Getting Ready to Swap-Out Roof Sensors

[mikebravo]

I am currently suffering with roof fault 1000 and have decided to swap-out the roof sensors myself, with help from the guide that has already been posted by @Lambeth Cali . My question is about the battery disconnection. Lambeth Cali recommends to disconnect the engine battery and both leisure batteries prior to fiddling with the roof wiring. However, I've seen other forum members say that only the engine battery needs to be disconnected in order to make safe. So, can anyone provide a definitive answer on this?

Also, what precautions should I take prior to touching the battery terminals? Are gloves required?

Thanks

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I used rubber washing up gloves and was just very careful.

Replacing Halls Sensors myself (hopefully)

Hi I‘ve been having trouble with my roof. Actually it goes up and down fine but the control unit seems to think it’s up all the time. This has happened intermittently before but having replaced my control unit last summer as the screen finally died, the brand new one now chimes to alert me that...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

This was the discussion I had before deciding to disconnect all 3. I had asked others. Best of luck.

 

[WelshGas]

I am currently suffering with roof fault 1000 and have decided to swap-out the roof sensors myself, with help from the guide that has already been posted by @Lambeth Cali . My question is about the battery disconnection. Lambeth Cali recommends to disconnect the engine battery and both leisure batteries prior to fiddling with the roof wiring. However, I've seen other forum members say that only the engine battery needs to be disconnected in order to make safe. So, can anyone provide a definitive answer on this?

Also, what precautions should I take prior to touching the battery terminals? Are gloves required?

Thanks

On the safe side, Disconnect both Leisure and Engine battery.
Engine battery. Disconnect the Black negative terminal. That breaks the circuit.
Leisure batteries, rear battery - undo the battery clamp and you can pull it out, the leads are long enough, and use something like a paint scraper to slide it over the lip. Undo black -tve lead and then the red +tve lead but don’t let it touch any metal work and insulate it by putting a rubber glove over it. It is connected to the front leisure battery so is still live.
Front battery - unbolt seat and gently lean it forward to rest on the Dashboard. There are leads to the seat. You can disconnect if you wish, but shouldn’t need too. Don’t switch on the Ignition until these leads are reconnected.
Remove rubber cover and then disconnect the black -tve lead followed by the red +tve lead. You don’t have to insulate the red lead as it is now dead.
Reconnecting is the reverse of the above.
You don’t have to wear insulating gloves for the job.

 

[mikebravo]

On the safe side, Disconnect both Leisure and Engine battery.
Engine battery. Disconnect the Black negative terminal. That breaks the circuit.
Leisure batteries, rear battery - undo the battery clamp and you can pull it out, the leads are long enough, and use something like a paint scraper to slide it over the lip. Undo black -tve lead and then the red +tve lead but don’t let it touch any metal work and insulate it by putting a rubber glove over it. It is connected to the front leisure battery so is still live.
Front battery - unbolt seat and gently lean it forward to rest on the Dashboard. There are leads to the seat. You can disconnect if you wish, but shouldn’t need too. Don’t switch on the Ignition until these leads are reconnected.
Remove rubber cover and then disconnect the black -tve lead followed by the red +tve lead. You don’t have to insulate the red lead as it is now dead.
Reconnecting is the reverse of the above.
You don’t have to wear insulating gloves for the job.

Thanks very much; That’s really good advice.

 

[mikedgreen]

Hello Mike. Did you manage to get your roof fixed yourself or have you had someone else do it? I have the same problem and was hoping to find a local auto electrician to fix it. I live in West Lothian. Thanks.

 

[mikebravo]

Hello Mike. Did you manage to get your roof fixed yourself or have you had someone else do it? I have the same problem and was hoping to find a local auto electrician to fix it. I live in West Lothian. Thanks.

Hi, I struggled to find anyone who would take on the job. And I still haven’t attempted it myself; I’ve been procrastinating - even though I have bought the sensors and the tools to do it. I just need to look out for a dry day and bite the bullet!

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Mobile auto electric services | G.C. Mobile Auto Electrics

G.C. Mobile Auto Electrics is a mobile auto electric service throughout Lothian, Midlothian and Edinburgh. From replacing your car alarm to checking your car batteries, we can do it all. Call us today!

www.gcautoelectrics.co.uk

Just from Google.

