mjberning

My vehicle is a 2002 Porsche Carrera Cabriolet with 33,500 miles

I recently replaced my hydraulic cylinders with cylinders purchased from Cabriolet Hydraulics due to leaking. Unfortunately I somehow had to manually open the clamshell with the tool provided in vehicle but before that the clamshell motor had been working perfectly

• I can use the roof as long as I open the clamshell manually. Roof operates completely from fully shut to fully closed including the latch at the wind shield and opening and closing the windows. Side Flaps work as well.
• There is no visible damage to the clamshell motor or the cables that connect to the clamshell
• I get a CEL message on my console stating convertible top is not in limits position which may indicate the system cannot recognize the clamshell position or status.

What could be keeping the clamshell motor from engaging? I am aware that I may need to verify/reset the potentiometer to 6.2 Ohms for the Clamshell motor Is that resistance value for a fully open clamshell or fully closed clamshell?

Do I need to remove the clamshell to set the potentiometer with a multimeter or can it be set with the motor attached using PIWIS or Durometric? Since a potentiometer is a mechanical device I assume I have to turn something to get it set correctly

What else would be suggested?

Please advise

Michael B

frisbee91

Most likely one of the many limit switches that govern the operation of the top is out of sync. Probably needs a top recalibration. That's my best guess based on what you have shared.
Also, Check the square shaft that connects the clamshell motor to the clamshell rack-and-pinon drive (which is a somewhat rectangular black plastic box with 2 cables coming out of it.) This shaft can shear during manual operation.

996-CAB

It's possible the motor that pulls the cable that releases the clamshell is dead. 996-561-021 is the part number. If it is, I don't think you can get just the motor, you have to get the motor with the cables and the latch. In any case, the cables are a failure point I'm personally familiar with so if the motor is dead, you would want fresh cables. It looks like an easy DIY, but after you change this and you already have the new rams, it is likely going to need a recalibration.
When one of my clamshell cables snapped, I couldn't figure out how to get in there and replace the motor. No Indy wanted to work on the convertible top and even one Porsche dealer in the area passed. Found a Porsche dealer to repair and recalibrate and it was the cost for the part plus $2K in labor. That part, 996-561-021 was a lot less expensive two years ago.