http://igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/view ... ve#p593363
One thing mentioned in the thread is that it would be worth checking that the motors do not move when tugged down. I cannot agree with this more. Check them while you can. A roof that fails to lower is much easier to fix than a roof that fails to open. Check the motors once in a while when the roof is open - you don't want them failing when it is closed.
Hopefully I can add a little bit more info here to prevent anyone else struggling with their roof. Apologies if some of my terminology is incorrect.
I wasn't really aware of any unusual problems prior to my roof failing, but having now fixed it, it's clear some of the idiosyncrasies may well have been signs of imminent failure.
1) My roof creaked quite a bit when raising. After the fix it still makes some creaks, but no longer sounds like a donkey laughing.
2) When opening, occasionally the roof didn't fully locate in the up position and I had to drop it an inch or so and re-raise to get the roof raising beeps to silence. This problem only started occurring in the last year. I've raised and lowered the roof 5 times tonight since fixing and it has gone straight up every time. I often see suggestions here that the roof may need a little push to help it go fully up. If your roof needs this, I'd strongly suggest that you check the motors are secure.
If the motors are not secure, here's what happens
Eventually that exposed worm drive will coil up and your roof will jam. This is what it should look like correctly located.
If you do run into problems lowering the roof, it may be quite a simple fix if you have someone there who can help.
Fully raise the roof if you can. If it's stuck don't worry and stop if it is struggling. Your assistant needs to be in a position ready to hold the roof up or preferably insert something to brace it up. The gas struts take most of the weight when the roof is raised, so it is not too arduous a job.
Loosen the 3 4mm allen bolts that hold in each motor. You do not need to remove the motors fully, just enough to disengage the cog from the worm drive.
Motor mounting plate showing worm drives.
Motor showing cog that drives the worm drives.
Disconnect the wiring connector to each motor (not sure if this is necessary, but it is a sensible precaution).
Ensure the motor bracket is securely located and is not dropping down and that the worm drive is correctly located. Any loose worm drive should now be easy to feed into the guide channel to allow correct location of the bracket.
The struts on each side of the roof should also now move freely. Your assistant should fully raise/brace the roof while you push these struts as far to the rear as you can by hand. You should feel the microswitch in the channel engaging when they are fully back.
The motors can now be tightened up into their bracket again, and the wiring reconnected, locking the roof in place.
Remove bracing/assistant and pray that roof stays in place.
This process can also be used to re-calibrate a roof that is not operating squarely.
