993 Cabriolet issues

Ashley Bowler · Ashley Bowler's Garage

The top on my car has stopped opening and closing. When I manually close it,it will mechanically seal against the front window frame with the rocker switch , so I’m guessing the motors are O.K.. (i can hear the motors operating)

if it is the cables, is it a job that can be done by someone with limited mechanical aptitude, or should I just take it to the shop?

Thanks, in advance.

Tom W · Tom W's Garage

You be able to DIY, depending on your abilities. Look at the DIY info on p-car.com and decide. I had issues with mine and removed the panels that cover the worm gear and found the problem was simply some loose bolts.

davisriley · 02-09-2008, 03:25 PM

Does the top move at all, or do the top latching motors operate, and then nothing? There are a bunch of issues you could be having, but do some searchs on cab control units. I know they could have some issues with solder joints that some have fixed just by resodering. Do a search here and rennlist, that should help. 2nd the diy on p-car, not a bad place to start. And if you do remove the side panels to get access to the motors, please check the bolts that hold the motors to the body. They get loose, and make a nasty mess of the mounts when they start to flop around. Good luck.

Ashley Bowler · Ashley Bowler's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by davisriley

Does the top move at all, or do the top latching motors operate, and then nothing? There are a bunch of issues you could be having, but do some searchs on cab control units. I know they could have some issues with solder joints that some have fixed just by resodering. Do a search here and rennlist, that should help. 2nd the diy on p-car, not a bad place to start. And if you do remove the side panels to get access to the motors, please check the bolts that hold the motors to the body. They get loose, and make a nasty mess of the mounts when they start to flop around. Good luck.

The top doesn't move at all, but it will electrically latch when the tops up. I'm guessing that the round flat disk's hold the cable? are the motors behind the back seat?

Again....thanks guys for the help.

davisriley · 02-10-2008, 07:35 AM

Top motor is behind the rear seat, and the top transmissions are on either side of the rear seats behind some access panels. The problems that I remember them having were microswitches at the motors out of adjustment, control unit problems, and cable problems. If you aren't comfortable taking it apart, I would suggest having someone who know them take a look. There aren't really any inexpensive parts in the top assembly, and a lot of the problems that they can have can wreak havoc on other things if you try and force anything, like the main bow, and the canvas. Good luck.

notfarnow · 10:59 AM

davisriley's advice is sound... there are lots of expensive bits, and if they get out of "synch" they can start to make VERY expensive noises.

I wouldn't start changing parts until you have tested the whole system. What seems like a motor that isn't working could actually be a bad microswitch somewhere else in the system. It's well worth taking a few hours to test everything.

I spent a weekend troubleshooting the cab top in my dad's '86 Carrera cab, which had a 993 top & "brain". As soon as I was done, I wrote up this DIY guide for testing the individual electrical components & switches. It's worth having a look at, even just to get a sense of how things work:
Cab Power Top; Electrical testing DIY

Read it through, and if you decide to run through all the tests it takes a good 4 hours. Do it when you are in a good mood, and not in a rush.

If your cables are broken, let me know. I have a spare set of cab top gearboxes & cables in the garage.

Hope this helps!