Good reviews on Yell

https://www.yell.com/biz/g-c-mobile-auto-electrics-rosewell-7502880/

 

[mikedgreen]

Thanks Mike and Lambeth Cali. My van was in for an annual service this morning at John Clarke VW Commercial near Edinburgh so asked them for a price to carry out the roof repair. Was quoted £1526. Will only go back to them as a last resort. Will try local auto electricians including the one on the link you provided.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Hi, I struggled to find anyone who would take on the job. And I still haven’t attempted it myself; I’ve been procrastinating - even though I have bought the sensors and the tools to do it. I just need to look out for a dry day and bite the bullet!

I honestly am not mechanically minded. No DIY whizz. I never go near the engine. I have quite a negative view of the VW dealers near me. If you do it methodically it’s pretty straightforward. You or an electrician shouldn’t have any problems.

I think I quite liked getting to know my van, where the batteries were etc etc.

The weather is important. I have an electric door so I couldn’t even shut it once the battery was disconnected.

 

[mikebravo]

Thanks Mike and Lambeth Cali. My van was in for an annual service this morning at John Clarke VW Commercial near Edinburgh so asked them for a price to carry out the roof repair. Was quoted £1526. Will only go back to them as a last resort. Will try local auto electricians including the one on the link you provided.

Hi Mike... any update from your side? I think I'll be unable to do the job myself because now I can't get the roof open at all.

 

[Azteccamper]

Hi Mike... any update from your side? I think I'll be unable to do the job myself because now I can't get the roof open at all.

Getting the roof open was my downfall. I had the sensors all ready to go, but, like you, was unable to open roof. I was afraid that my car electric knowledge was not good enough and afraid I might do further damage to the control panel, etc.
At this point I handed it over to VW to repair unfortunately. They did a good job but at a price!

 

[mikedgreen]

Hi Mike... any update from your side? I think I'll be unable to do the job myself because now I can't get the roof open at all.

Mike - I ended up getting it done by a local auto electrician In Bathgate (PLA Automotive) who appreciated the ‘how to‘ from Lambeth Cali - thanks for that. As far as I can tell they’ve done the job well and replaced all 4 sensors with BMW parts, but it cost me £1250. It was supposed to be about £1000 but they ran into problems with one of the hydraulic hoses on the last one or two sensors. Nearly £300 cheaper than the VW quote but I’m not sure there was a guarantee to do it for that price or if that was an initial estimate.
Were you in the same ball park with what you were charged Aztec Camper?

 

[mikebravo]

Mike - I ended up getting it done by a local auto electrician In Bathgate (PLA Automotive) who appreciated the ‘how to‘ from Lambeth Cali - thanks for that. As far as I can tell they’ve done the job well and replaced all 4 sensors with BMW parts, but it cost me £1250. It was supposed to be about £1000 but they ran into problems with one of the hydraulic hoses on the last one or two sensors. Nearly £300 cheaper than the VW quote but I’m not sure there was a guarantee to do it for that price or if that was an initial estimate.
Were you in the same ball park with what you were charged Aztec Camper?

Thanks for getting back to me. Glad you managed to get yours sorted and good to know the sensors are at fault. I know it’s pricey but I may have to do the same as you and it’s good to know there is a garage who have been through it already. I’ll be a lot happier when i get everything working again. Did they tell you exactly what work they did on the hydraulic hose? Is there any obvious repair to it that you can see? Does your invoice give a breakdown of the costs?

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks for getting back to me. Glad you managed to get yours sorted and good to know the sensors are at fault. I know it’s pricey but I may have to do the same as you and it’s good to know there is a garage who have been through it already. I’ll be a lot happier when i get everything working again. Did they tell you exactly what work they did on the hydraulic hose? Is there any obvious repair to it that you can see? Does your invoice give a breakdown of the costs?

Of course you could go for the alternative £450 repair.

Roof fault message 100 - and my enhance remote control solution!

After seven years of owning my Cali purchased new in 2015, I got the dreaded roof fault, annoying chime and error code 1000…I found the awesome instructions that Lambeth Cali did regarding the sensors but concluded that a lack of time and confidence meant that I would need another solution...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[pmuk]

I used rubber washing up gloves and was just very careful.

Replacing Halls Sensors myself (hopefully)

Hi I‘ve been having trouble with my roof. Actually it goes up and down fine but the control unit seems to think it’s up all the time. This has happened intermittently before but having replaced my control unit last summer as the screen finally died, the brand new one now chimes to alert me that...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

This was the discussion I had before deciding to disconnect all 3. I had asked others. Best of luck.

