JasonH

My mistake, I've checked and the exact fluid is "AeroShell Fluid 41" and I bought it online from Flight Equipment | Pilot Supplies | Pilot Shop |

You get a litre in a tin though, you'll have plenty spare, I have!

andystone

5L tins though! Seems a waste for the small amount i need.

InsipidMonkey

Has anyone disassembled and cleaned their motor? I was repairing some loose trim pieces last night and noticed the cover retract mechanism, and decided to take a stab at repairing it. I managed to get everything apart and figure out how it works, but can't get the motor reassembled. There doesn't seem to be any way to hold the brushes in place while replacing the commutator. Any ideas?

I also tried looking for a replacement motor, but can't find any part numbers on realoem. Looking up the part number on the motor housing (8 986 201) only yields results for the entire assembly from eBay Germany: BMW 5er E61 & LCI Komfortbedienungseinheit Automatische Heckklappenbetätigung | eBay

Rogerm

I came across this thread because this same thing happened to me yesterday. I have the auto tailgate option on my 2008 E61 535D MSport and it has always worked OK till yesterday when it decided to remain in the "open" position at the top end of the guide rails.

Having scoured the web I came to this forum. On the way i found many with the same issue and many over-complicated solutions. The problem is that having somehow jumped beyond the top lever of the guide rail, if you open the tailgate or the tailgate window the guide mechanism simply whirrs its way to the top position and traps the cross-rod of the load cover up there. No amount if wiggling will release it. It is well and truly stuck!

Some members have advocated taking of the gear-box cover that drives the mechanism and manually winding down the top levers, which apparently works but is still a tad over-complex for my liking. Some have even taken out the drive motor and refurbed it.

However I like simplicity and I eventually came across a posting which recommended simply crawling into the trunk via the back seats with the tailgate closed and then twisting out the cross rod and relocating it at the lower end of the track in the usual way.. Logical really - the mechanism stays in the Down position with the tailgate closed and the cross-rod is not trapped!

Did this today and it took about 2 minutes! Thanks to all who have contributed on this issue!

Lotus99

LOL, well done!

Good old KISS rule: Keep It Simple Stupid!

vash68

My cover stopped rolling down yesterday 2009 xiT with 56kmi on it after I picked it up from dealer service for coolant pump replacement

I can no longer hear that whining noise when I open/close the trunk or glass that used to be accompanied by a moving roll-up cover. I could not find a fuse for this option either in Bentley manual, so I assume the whole rear gate and roll-up feature are on fuse #55 (40amp) in the rear right fender.

I can easily relocate the cross rod of the flexible plastic cover up and down the tracks, as suggested in a post above, but it does not fix the problem. How do I determine which position the tracks are in, up or down?


Can anybody post a picture of what exactly moves the cross rod within the side tracks?
All I see in those tracks is a snake-like gear rods, that no longer rotate when I close or open the trunk/glass, but I can't figure out how the ends of the cross rod engage with those rotating rods?

andystone

how does the trim come off?

vash68

I removed plastic trim over a weekend and answered my own questions.
Here is the "cover cross rod pusher" - in my case that little black plastic tab was hidden under the rubber stop/cover in the top most position of the track:



Below are a few pics of the motor that moves the "rod pusher" up and down their tracks on left and right side of tailgate.

I cleaned and greased the motor and verified the "rod pushers" can be easily moved by pulling on the "fuzzy springs" inside the tubes at the plastic gear case opening.


Here is the gear/motor assembly just before coming off the car: I marked those screws.
NOTE: there is one more shiny screw which is not shown here - it is located at the bottom of the assembly where you see the wire loom - remove that one too! I broke one leg of the cover because I did not see it




After removing all shiny and 2 black screws, pop the cover and you can see where the "fuzzy springs" connect to the motor:


A few pix of a motor overhaul - I cleaned durty brushes and put some fresh grease where it belongs:









After I did all this and checked the motor wiring and ran it on the bench from 12v DC source, I figured out how to test the motor WITHOUT removing it from the car.

Below, you can see me connecting 12V power to Green and White wires of the motor connector. Rotation direction depends on polarity supplied to those two wires.




So the problem in my case is that once everything is installed back on the car, the White and Green wires never get any voltage!
Where as the thin brown and red/blue wires have constant 12V.

My Bentley repair manual book is useless (once again!) as it does not even have this cargo cover roll up motor on schematics

I traced White and Green wires only by colors running to Micro Power Module (which doesn't make much sense) under the spare tire, but troubleshooting MPM is beyond of my abilities (no cable or software).
Any ideas out there? Is it possible that dealer, while replacing coolant pump and coding the car to it, coded out the roll up cover feature completely?

vash68

Just re-read post 22 by Mantrguy and realised there has to be one more "sensor" somewhere, because I also noticed the same thing:

Note that, for some reason, I wasn't able to get the motor to actuate before re-installing everything. I think perhaps there's a magnet or something in the axle that 'tells' the system that the cargo cover is in place, so that when the cargo cover is retracted in its holder, the motor does not actuate. So, you'll have to put everything back in place (except for possibly the lower sill plate) in order to test it.


So if anybody knows what that "sensor" is and where it is located, please chime in.

Laco19

Look at the schematics (In attachment) maybe help you.
Modules located under spare tyre are often damaged by water, so you should look inside LCPA module (manufacturer TEMIC, 3 connectors) if is without oxidation.
You can also check supply voltage from fuse at pin 7 LCPA module (thick red/white wire).