Trunk Lid Jammed
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Well, my verdict is in: The emergency release is a ticking time bomb in the trunk of your Roadster.
The design here is so stupid as to be beyond my comprehension. You have an assembly of all heavy metal parts (as they should be) in your latch mechanism. And in there, with those parts, is a plastic lever-thingy that the emergency release handle is cabled to. This cheap little piece of plastic is asked to slide the actuator down in the latch if someone pulls on the handle from the inside of the trunk. With the fact that plastics can become brittle such an obvious concern, I can't believe they'd rely on it to do the job!
But worse than that, is what happened to me last weekend. I am comfortable now (after spending the last 40 minutes in the garage) to lay blame on that very part. Read on.
Last night, I found the broken off piece of the lever in the little tray around the latch-hook on the back wall of the trunk. I had been wondering where the offending plastic piece that jammed the latch was..... and wondered where it came from. Well, when I found it, I "saw" where it came from: the plastic actuator cam for the emergency release had broken in two. I glued the two pieces together last night. Just now, I put that part back in, to try to understand how this all worked. I can't believe what I am seeing.
The piece of the plastic that is the actuator arm rests in the cavity with the metal actuator from the outside button. These two pieces jar each other during trunk opening and closing operations. (Mostly during the opening, actually.) At one point, sometime Sunday or before, the end broke off the plastic actuator and found it's way down BELOW the point where the metal button's actuator has to swing to open the trunk. (THAT was the problem all along, I just was not sure where the plastic part that was jamming it came from, or where it went after we got the trunk open.)
I will NEVER replace the emergency actuator piece as long as I own this car. I am going to put the trim back, and leave the handle / cable out and store it in the garage. PERHAPS, if I were to sell the car, I'd order the plastic part and put it all in. But it would be (to me) a time bomb in the trunk - wating to spring on the next owner.
If you want to avoid the mess I had on my hands, do this:
1) Open the trunk. (See your manual for instructions.)
2) Use a flatblade screwdriver (or the special tool from an auto parts store) to remove all the insert-thingys holding the trim to the underside of the trunklid.
3) The emergency release cable from the glow-in-the-dark-like-a-haloween-trick emergency handle will be attached to a plastic cam bolted to the latch assembly.
3A) Use a small wrench or pair of pliers to unscrew the built-in nut that is part of this plastic cam assembly from the latch assembly.
4) Remove the emergency handle from the trim piece and put the trim back on.
You are done.
I guess you could disconnect the emergency release cable from the actuator and tape the cable to the underside of the trim and put the trim in - giving the factor appearance of an emergency release - if you wanted to!
Or, just leave things as they are and hope this doesn't happen to you!
The design here is so stupid as to be beyond my comprehension. You have an assembly of all heavy metal parts (as they should be) in your latch mechanism. And in there, with those parts, is a plastic lever-thingy that the emergency release handle is cabled to. This cheap little piece of plastic is asked to slide the actuator down in the latch if someone pulls on the handle from the inside of the trunk. With the fact that plastics can become brittle such an obvious concern, I can't believe they'd rely on it to do the job!
But worse than that, is what happened to me last weekend. I am comfortable now (after spending the last 40 minutes in the garage) to lay blame on that very part. Read on.
Last night, I found the broken off piece of the lever in the little tray around the latch-hook on the back wall of the trunk. I had been wondering where the offending plastic piece that jammed the latch was..... and wondered where it came from. Well, when I found it, I "saw" where it came from: the plastic actuator cam for the emergency release had broken in two. I glued the two pieces together last night. Just now, I put that part back in, to try to understand how this all worked. I can't believe what I am seeing.
The piece of the plastic that is the actuator arm rests in the cavity with the metal actuator from the outside button. These two pieces jar each other during trunk opening and closing operations. (Mostly during the opening, actually.) At one point, sometime Sunday or before, the end broke off the plastic actuator and found it's way down BELOW the point where the metal button's actuator has to swing to open the trunk. (THAT was the problem all along, I just was not sure where the plastic part that was jamming it came from, or where it went after we got the trunk open.)
I will NEVER replace the emergency actuator piece as long as I own this car. I am going to put the trim back, and leave the handle / cable out and store it in the garage. PERHAPS, if I were to sell the car, I'd order the plastic part and put it all in. But it would be (to me) a time bomb in the trunk - wating to spring on the next owner.
If you want to avoid the mess I had on my hands, do this:
1) Open the trunk. (See your manual for instructions.)
2) Use a flatblade screwdriver (or the special tool from an auto parts store) to remove all the insert-thingys holding the trim to the underside of the trunklid.
3) The emergency release cable from the glow-in-the-dark-like-a-haloween-trick emergency handle will be attached to a plastic cam bolted to the latch assembly.
3A) Use a small wrench or pair of pliers to unscrew the built-in nut that is part of this plastic cam assembly from the latch assembly.
4) Remove the emergency handle from the trim piece and put the trim back on.
You are done.
I guess you could disconnect the emergency release cable from the actuator and tape the cable to the underside of the trim and put the trim in - giving the factor appearance of an emergency release - if you wanted to!
Or, just leave things as they are and hope this doesn't happen to you!
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
TIME FOR AN UPDATE!
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Last edited by pizzaguy; May 18, 2010 at 08:52 AM.
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 277
Likes: 2
From: WI
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Thanks for the update! Looks like I'll have to drop the liner once again and disconnect that cam system as I don't want it acting up in the future.
Besides, I'm too big to get into the trunk through the convertible top cover!
Besides, I'm too big to get into the trunk through the convertible top cover!
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Not sure you can disconnect it. I suspect it provides feedback to the top control module (or BCM) such that it indicates when it is locked so the top can move! Of course, you could fake it out by altering the wiring so that it indicates a lock at all times (I guess).
