Hullo every one,

I’m new to this forum.
I have a BMW M3 1997 and I’m from London – Britain.

My soft-top stopped working and I’m not sure what the problem’s, neither does BMW garage!

I had my top down and eventually loud noise started to come from the boot and the switch started flashing.

When I turned the engine off the noise stopped but the switch continued flashing;
I called BMW garage and they talked me through on how to manually put the roof back on.

I took the car to them the next day and they spent the whole day with it but they wouldn’t tell me
Precisely what the problem is – they said it might be a switch!
They replaced the switch the following day and still the roof is not working; to which they said it might be the motor!

I need your help please; on how I can determine if it’s the motor and which one? Because I thought I buy a second hand one and replace it myself but the seller informed me there are 2 motors (1 for the flap and another for the main roof).

Or if you know of a garage that specialises in soft-top repairs please let me know.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Best wishes,

Paul

Paul,

This is a Camaro site. I own a 323i convertible and have been able to find all of the information I needed here:

http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e36/

Hi Paul - You are really stretching things asking about a modern BMW convertible on a site that is all about 1960's vintage Camaros. I'm sure if someone is able to help they will but that's a long shot. I will say you do need to find a better shop to take your car to as it should be basic trouble shooting to isolate if the problem is mechanical, electric or hydraulic in nature. On that note finding a Camaro owner here from London that knows a BMW mechanic to recomend is a needle in a haystack at best... Good luck though.

Paul, did someone you know recommend you to post the question on this site?

Doesn't it rain allot in London, kinda making a conv useless?

Actually I have BMW seats in my 69 Convertible, but I really don't know anything about the rest of the car. Sorry Paul.

Head over to that Bimmer site, I KNOW those guys aren't as hands on as we are but they would be your best bet.

Good Luck

Bmtrouble You!!!

what happens when you press the button now? and yeah i second the finding a new shop. i dont like auto shops, especialy the car dealer shops. they are just wanting more money. i was charged 200$ for my nissan to have them tell me that it might be a huge list of problems. then they said they could try and fix it. HAH!

what happens when you press the button now? and yeah i second the finding a new shop. i dont like auto shops, especialy the car dealer shops. they are just wanting more money. i was charged 200$ for my nissan to have them tell me that it might be a huge list of problems. then they said they could try and fix it. HAH!

Hi,
Many thanks to every one who has responded to my cry!

When I press the button, the red light on the button flashes continuously and loud noise comes from the car boot (I guess from the motor).

best wishes,

Paul

Paul,
I had the same problem on a '91 500SL MB. It was just low on hydraulic fluid, I filled it up and it worked fine, however the bigger problem was that I had a leak in one of the pistons that operated the top.