That flashing rooflight thing!!

[turbodave]

Hi, Like a complete arse I started to put up the roof thinking it was a light..it was dark and had been a long day! It then decided, on lowering, to continue to flash as if it wasn't locking. Having had this problem before I thought nothing of it. I thought i would spray clean the switches either side of the roof et voila....mais non!!!
I have now tried to clean and fiddle with the switches but to no avail. I am now becoming paranoid that the roof is not locking. When I mistakenly opened the roof , it had been wet then icy and I think the roof struggled to break an ice bond that had formed between the roof and the van.
Any ideas chaps and chapesses?
I'm thinking I should wait till the temperature rises and the weather dries out! Ta, Dave

[mikeonb4c]

Hi, Like a complete arse I started to put up the roof thinking it was a light..it was dark and had been a long day! It then decided, on lowering, to continue to flash as if it wasn't locking. Having had this problem before I thought nothing of it. I thought i would spray clean the switches either side of the roof et voila....mais non!!!
I have now tried to clean and fiddle with the switches but to no avail. I am now becoming paranoid that the roof is not locking. When I mistakenly opened the roof , it had been wet then icy and I think the roof struggled to break an ice bond that had formed between the roof and the van.
Any ideas chaps and chapesses?
I'm thinking I should wait till the temperature rises and the weather dries out! Ta, Dave

My roof light has flashed for the 6 years I've had the Bongo. The o/s microswitch is b*ggered and not economical to fix, so being Irish, I taped a blanking tape over the dash rather than remove the bulb.

[loneranger]

Hello, same here mine started flashing during the summer.I sprayed the micro switches but nothing changed.I know that one owner replaced the switches with ones from Maplins, but he said it was such a tricky job to do.I just did the same as other people and covered the light with black tape till the next time I take out the instrument cluster and remove the bulb.The roof is locked as you can hear the locks click in just before the buzzer ends.It is only a warning light so that you do not try to drive with the roof up, just a reminder to use your brain,which in some ways Mazda in Japan do not think we have.Cheers Michael

[g8dhe]

This thread has some good pictures http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... 46#p508046
the problem will almost certainly be either the switch itself or the mechanical arrangement that presses the switch - the little off white block, which is plunger and spring. There is one each side for the front ones, a further one on the nearside half way down for the stop point when lowering and the rearmost on the offside for when the AFT reaches max. height.

[Ahead]

Mine had been non-functioning since I bought the Bongo. Bulb in dash missing.....replaced it.... then found it to be constantly flashing...!

I solved it by getting a new switch from a guy on here breaking a Bongo, asked him to leave a foot of cable attached. 10min job, 1 screw and two wires to join and tape out of the way.

Mine was the front, o/side switch (under the drivers head) I tried Maplins and although they sell micro switches I couldn't get a compatible one. Not a difficult job and now I can be sure (ish..) that the roof closed properly.

[daveblueozzie]

Mine has done the same for a few years , the way i solved it was to put a piece of card between the switch and the contacts, no more flashing light.

[turbodave]

Cheers folks! The only thing that may separate my issue with yours is the fact that when the roof is fully down, the beep continues until I remove my finger from the switch. Does that make any difference? Dave

[mikeonb4c]

Cheers folks! The only thing that may separate my issue with yours is the fact that when the roof is fully down, the beep continues until I remove my finger from the switch. Does that make any difference? Dave

Don't think so. Can't remember but I think that's normal behaviour. The main thing is you should hear the locks go home after the roof has come down flat.

[g8dhe]

No the bleeps should stop once the roof is up or down, then you know when to release the switch!

[turbodave]

Cheers, so should I infer from your response , g8dhe ,that maybe the roof is not locking?

[mikeonb4c]

Cheers, so should I infer from your response , g8dhe ,that maybe the roof is not locking?

Not necessarily would be my answer. Also, i'm not sure about when the roof is down, but if your roof is not going fully up then the beeps keep going even after you take your finger off the switch. I would have expected similar behavior when it is being closed, hence why I guessed as I did.

One line of reasoning is that unless the mechanism is compromised (and you'd probably know about it if it was) then the roof might find it hard not to achieve full closure including with the locking mechanism engaging. As I've said, you should be able to hear this happening, and you can see the roof being pulled to.

[g8dhe]

No given that the most common failure is the switch or its mechanical mechanism, it MIGHT be locked but the switch is not operating, conversely it might not be locked - all you can say is that it is not operating correctly!

Saying the roof locks down is also a bit misleading all that happens is that the lower carriage enters the enclosed plastic "trap" at the front which holds the front of the lower carriage, I'm not aware of any other physical mechanism;

On ours you can tell when this happens, as the lowering action briefly pauses, then jumps down a little and a couple of seconds later the motors stop / bleep stops and lowering is complete.

[mikeonb4c]

Saying the roof locks down is also a bit misleading all that happens is that the lower carriage enters the enclosed plastic "trap" at the front which holds the front of the lower carriage, I'm not aware of any other physical mechanism

Thought you'd pick me up on that. Was typing on my smartfone which is hard work, so avoided the long explanation. I'm now on a PC so can type away. The point really is that, as you can see from the pic, it could be argued that the roof could not complete its coming flat without the lower carriage running into that trap unless there is something wrong with the mechanism which (having had that problem myself) I feel you would be aware or because there would be noise and/or something abnormal about the lowering movement of the roof. My feeling is that if you shut the roof then try pushing hard upwards on the roof from inside and it is solid, then the lower carriage is probably in the trap. A second check might be to press the switch momentarily to start raising it (although it won't look raised as the carriage is only just coming out of the trap) , then repeat the push test, press switch again briefly, repeat test. You would think that v soon the carriage will be out of the trap and the push test will reveal a lack of solid resistance. Now press switch to close (and you usually hear a kind of locking sound as the roof carriage enters the trap) and you should once again feel solid resistance to the push test.

Only other thoughts are that others (including me) have a flashing light and a solidly locking roof, and the switch beeps on closing until you take your finger off. And you do have Adrian at Japan Direct in Bury (0161 763 3003 I think) you could call to discuss any of this if concerned.

So, probably, you have nothing to worry about

[turbodave]

Cheers chaps..I lowered the roof this morning with the engine off and it seems to be locking in place. It would seem to be an issue with the switch which ain't too bad. I will clean and try to fix when weather perks up (if ever). Just one other thing...at the end of the passenger side roof runner is a black rubber block with a rubber squishy button at the end. ..what does that do? Dave

[mikeonb4c]

Cheers chaps..I lowered the roof this morning with the engine off and it seems to be locking in place. It would seem to be an issue with the switch which ain't too bad. I will clean and try to fix when weather perks up (if ever). Just one other thing...at the end of the passenger side roof runner is a black rubber block with a rubber squishy button at the end. ..what does that do? Dave

I'll leave that one to Geoff................as, frankly, I haven't a clue