Porsche_993

I have a 1995 -993 cabrio. I was opening the roof today, pressed the button down, the tops jammed for a bit then it bounced opened partially about 12" then stopped. I couldn't open it any more or close it back. I had to loosen up the bolts as per the owner's manual and close the roof manually.

Check the fuse # 13 and it seems it appears in good condition, is this the correct fuse # or is there another fuse I should check.? Does any one have any ideas regarding the fix or experienced the same problem?

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions.

Mike Pezely

Check out pcar.com "Re-aligning the convertible top" http://p-car.com/diy/cabtop/

dsmyth

When it was trying to open did it snag and pull/twist on one side or just suddenly stop?

Porsche_993

It did pull and twist before it stopped.

vjd3

You may have either lost a cable or the transmission on one side or the other may have sheared its bolts to the frame and screwed up the alignment. Either way, it got itself out of adjustment. If you're able to raise and lower it by hand after loosening the bolts, the latches should still operate with the switch on the console.

If you're unlucky, you may have twisted the frame or, worse, snapped a control arm.

A lot of us just put it up and down by hand to avoid this sort of thing, but a really good rule of thumb to follow if you are using it as a power top is the first sign of any hesitation or jamming, get off the button and don't try it again until you have it looked over. The top is raised and lowered pretty much with brute force and a cable or alignment problem can lead to an expensive repair when one side goes up and the other tries to stay down.

steerpike

I have a 97 CAB. and the roof stopped working as it was about to close and the roof locking motors didn't engage seems dead any ideas and can I open close it manually?

Mike Pezely

You will see one bolt on the left and one on the right by the speakers(rear side panels) in the rear seat area. Loosen/disengage but DO NOT REMOVE. Top will now open/close manually.

tarbender

"I have a 97 CAB. and the roof stopped working as it was about to close and the roof locking motors didn't engage seems dead any ideas and can I open close it manually?"

The exact same thing happen to me last Thursday. Same 97 Cab too. The top went just about close but the locking mechanism didn't engage. I tried manually closing it with a screwdriver but I couldn't get it to turn. I used a long (9") flat nose screwdriver in the black plastic tabs at the front of the top. Turning clockwise is supposed to lock it. I couldn't feel the slot for the screwdriver. You can give it a try and see if you have better luck. I was told you could pop the plastic guides out but I couldn't seem to do this either for fear of breaking it. Dropped the car off this morning at the dealer to try and fix. Will let you know what they find. Does your cab top fault light show up? Mine did not indicate a problem. Also careful of working on the problem for too long with the lights on. You will drain the battery. I know.

Anybody in Toronto area know how to manually close the front latch?

vjd3

It's very easy to pop the trim off there (two screws and 3-4 tabs) and see the latches so you can close them with a screwdriver. It takes about a million turns to get them to open or close, though. Philips head if I recall correctly.

a993lad

All this talk of failing cab roofs is making me nervous.

My auto roof works fine but as I have to step out of the car and check the roof is folding correctly I think I might just change it to manual operation as some seem to be recommending here.

Can someone just confirm that all I have to do is loosen the two nuts as described above? That's it?

Also, if I want to switch back to electric roof do I just tighten the nuts back up again?

Thanks

Marc

sawitt

If your top is working OK, why not just let it be, keep a close eye on it and count your blessings. You can always convert to 'manual' mode if you have trouble.

I have a 97 Cab and have had a fair amount of trouble with my top. Its been in 'manual' mode now for about 3 years. I can confirm that all it takes is to loosen the two bolts on the side in the back seat area. It was very easy and there is a lot of info on doing it in this forum.

I've also had trouble with the controller under the dash -- repaired one by resoldering some of the connections on the circuit board -- had to replace that board when it failed again a year or so later with a new controller. I really don't mind manual mode for raising and lowering and wish I could figure out a way to convert the latches in the top of the windshield to manual operation also.

As far as restoring from manual to auto operation by tightening the two bolts in the back, I tried it after I fixed the controller the first time it failed and it didn't work for me. I'm not an expert on this and didn't really try too hard to get it working again, but it didn't work for me.

a993lad

Yes I was originally thinking if it works okay then why go for manual operation. But then I saw someone stating that when it breaks it can cause big expensive problems and it sounds like the auto mechanism is barely fit for purpose so it will inevitably break sooner or later. (sounds like my wife's horses - which, if they're not lame it just means they're about to become lame)

If it's easy to disconnect the roof then I'm happy to go with the manual operation which seems to be working okay for everyone else. Just want to be confident that it's as easy to reconnect if I want to go back to auto.

I'm just not confident that I can do either and the p-car instruction seems to be aimed at fixing and adjusting a broken roof rather than temporarily disconnecting a working one .

tarbender

Here is update to my earlier post regarding roof problem. Took it into the dealer yesterday and they fixed it. They said the alignment was off causing the roof to go a little further forward than what it should. This causes the system to shut down so you cannot close or open the roof. He said he would not recommend manually closing the top using a screwdriver. Instead you should remove the cover to reveal the top mechanism in the back seat area. You should then be able to see the arm that moves the top. There is a piece connected to the arm that touches the micro-switch if the alighnment is off. You need to stop it from touching the micro-switch and then press the button to lower or raise the top as normal. He did not show me how to this but just explained so I don't know for certain what he is referring to.

3 hours labour to fix this problem and realign. Seems to work fine for now.

If you loosen the bolt to make it a manual operation you cannot just tighten again to make it automatic again. The technician strongly recommended against this except in extreme emergency situations.

hn

It's been a while since I worked on the top but may be loosen up the bolts might cause the gears disengaged and when you decide to go back to auto, you need to open up the transmission to line up the gears again. It can be a lot of tedious work. I still use mine auto but I have been thinking if it's better to disconnect the cables from the rear motor instead, which is quite simple to do. Hopefully when you operate the top manually, it will just turn the cable freely .