Open door policy

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ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

Z1 has been standing in my garage for two weeks. As it was a nice day, I thought I'd take it out for an errand 20 miles away. Annoyingly, the battery had run down and I can't open the doors. Yes I know there's a manual over-ride procedure which I've used successfully before but this time I can't quite get the key to a horizontal position, so a can't push either door down manually. Since last time, I've got the doors serviced so perhaps the whole mechanism is stiffer.
Any ideas?
Oh and by the way, the roof is up. And no, I don't want to cut a hole in it!

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Lord Taki
Joined: Mon 21 Nov, 2005 17:33
Posts: 108

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Location: Nice
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Re: Open door policy

Post by Lord Taki »

A former owner told me his technique (he wasn't aware of the overide with the key).

Open the trunk, move upward the separation between the trunk and the front, use a broom or something long enough to reach the inside trigger.
felix
Joined: Sat 02 Jul, 2005 16:25
Posts: 602

  Z1 roadster

Re: Open door policy

Post by felix »

I have struggled to use the emergency door opening process myself. It reads "turn the key to the front, simultaneously applying gentle pressure to the lock, until the key reaches the horizontal limit position. Then press the lock fully in and push the door down by hand."

Is the divider panel in place between the boot and the passenger compartment? If not you might be able to fashion a broom handle with a hook to open the bonnet and then use the charging point?
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Green Genie
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Joined: Thu 01 May, 2008 17:29
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Location: Hertfordshire

Re: Open door policy

Post by Green Genie »

Hi Chris

Sorry to hear of your door troubles, I know this is a bit like bolting the stable door after the horse has gone, but I always store my car over the winter months with the rear divider removed and left on the passenger seat. This can help as you can unlock the boot and wriggle through to the inner door release and the bonnet release.

Like I say not much help to you now but something for future storage?

Taken from my manual (which I'm sure your aware of) but may help others...

Z1 DOORS

To get into car with flat battery, carry out the following:-
1. Insert key.
2. Turn key forward to the unlock position.
3. Push barrel in slightly and turn key further past point of resistance
4. Release and remove key.
5. Push button in and then the door can be pushed down manually.





Emergency operation

in the event of a fault in the electrical system
To open from outside: turn the key to the front, simultaneously applying gentle pres­sure to the lock, until the key reaches the horizontal limit position. Then press the lock fully in and push the door down by hand.

To open from inside: pull the door release handle and then pull the door down by hand.

To close from outside: follow the same procedure at the lock as for opening. Then press in the lock completely and hold in briefly until the door can be pulled up by hand (considerable effort is necessary).

Warning:
Uncontrolled or inadvertent closing of win­dows and doors can cause injuries.

Always ensure that children do not play with the switches.

Always remove the ignition key when leav­ing the car.
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ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

Thanks all. At least I didn’t leave the handbook inside the car!
On a previous occasion I have done the emergency manual opening procedure without a hitch, but since then I've visited René Visser so there's absolutely no slack in the door mechanism.
Naturally the boot divider is in place but I'll push it up a bit and see if my late father's walking stick will work the internal handle. Thanks for the tip guys. I had thought I'd have to reach the bonnet release and then recharge the battery from the terminals inside the engine compartment.

The last battery lasted only 10 months and was replaced by the garage I bought it from as it was deemed faulty. Now after only a further 10 months I'm back in to square one.

How long can I expect the battery to hold up when the car is unused? My old Scénic, which I'm about to sell, started easily today after standing for three weeks; the Z1 had stood for just over two weeks.
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Open door policy

Post by pingu »

Is there any way that you can access the battery, or any of the wires coming from it?
Pingu
TJS
Joined: Mon 12 Sep, 2005 19:05
Posts: 474

  Z1 roadster

Re: Open door policy

Post by TJS »

Chris

If I leave the Z1 for a month the battery will be very weak, if not flat, so I use a ctek / accumate battery conditioner which can be switched on full time or on a timer for say 6 hours a day.

The car is parked under a dust cover door up, window down, when the ctek is attached with a lead direct from the battery with a socket behind the seat, others feed the connecting cable from the battery via the boot divider and connect in the boot. Crocodile clips via the engine bay or through an adapter to the power socket in the car are further options. My only advice is to make sure the charger unit sits on the floor or hangs from a wall, they can get hot, so I avoid leaving them on the seat or in the boot - longer socket / extension cables are available.

The ctek is probably the better unit albeit I also use an accumate which can switch between 12v and 6v ... the latter for the twin 6v batteries on the MG.

For long term storage, in my case since the Silverstone Classic, I simply disconnect the positive terminal on the battery, doors up, windows up, jump out of the car and raise the roof without locking it down and throw over the dust cover.

http://www.ctek.com/gb/en

http://accumate.co.uk/cg020001.htm

TJS
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Stoertie
Joined: Fri 04 Jun, 2004 05:52
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Location: near by Hamburg
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Re: Open door policy

Post by Stoertie »

pingu wrote:Is there any way that you can access the battery, or any of the wires coming from it?
you can use the lamp socket in the boot to charge the batterie with a low power charger ( limited by a 7.5A fuse ) just take out the bulb, connect the plus to red/green wire and minus to brown/blue and let the trunk lid open (if you want tho close the trunk lid, you have to connect minus to an other ground)... ;)

Merry Christmas to all of you
Michael
Men of steel driving cars of plastic! :-D

Sorry, for my poor english... schooltime is already a few years ago, but I try to do my very best! :-D

If you like, please visit Z1-Nordlichter / Leather Care / Roadster-Fashion.de

I believe I can fly... *lalala* Image
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

