Originally Posted by pizzaguy
That is the electric lock that locks the trunk for the 23 seconds that the top is going up or down. It is NOT the pneumatic lock that operates off the key fob.
The plunger inside the accordian thing does not always retract into the "unlocked" position after the top is done moving - which leads to all sorts of problems! We take off the black end thingy to disable the lock and solve the problem. You cannot simply take the whole assembly out, as it indicates a locked condition to the electronics of the car - enabling the top to operate.
That makes sense, my trunk got locked when I manually raised my top and closed the trunk before using the allen wrench to lock down my back windows.