My top was just replaced, when I was dropping off the car I put the top up at the top shop, I heard a hiss from the back area (knew what it was- hydraulics blew out for the top) Since I had the car there for the top I had him put the new top on (he manually put it up and down) Called Dennis, and he sent me a great set of directions to remove the hydraulic cylinders, sent them off to Dennis. Used the car and put the top up and down for a couple of days until the cylinders showed up. Placed the cylinders back in the car, filled up the reservoir with fresh fluid and tried to put the top down. The windows and roll bar go down, the back part of the top unlocks and goes up but that's it. I manually put the top down and tried to put the top up with the controls, again the windows and roll bar went down, the cover unlocked and lifted to allow the top to go up but it stopped at this point.
Went through numerous threads and tried to disconnect the battery, re-sync the windows, tried to read the X11/4 with a light but only 16 of 38 sockets have pins. Ten sockets lite and 5 did not.
I think I am close but just missing something, any help would be helpful
Also, the roll bar and top switches lite when the key is set to #2 or on position then go out as they should (top up). But the top switch stays lite and the audible alarm goes off when you start to drive (top down) Thanks
You need to fill in your user profile so that we know what year of car we are dealing with. But it is my guess that you need to clear the Diagnostic Trouble Codes-DTC's several times. Then make sure that your engine is running, outside, then try and complete the up and down cycle several times. It is very important that your battery be strong, that ALL of your limit switches are functioning, etc.
The windows and roll bar go down, the back part of the top unlocks and goes up but that's it.
On the left-side of the car near the hinge for the back part ("bow") is a limit switch that closes when the bow has raised. The soft top controller probably is not getting a signal from this switch. This would be confirmed by reading codes with an LED from socket #21 of the diagnostic connector or by checking the input from the switch electrically with a multimeter -- it is wired to socket #44 of the controller connector.
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Make sure you take pictures of all of your hydraulic soft-top cylinders before you remove them from the vehicle and again right after you remove them. That way you won't go crazy because your top doesn't open and close correctly. All of the cylinders need to be installed just as they were taken out AND all of the micro-switches and connectors need to be double-checked with the original photos. The attached photo shows how easy it is to waste two days trying to figure out why the top would not fully open. The connector on top of the ram was turned 180 degrees during seal replacement and because of this the connector did not engage the micro-switch plunger, hence the controller would not proceed to the next step in the opening cycle. The cylinder in the picture is located on the drivers side and opens and closes the rear window section of the top. I had all 12 of the cylinders rebuilt and of course saved a lot of money doing it myself. Good luck.
Ok, here's what I have. Short out pin #21 (RTS) seven blinks of the LED, reset the pin to one blink. start car to charge battery and give it more voltage. Same thing all over again. Jumped the limit switch in the back and still the same, reset each time. Open up above the windshield and disconnect each switch nothing different, jump each switch and nothing will work until I take the jumper off. then same thing!!!! Disconnected the top from the windshield and when I press the switch to put the top DOWN the top latches to the windshield ?? Is there a way to sync the top like you do for the windows? Tried the four switches that correspond to pin #21, 7 blinks. Any other ideas?
Code 7 tells you very little, Tom. Assuming you have no new problems, I think you should check the limit switch for the bow and verify that it closes when the bow is raised and opens when it lowers. This switch is wired to socket #44 of the larger of the two connectors to the soft top controller.
There is no "reset" for the soft top, per se, but you can have the top in a position where the controller can unambigously identify its state, and this would be having the top either completely open or closed with all latches in their proper positions.
The design of the hydraulic circuits for the latches is such that if the pump is running the latches are always being pressurized to close except for the moment the top is released and lowered into the compartment -- at this time they are pressurized to open. What prevents the latches from closing at the wrong times is a mechanical catch that releases them when they are contacted. At the beginning of the sequence if you lightly press on the latch mechanism with a screwdriver you will see it close even though the top is nowhere near.
I would suppose what is happening in your case is that you have manually released the front latches, but the top is still resting upon them and keeping their catches released. When you press the button to open the top the sequence is raising the compartment cover or the bow; therefore, the front latches are not pressurized to open and by default close because their catches are released. This would be completely normal operation given the circumstances.
I think you have identified the second "sucker" mistake a person can make removing and installing the cylinders. The first one was reported by Dennis who noted that the same style cylinder had a piston shaft bent when it was reinstalled with the hoses connected backwards. That may actually be easier to do if you are not alert to the danger.
Since we are all in the sucker class the first and hopefully only time we choose do this, we should make sure that this info is put in a prominent place in the stickies to aid new suckers who hopefully check this before they leap off into a project.
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