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· Registered
1991 300SL
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125 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
I just R&R'd all 12 hydraulics after getting them rebuilt by Dennis. The driver side rear latch will not pull the top all the way down. Unable to manually get it to seat as well. It "clicks" and moves so I know it is getting electricity and oil. I tried adjusting the height of the catch up and down without any difference. I have poured over the "ultimate stickys" and have not seen this problem posted. Even called Dennis and he was stumped. Any ideas before I tear the whole thing out again?
Also (and I know I might get slapped for this one) but I am getting a driver door limit switch error and I don't know where to look for it in the door. The stickys have addressed this but I can't locate a picture. Could the two problems be related,i.e., could the limit switch error keep the top from completing the catch? Unlikely but as I said I don't want to tear out the hydraulics again if the problem is in the door.
Thanks.
 

· Registered
1991 300SL
Joined
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125 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Oh.
Mr. Karas.
You talking to the right person.
Don't ask how I know. ;)
Take the special wrench and manually close the lock from the trunk to
complete the cycle, either one of the seals is to tight, or one of the valves is weak.
Close it like I said, it may go away after a while.
Regards.
aam.
Thanks aam. Unfortunately the special wrench will not lock the driver's side latch but will close the passenger's side without difficulty. I may remove the latch itself and take a closer look. Did the person you know ;-) also get a window switch error code with the described problem?
I'm new to Benzworld but have spent many hours on it. What a great resource! I even found the exact scenario with the top stalling half way up and read that it may be due to the window limit switch (my windows go up and down appropriately) and an answer was posted as to how the switch may still be involved but unfortunately there was no feedback provided by the submitter as to whether or not the solution worked.
Thank you for your help. I'll see if I can get it to lock somehow. I doubt it is a weak valve since it was just rebuilt this week.
jsk
 

· Registered
1991 300SL
Joined
·
125 Posts
Discussion Starter · #5 ·
Thanks aam. Unfortunately the special wrench will not lock the driver's side latch but will close the passenger's side without difficulty. I may remove the latch itself and take a closer look. Did the person you know ;-) also get a window switch error code with the described problem?
I'm new to Benzworld but have spent many hours on it. What a great resource! I even found the exact scenario with the top stalling half way up and read that it may be due to the window limit switch (my windows go up and down appropriately) and an answer was posted as to how the switch may still be involved but unfortunately there was no feedback provided by the submitter as to whether or not the solution worked.
Thank you for your help. I'll see if I can get it to lock somehow. I doubt it is a weak valve since it was just rebuilt this week.
jsk
Part one solved. I took off the rear latch and confirmed that it would move back and forth at the appropriate times. Then I reattached the latch and was able to get it to pull down by pushing it down with my hand at the correct time during the cycle. I did this a couple of times back and forth and it appears fixed. Now to take off the door and find the window limit switch. I noticed that the window goes all the way up and down during the cycle of the soft top but when I press express down it sometimes goes down all the way and sometimes stops somewhere along the way. Would the limit switch cause this or is this a window switch issue? When I hold the window switch in non express mode it goes all the way up and down.
 

· Registered
1991 300SL
Joined
·
125 Posts
Discussion Starter · #8 ·
I would suggest the limit switch is the most likely cause. Other possiblilities include damaged wiring from the switch to the soft top controller or the controller itself.

When you remove the door panel you should readily see the limit switch located in the bottom, middle of the door.
ALL ISSUES SOLVED! I decided to go hunting for the door limit switch. Found it and it appeared to click appropriately. I then decided to take out the door strap which I thought was broken and was intended to be a project for another day. I found a severed wire which, when resoldered to it's distal end fixed the limit switch error. Also, the screw that held the door strap to the door was missing (found in the bottom of the plastic) so I reinserted the door strap, connected it all back together and it worked too! It appears that the door strap retaining screw came out (WTF?) allowing the strap to swing around and sever the wires to the window limit switch. What a journey this weekend! Next weekend I'm going to try to put on the new top.
 
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