The plastic gears in the convertible top motor that latch the top to the windshield are a common failure point. I walk through how to access and replace this latch gear. Vehicle in the video is a 2005 E46 325Ci.
I noticed at the end of your video, after the cowl latches unlocked, your top stopped opening and you mentioned that you thought it was now pump related. I know this video has been out for over a year, but if you haven't fixed it yet, I have a solution for you. The wire harness that runs from your electric motor, that you just replaced the gears in, and the drivers side cowl latch, probably has a broken wire or multiple broken wires. This wire harness contains 6 wires. Two larger power wires and 4 smaller sensor wires. The smaller wires are the ones that tend to break. The break usually occurs where the harness bends at the first joint on the drivers side where the frame has to bend to fold. Sometimes you can test this joint area by opening the top until the top stops opening and continue to hold down the open button. Now with the open button still pressed, take your finger and move the harness around and see if the top continues to open. There is also a small cable clamp there holding down the cabe. Take out the small screw and this should free up the joint to move the wires around. If the top starts to move again, it's the wire or wires in the harness. Now you can carefully cut open the black mesh wire loom and repair the broken wires. One note, sometimes the wires will appear ok because the wire insulation jacket is not broken, but the wire inside is broken. Hopefully this help you out, or anyone else with this problem.
@@jakerooz9313 Me too! I just tightened it what seemed to be not too tight, but upon getting out of the car I heard a SNAP and the screw inside that access now spins freely :-/ Glad to find this video!!
ik this video is 2 years old now, but where did you find an allen socket long enough to reach? im looking locally and havent found a single place (yes, including harbor freight) that has one long enough edit: this is the best video i've found on youtube, so thank you dearly for making an amazing video on this. i was previously watching a video that was in 240p by a guy that barely spoke english and was from 6 years ago lol
Great video hello from Egypt I have same exact problem did u found out what was the issue in the end .let me know plz maybe can help me figure out mine
There is something terribly wrong with my top latch. The allen head thats supposed to be accessible in the middle of the top is missing. Also the allen used to unlatch the top only turns so far as if its locked up. I cant get the top down far enough to reach the t-20 hex head screws underneath the liner. Any help would be appreciated.
I had the same problem. You might have the latches broken mine are cracked I’m not sure how I even got mine open it took 2 days then the gear replacement didn’t even work
I have the opposite problem, kinda. The top closes but the passenger side won't do what i call the final closing step so from the outside you can see the separation from windshield
i did some research because I'm having the same problem. its the plastic piece on the latch, its broken. you can fix it by drilling through and securing it with a nut and bolt.
Hi! I just did this today. Challenging and I still have yet to put it back together. I had the same problem with the latch motor mounting bolt breaking. Do you happen to have a part number or a source for this part please? Again, very helpful. Thanks!!
If that top was replaced, there's a chance they didn't bleed the air out of the hydraulic system. You can hear the hydraulic pump working, so it's either too low or there is air in it.
I've checked the pump, it is full. The system is self bleeding so there is no bleed procedure. I believe the seals in the pump are bad which is causing it not to build pressure. The pump it self works, it just doesn't build pressure.
My latch gear comes completely out and will not manually unlock the convertible because it does not catch when performing the counter clockwise with the allen wrench to manually open it. How can I fully manually open the convertible in this case?
Unfortunately my left latch is broken. When I look inside the hole for the 5mm Allen there is no bolt! I'm afraid that my top by be locked for life. If I can't get it open I'm just gonna sell the car because it needs a new top. If I can't get it open I can't replace the top.. has anyone ran into this problem? I may have to cut up the top to get to the 5mm bolt and open the latch.
