Cabriolet Top Troubles

[viscirid]

I own an '88 Cabriolet whose convertible top has just decided to go on the frits. It's not a big deal as winter is here and I have no intention of putting it down any time soon, but it still bugs me that something has gone wrong with my car.

When I try to put the top down the driver side release seems to engage and tries to release, but the passenger one remains locked and so the top cannot come down. I noticed that the red light that comes on when you use the electric top remains lit at all times now. The only other quirk is that the interior light above the rear view mirror does not work when flipped back, but still works when flipped forward. It used to come on when flipped either way.

My guess is either a fuse or a short. But I thought the entire convertable top system was on a single fuse, but am not sure of this. Does anyone else have any idea as to cause or how to go about diagnosing the problem?

Thanks.

V.

[charleskieffner]

disconnect cables, pull motors in rear(weight) and leave it as a manual top. ie. you want it down, you push button to release front, get out and fold back. you want it up, you get out and pull forward until front engages, push dash button and front is drawn down flush with front windshield frame. red button will be on all the time.(put electrical tape over it)


orrrrrrr your other option is to drop serious bucks on new motors and cables for rear and then get the joy of doing it again 3 years down the road. but you will be a professionally certified cabriolet wrench and you will be able to tell others.............PICK OPTION 1 !

your call. some people gots to have that auto top work 24/7. i prefer being able to put it up WHEN I WANT, not when it wants to go up. saves my car from massive water intrusion. takes me less than 30 seconds to put up or down. only time consuming thing is getting tonneau cover tenax fastners on.

[JeremyD]

What Charles says -

Or price the power top transmission and motors and get back to us.

[charleskieffner]

hmmmmm lets see how this one pans out! should i drop BIG bucks on dum A$$ top motors and cables which WILL FAIL, orrrrr buy lots of go-fast-stop quicker-look COOL PARTS and beer!


what would i do????? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm what a decision!


or be driving along w/my girlfriend , when all of a sudden a summer arizona microburst from hell approaches, and i pull over and the top WILL NOT GO UP! and WILL NOT LATCH!

oh the joys of outsmarting my cab top, staying dry, not have g/friend freaking out, go-fast-stop quicker-look cool parts, and SLAMMING AN ICE COLD BEER!

you get to make this corporate decision.................just bring a waterproof camera and send us some shots, so we can laugh ourselves silly! ask us how we KNOW!

[viscirid]

I don't think it is the motor or cable. The problem is the passenger side front latch doesn't release when I do push the button.

[charleskieffner]

try some lube. maybe p.o. didnt know maint. drill and is binding, loosen and then retorque it and see if it works. previous owner may not have ever lubed them. if not REPLACE or buy a big umbrella.

[john walker's workshop]

dead latch motor. happens all the time. you can unlatch it by turning the motor with a long thin slot screwdriver through the access hole.

[Nine9six]

Thanks John Walker...

[viscirid]

Would a dead latch motor account for the interior light not coming on when flipped forward, but still lighting up when flipped backwards?

[charleskieffner]

no light itself is bad. pull out and probably has rust/dust in it, and not making contact.

[bill3667]

I think Charles K. mis-read your original post. Yes, it does sound like the Latch Motor as JW said. As for converting the top to manual I agree 100%, I did it on my '88 and now on the '97, I doubt it adds any additional time to the drop/raise time and you really need to put the boot on after droping the top.

As for the latch motors, you need them working. The screwdriver in the slot routine is a PITA, takes a long time/many turns.

[bill3667]

FWIW, there's a set of latch motors on eBay right now, item # 320039430327. Auction ends in 9 hrs. though. I have no idea if these are the p/n's for your year car, check that first.

[WydRyd]

BTDT! It IS your passenger side latch motor. You can pick these up on EBay for anywhere between $50-$100. I recently won one for $60

Easy to remove and replace! Just use a screwdriver to release the latch and retract the top back. Remove the panel to gain access to the hex bolts and R&R. No big deal. I've done it twice in approx 6 years of ownership.

[charleskieffner]

50-100 bucks is a good buy. jump on it.

[WydRyd]

Originally posted by charleskieffner
50-100 bucks is a good buy. jump on it.

Yup, they can be found relatively cheap.

HOWEVER, don't be too hasty! You may find the motor is just stuck or something, so what I'd do is try manually releasing the latch using a screw driver as mentioned above, then try depressing the retract button under your dash again. Sometimes simply loosening the latch using a screw driver will free the motor's stuck condition and it will work for a while, but eventually may need replacing anyway.

This happened to mine. I loosened the motor and it worked fine for a further 5-6 months or so, then eventually died completely

[viscirid]

Thanks guys. As always this place is a well of knowledge. It is the motor as mentioned above. I popped off the cover and checked it out. It appears to be dead though as manually loosening it did not seem to get it going again.

Thanks for the link to the ebay sale, but when I heard that I could get one for about 50 - 100 I figured I'd wait. It's winter and my top can stay up for now.

Thanks again guys.

V.

[Lorenfb]

And then "flip-the-coin" again, and maybe then the cab top control unit (ECU) might
come up as the problem!

[bill3667]

FYI, there's a pair of cab top latch motors on ebay now. Item 150052831942 I have no info on seller.

[Ferrariguyma]

I have a 1988 Cab with a power top and did not see anything in the manual about lubricating or maintaining the top mech. Of course it makes perfect sense to me considering the lube is going on 20 yrs old. Can someone take me thru the steps and items to lube (what kind of lube is recommended too)

Thanks!

Andrew

[charleskieffner]

all i did was clean all the road gunk out of them and hit it with silly-cone spray. if i wasnt out of LPS, at the time i would have lubed it with that instead. REASON.............LPS DOES NOT ATTRACT DIRT like wd-40-silicone etc.