View attachment 92797

Instead of removing the battery could you just remove the sensor loom plugged into the roof ECU? Where is the ECU located?

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Instead of removing the battery could you just remove the sensor loom plugged into the roof ECU? Where is the ECU located?

Possibly but may actually take longer. I thought roof ECU was behind the controller but never had to fish around in there. Doesn’t sound easy.
I didn’t remove any batteries. Just disconnected as in instructions. Doesn’t take that long if you have all correct spanners etc. An hour tops.

 

[KGCali]

Hi Mike... any update from your side? I think I'll be unable to do the job myself because now I can't get the roof open at all.

Here's a link how to open/close the roof by applying 12v to the pump ...
Post in thread 'Roof jammed whist on holiday' https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/roof-jammed-whist-on-holiday.40355/post-516610

 

[mikebravo]

Mike - I ended up getting it done by a local auto electrician In Bathgate (PLA Automotive) who appreciated the ‘how to‘ from Lambeth Cali - thanks for that. As far as I can tell they’ve done the job well and replaced all 4 sensors with BMW parts, but it cost me £1250. It was supposed to be about £1000 but they ran into problems with one of the hydraulic hoses on the last one or two sensors. Nearly £300 cheaper than the VW quote but I’m not sure there was a guarantee to do it for that price or if that was an initial estimate.
Were you in the same ball park with what you were charged Aztec Camper?

Thanks for your recommendation. I took it to PLA Automotive in Bathgate and they have done an excellent job. So it’s all fixed now.

 

[Nagromski2077]

Hey guys,

We have the same fault and looking at the same solutions. The fault occurred rather suspiciously straight after we got the van back from the garage where they had to remove the sliding door to replace the bottom bearing. They seemed to make a bit of a meal of it and it didn’t fill us with trust.

Question - do you think taking the door off could have damaged the sensors or the wiring in that area?

 

[Meoncoast]

We have the same fault and looking at the same solutions. The fault occurred rather suspiciously straight after we got the van back from the garage where they had to remove the sliding door to replace the bottom bearing. They seemed to make a bit of a meal of it and it didn’t fill us with trust.

off topic but what were you charged for door bearings

 

[yossarian]

To test the wiring you need to probe pins 6 , 4, 7 & 2 on connector T32d using pins 12 or 24 as a positive.

I don't know how those hall effect sensors are configured but you should see two similar pairs.

Someone earlier suggested the roof ecu was behind the control panel I think.

Edit: according to @welshgas ' post sensors 1 & 3 should have similar readings and 2 & 4 should be similarly paired. Readings should swap when the roof changes state from open to closed and vice versa.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Hey guys,

We have the same fault and looking at the same solutions. The fault occurred rather suspiciously straight after we got the van back from the garage where they had to remove the sliding door to replace the bottom bearing. They seemed to make a bit of a meal of it and it didn’t fill us with trust.

Question - do you think taking the door off could have damaged the sensors or the wiring in that area?

I don’t think so. It’s not really in the same area. The sensors and loom are all under the roof protected by plastic covers.

Are you getting the flashing roof up symbol or error 1000?

 

[Alberto]

Hello everyone, all set to replace my hall sensors this weekend. Small problem, my supplier is delayed with shipping and I cannot find 4 sensors anywhere in the country. Job planned for this weekend, ferry booked for Thu next week. Love a challenge....

REQUEST - does anyone have 4 unused sensors available in the UK going spare?
This might just save my holiday plans, please get in touch if you think you can help me.
Thank you

 

[mikebravo]

Hi, finding 4 could be tricky at short notice. I got mines from Lithuania, via a company in Czechia and they took 4 weeks to get here. However, they are a BMW part and it may be possible to get them elsewhere if you are lucky. The BMW part number is 54347190735. There are people selling on eBay but you’ll need to check where they are coming from and postage times. Alternatively, a mechanic may be able to order direct from BMW for you… ? Good luck.

 

[Alberto]

Hi, finding 4 could be tricky at short notice. I got mines from Lithuania, via a company in Czechia and they took 4 weeks to get here. However, they are a BMW part and it may be possible to get them elsewhere if you are lucky. The BMW part number is 54347190735. There are people selling on eBay but you’ll need to check where they are coming from and postage times. Alternatively, a mechanic may be able to order direct from BMW for you… ? Good luck.

Thank you very much for your reply. BMW has the part on back order nationally, no parts in their UK stocks right now. As you say, eBay options also outside UK. So I though I should ask this forum, just in case someone has them sitting in a drawer.