Fantastisch Michael. Besten Dank.
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

I connected the charger on a low setting to the boot light terminals. After 20 minutes I could open the doors. Then I reconnected the charger to the terminal in the engine compartment as specified in the manual and to a suspension turret. The charger shows that it is doing its job slowly but won't start the engine yet. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

After about 20 minutes with the charger connected to the bulb holder in the boot, it was possible to release the door mechanism. I couldn't feel any heat in the wiring but I thought it safer to open the bonnet and connect the charger to the charging points in the engine compartment. After seven hours charging, I can now start the car. I've disconnected the charger now and we'll see if the battery holds its charge overnight.
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Stoertie
Joined: Fri 04 Jun, 2004 05:52
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Re: Open door policy

Post by Stoertie »

Image

Guten Morgen Chris,

at my car I have mounted a connector inside the luggage compartment. This one, fits nearly perfect in one of the ventilation holes in the carpet at the right side. So I can connect the charger or the battery jogger very easy everytime, also when the car is locked and parks in front of my garage. (Sometimes Chrissy has a "customer-guest-car" for leather refurbishment here and then one of our Z1 must sleep outside... Image)

Best regards
Michael
Men of steel driving cars of plastic! :-D

Sorry, for my poor english... schooltime is already a few years ago, but I try to do my very best! :-D

If you like, please visit Z1-Nordlichter / Leather Care / Roadster-Fashion.de

I believe I can fly... *lalala* Image
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

It just needed (another) new battery. Now I have a time switch to put the trickle charger on for a couple of hours each day.
Initially, the garage thought the alternator was faulty but I couldn't see how that could be the case since I was able to drive 30 miles, but just couldn't start the car afterwards.
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Stoertie
Joined: Fri 04 Jun, 2004 05:52
Posts: 355

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Location: near by Hamburg
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Re: Open door policy

Post by Stoertie »

Hi Chris,

normal 30 miles ( ~50 km) must be enough to restart the engine directly after the tour.

When you have the chance to start the engine, you can measure the voltage of the battery. At my car has the max. alternator voltage is 13.9V... (I know it, because I needed the voltage for last project, the day running light)...

If it's more than 13.5V in your case, the alternator might be OK. - Otherwise an used alternator from an E30 325i is not so expencive and it's changed very quickly. :D

How old is the battery? My battery chargers (Cetek MXS 7.0 and Cetek MXS 10.0) have a reconditioning function… to run that function two or three times brought back my 10 years old bat. back to live after it was completely dead.

Regards
Michael
Men of steel driving cars of plastic! :-D

Sorry, for my poor english... schooltime is already a few years ago, but I try to do my very best! :-D

If you like, please visit Z1-Nordlichter / Leather Care / Roadster-Fashion.de

I believe I can fly... *lalala* Image
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pingu
Joined: Fri 30 Apr, 2004 16:01
Posts: 3412

  M roadster S50

Re: Open door policy

Post by pingu »

Yes, battery reconditioners seem expensive, but if you have more than one car, they will pay for themselves. I have been at the stage of emptying all the acid out and starting again with distilled water to bring one back to life - and it worked :D .

Glad that you're back in the car :) .
Pingu
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Stoertie
Joined: Fri 04 Jun, 2004 05:52
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Location: near by Hamburg
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Re: Open door policy

Post by Stoertie »

pingu wrote:Yes, battery reconditioners seem expensive.
A Cetek MXS 7.0 is enough for a Z1 and cost round about 105,- Euro plus shipping. That is rally not expensive when you drive a 30.000+X Euro car... :lol:
And you can use the MXS 7.0 as a battery jogger the whole year, so that the car is connected to all the time...

I use the MXS 10.0 for our big 95 Ah AGM battery in the E39 touring, because it has a special AGM mode...

BTW:
When you change the acid inside a battery to water it might work shortly, but it will have never the same power, as a battery with the first filling.
Maybe you have had a short between the lead plates inside because of a lot of lead deposit at the ground of the battery... to flush out this deposit might help for a short time, but generally the live time of this battery is over. The acid is needed as the transport medium for the electrons and much more better then water. So if you try to change the liquid, change old acid to fresh acid... :D

Regards
Michael
Men of steel driving cars of plastic! :-D

Sorry, for my poor english... schooltime is already a few years ago, but I try to do my very best! :-D

If you like, please visit Z1-Nordlichter / Leather Care / Roadster-Fashion.de

I believe I can fly... *lalala* Image
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

The garage has sent the battery back to the manufacturer for testing. They may refund me the cost of the new battery.
On the bright side, their initial tests suggested I needed a new alternator (which I thought unlikely, as I could run the car a long way once it was started), and the battery was cheaper than an alternator!
Cabrioot
Joined: Wed 23 Oct, 2013 21:31
Posts: 99

  Z1 roadster

Re: Open door policy

Post by Cabrioot »

On a previous occasion I have done the emergency manual opening procedure without a hitch, but since then I've visited René Visser so there's absolutely no slack in the door mechanism.


Ho is Rene Visser ?thanks :?:
ChrisS
Joined: Thu 30 Jul, 2009 09:11
Posts: 189

  Z1 roadster
Location: Witney

Re: Open door policy

Post by ChrisS »

René is a Z1 guru in the northern Netherlands. He instructed us on our Technical Weekend in 2014. He makes the doors work better than BMW ever did and charges a bit less than other sources of expertise. See www.rkv-trading.nl
Cabrioot
Joined: Wed 23 Oct, 2013 21:31
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  Z1 roadster

Re: Open door policy

Post by Cabrioot »

Thanks. No problem yet but good to now fore the future. :rtm:
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