Roof not Closing/Opening Recurring problem Solved.

[cockneyrebel]

Hi guys previously posted a fault on my roof not closing on one occassion which strangely cured itself. and just wanted to let you know for future reference on roof problems that the same thing happened again to me yesterday.
Took the roof down whilst changing out the door speakers for new updated ones. Once completed the roof refused to close at all and just got the audible bleeps as previously. Closed the roof manually and latched the boot in place temporarily as the full latching sequence of the upper boot can only be achieved when driven electrically. Went on a 20 minute drive down the local motorway, pulled over and tried the closing sequence and voila it worked.
This proves that in both instances the problem seems to be with my battery! even though the car starts first time every time there must be something monitoring the battery and telling the ECU that it doesn't have enough power, which a short drive to charge the battery seems to cure.

Not sure if this will help anyone but thought I'd post anyway as its definately a cause of the roof not opening or closing.

[GrandadMonkey]

Thanks for that. I never operate the roof without the engine running. That way the battery should always be receiving a charge while it is having to undertake the significant load of opening or closing the roof.

[Capncol]

That's good advice leaving the engine running.

[cockneyrebel]

Hi guys, i also always have the engine running before operating the roof which is why i dont understand why it fails to close, possibly i have a faulty cell in the battery or something?

[Capncol]

Think of it this way.
The motor for the pump probably draws a similar current to your starter motor. You generally only operate the starter for what? 2-3 seconds maybe? Not enough to completely kill a poorley battery or show symptoms that it's on its way out, but if you then immediately start to open the roof, you are then operating a similar load for maybe a further 20-30 seconds and that is probably enough to drain the battery below the theshold that the roof electrics are comfortable with. Your Alternator is not likely to keep up with the load even with the engine running.
I would get the battery tested, or if it's older than 3-4 years, change it anyway.