington. The next day the convertible top worked fine.

The very next day the convertible top would not lower past the point of raising the back window partially vertical. So today I scheduled an appointment for Friday, Oct 19th at "Auburn Foreign Car" to get an oil change plus get the convertible top problem investigated.

Tonight after the appointment had been scheduled, I tried the convertible top and it worked. So out for drive I went with a friend. When I got home, the top went back up fine. An hour later in my driveway, I tried the convertible top and it went down/up fine.

So the convertible top has repaired itself ??

I am planning to keep my appointment and have the convertible top tuned ... or should I leave it alone ??

Thanks for the help.

I am planning to keep my appointment and have the convertible top tuned ... or should I leave it alone ??


Murphy says that if you have it tuned they will foul it all up and if you leave it alone it will cease to operate 5 minutes after leaving your mechanic.:stickoutt

Its to do with the 4th 'bar' in the roof (i think) raising up to a vertical position to allow the one after the window to follow, to allow the storage lid to open,

It may be that you were on a slight hill/angle and the bars had a slight advantage when lowering the roof.

I have to pull my forth bar forward after getting a new top. I need to put bungee cords on it, in my spare time! For now reaching back and pulling forward is a small price to pay. :)

Murphy says that if you have it tuned they will foul it all up and if you leave it alone it will cease to operate 5 minutes after leaving your mechanic.:stickoutt

+1 :lol :lol :lol :lol

but so F-ing TRUE!!

I have to pull my forth bar forward after getting a new top. I need to put bungee cords on it, in my spare time! For now reaching back and pulling forward is a small price to pay. :)

I just got a new top with new tension straps and have the same problem. The company that installed the top is responsible for making it work right and has told me to bring it in so they can go over their work again.

well i need that to happen to mine ..but my whole thing has went out of whck so its hitting the top..sucks

Finagle's Commentary on Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an Optomist!"


OP....
Intermittent switch is probable cause -- flakey contacts or just wear on plastics.
Probably S4 from what I have.

Here: is a quickie -- Email me with your address and I will send you a pdf I found with "top adjustment proceedures" from BMW.

===========================
Group 54 54 08 96 Woodcliff Lake, N.J. Nov. 1996
Special Roofs Product Engineering
This Service Information bulletin supersedes orange S.I. 54 08 96 dated October 1996 which should be removed and discarded from your S.I. binder.

SUBJECT: E-M Top Stops at Midpoint when Lowering Top
MODEL: 328i Convertible
Situation: On some 328i Convertibles the customer may complain of the top stopping in the middle of the lowering cycle, but once the front of the top is pushed up again, the top continues to operate normally. This can be a very intermittent problem, but seems to occur more frequently after the car has been allowed to sit in the hot sun.
The problem is caused when the rear bow drops into the opened storage well so rapidly that the weight of he rear bow causes the tensioning bars to straighten to the point that the top locks in position. When the front of the top is lifted again, the tensioning bars unlock, and the top operates normally from that point on.
Correction: Before making any modifications, check to ensure that micro-switch S4 on the left tensioning bar is properly adjusted.
If the micro-switch is properly adjusted, run the top until the rear bow is in the vertical
position.
Locate the pop rivets that fasten the tensioning strap to the rear bow on each
side.
Drill out the rivets to release the straps, and pull the straps back 7 mm. Make
two new holes in the straps at this location and rivet the straps in place.
This modification shortens the effective length of the tensioning strap, thereby slowing down the drop of the rear bow into the opened storage well sufficiently to prevent the tension bars from locking.
================================

Finagle's Commentary on Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an Optomist!"

Well, the top will automatically do it's little resyncronization every x number of cycles. I think it's 12 or 20 or something... Maybe that happened.

Also, like others have said, the slightest little difference from parking on sloped vs. flat will often be just enough to make a microswitch get contact or not. I know that my top is more likely to need the 2nd "nudge" when it's parked at certain angles. Shoot, I'd imagine that temperature would even effect the elasticity of the top and related components.

I'd imagine that the shop would not be able to replicate your problem and wouldn't be able to "fix" something that they can't observe is wrong. Talk it over with them; see what they think. If they're honest, they'll point you in the right direction.

Funny. I live in Vancouver, and recently went up to the Seattle area to buy my E36 convertible!

Finagle's Commentary on Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an Optomist!"


OP....
Intermittent switch is probable cause -- flakey contacts or just wear on plastics.
Probably S4 from what I have.

Here: is a quickie -- Email me with your address and I will send you a pdf I found with "top adjustment proceedures" from BMW.

===========================
Group 54 54 08 96 Woodcliff Lake, N.J. Nov. 1996
Special Roofs Product Engineering
This Service Information bulletin supersedes orange S.I. 54 08 96 dated October 1996 which should be removed and discarded from your S.I. binder.

SUBJECT: E-M Top Stops at Midpoint when Lowering Top
MODEL: 328i Convertible
Situation: On some 328i Convertibles the customer may complain of the top stopping in the middle of the lowering cycle, but once the front of the top is pushed up again, the top continues to operate normally. This can be a very intermittent problem, but seems to occur more frequently after the car has been allowed to sit in the hot sun.
The problem is caused when the rear bow drops into the opened storage well so rapidly that the weight of he rear bow causes the tensioning bars to straighten to the point that the top locks in position. When the front of the top is lifted again, the tensioning bars unlock, and the top operates normally from that point on.
Correction: Before making any modifications, check to ensure that micro-switch S4 on the left tensioning bar is properly adjusted.
If the micro-switch is properly adjusted, run the top until the rear bow is in the vertical
position.
Locate the pop rivets that fasten the tensioning strap to the rear bow on each
side.
Drill out the rivets to release the straps, and pull the straps back 7 mm. Make
two new holes in the straps at this location and rivet the straps in place.
This modification shortens the effective length of the tensioning strap, thereby slowing down the drop of the rear bow into the opened storage well sufficiently to prevent the tension bars from locking.
================================

Finagle's Commentary on Murphy's Law: "Murphy was an Optomist!"

Send me the pdf...I am having the same problem with my Vert....my email address is mistere84@msn.com

Send me the pdf...I am having the same problem with my Vert....my email address is beattyd@yahoo.com

My top is working fine now... Auburn Foreign looked at it and said likely a weak tension strap was the reason for the problem which has now disappeared. Really enjoying the convertible. 70+ today in Seattle so drove all day with the top down.

I think those are linked from the stickies.. if not, I'll look for it in my TIS

Send me the pdf...I am having the same problem with my Vert.... (beattyd@.)
PDFs Sent :redspot

PDF received.. Thanks for the support.