Convertible top problem
03-08-16, 10:49 AM
#16
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Thats odd, I placed a new battery into my sc just over two years ago, recently the battery had been going dead. after a couple of aaa calls and they finding the battery to be only low charge, that I finally told them I wanted the battery changed out! new battery No problems, only fighting corrosion on the battery cables, not the terminals only the cables. btw, new battery via AAA, $140 installed in my driveway! three year replacement, prorated after that for 2 yrs, best deal on a battery.
Now the top,
the part that failed in the top mech could not be repaired, seems the part is a composite and not metal, so repairing it was not an option. The part can not be sourced from the factory/dealer, if it could the price tag is $1800, but it cannot be located. As luck would have it, my indie was able to find the part at his salvage yard and paid $150 for it! score! also this bracket was not part of the top mech structure. it's sole purpose was an anchor point for the switch spring that allows the top to open and close. My indie cannot find any ref to indicate this part failure has been seen before, and if so not a wide spread problem ( lets hope ). As to the cause, the part that broke off the bracket has not been found (black hole) and the spring tang does not indicate that the spring metal cut through the material of the bracket. so can assume it was fatigue that cause the failure.
Am to pick the car up today and receive the broken part, will post a pic. As far as repair cost, compare to other top repairs I've read about on this forum and charged by a dealer, the cost to me was approx. $1000, so I feel fortunate, of course mostly labor as the used part was $150
a manual fix may be possible by placing a manual switch bypassing the spring but requiring the operation of a bypass during the operation of the top, not desirable but possible, maybe.
Now the top,
the part that failed in the top mech could not be repaired, seems the part is a composite and not metal, so repairing it was not an option. The part can not be sourced from the factory/dealer, if it could the price tag is $1800, but it cannot be located. As luck would have it, my indie was able to find the part at his salvage yard and paid $150 for it! score! also this bracket was not part of the top mech structure. it's sole purpose was an anchor point for the switch spring that allows the top to open and close. My indie cannot find any ref to indicate this part failure has been seen before, and if so not a wide spread problem ( lets hope ). As to the cause, the part that broke off the bracket has not been found (black hole) and the spring tang does not indicate that the spring metal cut through the material of the bracket. so can assume it was fatigue that cause the failure.
Am to pick the car up today and receive the broken part, will post a pic. As far as repair cost, compare to other top repairs I've read about on this forum and charged by a dealer, the cost to me was approx. $1000, so I feel fortunate, of course mostly labor as the used part was $150
a manual fix may be possible by placing a manual switch bypassing the spring but requiring the operation of a bypass during the operation of the top, not desirable but possible, maybe.
Last edited by ebear695; 03-08-16 at 10:57 AM.
03-08-16, 10:54 AM
#17
That odd, I placed a new battery into my sc just over two years ago, recently the battery had been going dead. after a couple of aaa calls and they finding the battery to be only low charge, that I finally told them I wanted the battery changed out! new battery No problems, only fighting corrosion on the battery cables, not the terminals only the cables.
the top,
the part that failed in the top mech could not be repaired, seems the part is a composite and not metal, so repairing it was not an option. The part can not be sourced from the factory/dealer, if it could the price tag is $1800, but it cannot be located. As luck would have it, my indie was able to find the part at his salvage yard and paid $150 for it! score! also this bracket was not part of the top mech structure. it's sole purpose was an anchor point for the switch spring that allows the top to open and close. My indie cannot find any ref to indicate this part failure has been seen before, and if so not a wide spread problem ( lets hope ). As to the cause, the part that broke off the bracket has not been found (black hole) and the spring tang does not indicate that the spring metal cut through the material of the bracket. so can assume it was fatigue that cause the failure.
Am to pick the car up today and receive the broken part, will post a pic. As far as repair cost, compare to other top repairs I've read about on this forum and charged by a dealer, the cost to me was approx. $1000, so I feel fortunate, of course mostly labor as the used part was $150
a manual fix may be possible by placing a manual switch bypassing the spring but requiring the operation of a bypass during the operation of the top, not desirable but possible, maybe.
the top,
the part that failed in the top mech could not be repaired, seems the part is a composite and not metal, so repairing it was not an option. The part can not be sourced from the factory/dealer, if it could the price tag is $1800, but it cannot be located. As luck would have it, my indie was able to find the part at his salvage yard and paid $150 for it! score! also this bracket was not part of the top mech structure. it's sole purpose was an anchor point for the switch spring that allows the top to open and close. My indie cannot find any ref to indicate this part failure has been seen before, and if so not a wide spread problem ( lets hope ). As to the cause, the part that broke off the bracket has not been found (black hole) and the spring tang does not indicate that the spring metal cut through the material of the bracket. so can assume it was fatigue that cause the failure.
Am to pick the car up today and receive the broken part, will post a pic. As far as repair cost, compare to other top repairs I've read about on this forum and charged by a dealer, the cost to me was approx. $1000, so I feel fortunate, of course mostly labor as the used part was $150
a manual fix may be possible by placing a manual switch bypassing the spring but requiring the operation of a bypass during the operation of the top, not desirable but possible, maybe.
I sure would like to see this part. I cant for the life of me figure out what failed
03-08-16, 04:16 PM
#18
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the part with blue is the switch, the plate next to the switch is the composite part the broke. the rest is metal and is bolted to the top hinge mech.
top left is the metal tang that the spring end pushes against, top right is where the stop on the composite plate broke off.
This is the part the failed in the mech that operates the top on a SC, the switch is good, only the composite plate the cams against the switch failed and a spring tang broke off.
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