I just relocated mine so I could go on my trip.
I just relocated mine so I could go on my trip.
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
So, the emergency release is a Crossfire thing... but the jam I had is a Roadster-only thing.
I SO wish I'd taken things apart last fall and got to the bottom of this then.
I SO wish I'd taken things apart last fall and got to the bottom of this then.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 25,432
Likes: 647
From: Ontario
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
So, the emergency release is a Crossfire thing... but the jam I had is a Roadster-only thing.
I SO wish I'd taken things apart last fall and got to the bottom of this then.
I SO wish I'd taken things apart last fall and got to the bottom of this then.
This thread was the forerunner of an even longer thread by pizzaguy, time flies.
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
I still say that plastic cam on the emergency release is WRONG. But it does turn out that my problem is the lock actuator for the convertible top system.
How **** can they be that they put an extra lock on the car just so you can't open the trunk lid during the 23 seconds the top is going up or down????
How **** can they be that they put an extra lock on the car just so you can't open the trunk lid during the 23 seconds the top is going up or down????
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 277
Likes: 2
From: WI
Re: Trunklid Jammed
It's all about liability. What a Nanny State our world has become where you have to prevent some moron from climbing inside the trunk while the top is going down so they can't sue Chrysler.
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 25,432
Likes: 647
From: Ontario
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
I still say that plastic cam on the emergency release is WRONG. But it does turn out that my problem is the lock actuator for the convertible top system.
How **** can they be that they put an extra lock on the car just so you can't open the trunk lid during the 23 seconds the top is going up or down????
How **** can they be that they put an extra lock on the car just so you can't open the trunk lid during the 23 seconds the top is going up or down????
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Yea, the lid that opens so the top can go up/down covers the area the trunklid uses to swing up.
So, it could mean damaged paint - but you can't even move the top unless the sensors indicate the lid is closed to begin with. What idiot is gonna try to open the trunk with the big lid up and in the way?
So, it could mean damaged paint - but you can't even move the top unless the sensors indicate the lid is closed to begin with. What idiot is gonna try to open the trunk with the big lid up and in the way?
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 25,432
Likes: 647
From: Ontario
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
Yea, the lid that opens so the top can go up/down covers the area the trunklid uses to swing up.
So, it could mean damaged paint - but you can't even move the top unless the sensors indicate the lid is closed to begin with. What idiot is gonna try to open the trunk with the big lid up and in the way?
So, it could mean damaged paint - but you can't even move the top unless the sensors indicate the lid is closed to begin with. What idiot is gonna try to open the trunk with the big lid up and in the way?
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 25,432
Likes: 647
From: Ontario
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
TIME FOR AN UPDATE!
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Oh, wait - that post and WHAT other one? (PM me if you need to!)
And thanks! I stumbled onto TWO other roadsters last fall that had this intermittent problem.
And thanks! I stumbled onto TWO other roadsters last fall that had this intermittent problem.
Thread Starter
|
Administrator
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 13,932
Likes: 1,266
From: Fort Worth, Texas
Re: Trunklid Jammed
180: Here is a summary of my experience with the "Roadster Trunklid that won't open". I know the plastic actuator of the emergency release lever can break off and jam the latch, but after test driving NUMEROUS Roadsters last fall and experiencing trunklids that would not open, I now am sure the problem is the electric trunk lock.
I believe this because TWO roadsters I test drove refused to allow me to open the trunk, I activated the top momentarily and then parked it where it was to begin with (either up or down) and the trunklid THEN opened!
Many of us probably don't know that the trunklid in the Roadster has TWO locks: the pneumatic one and an additional electric lock that is ONLY in the "Lock Position" for the 23 seconds it takes to put the top up or down. It is this electric lock that was the culprit in my car and the two other cars I test drove. This electric actuator seems to have a tendency to not retract into the "unlocked" position all the way, at times!
I believe this because TWO roadsters I test drove refused to allow me to open the trunk, I activated the top momentarily and then parked it where it was to begin with (either up or down) and the trunklid THEN opened!
Many of us probably don't know that the trunklid in the Roadster has TWO locks: the pneumatic one and an additional electric lock that is ONLY in the "Lock Position" for the 23 seconds it takes to put the top up or down. It is this electric lock that was the culprit in my car and the two other cars I test drove. This electric actuator seems to have a tendency to not retract into the "unlocked" position all the way, at times!
Well, my verdict is in: The emergency release is a ticking time bomb in the trunk of your Roadster.
The design here is so stupid as to be beyond my comprehension. You have an assembly of all heavy metal parts (as they should be) in your latch mechanism. And in there, with those parts, is a plastic lever-thingy that the emergency release handle is cabled to. This cheap little piece of plastic is asked to slide the actuator down in the latch if someone pulls on the handle from the inside of the trunk. With the fact that plastics can become brittle such an obvious concern, I can't believe they'd rely on it to do the job!
But worse than that, is what happened to me last weekend. I am comfortable now (after spending the last 40 minutes in the garage) to lay blame on that very part. Read on.
Last night, I found the broken off piece of the lever in the little tray around the latch-hook on the back wall of the trunk. I had been wondering where the offending plastic piece that jammed the latch was..... and wondered where it came from. Well, when I found it, I "saw" where it came from: the plastic actuator cam for the emergency release had broken in two. I glued the two pieces together last night. Just now, I put that part back in, to try to understand how this all worked. I can't believe what I am seeing.
The piece of the plastic that is the actuator arm rests in the cavity with the metal actuator from the outside button. These two pieces jar each other during trunk opening and closing operations. (Mostly during the opening, actually.) At one point, sometime Sunday or before, the end broke off the plastic actuator and found it's way down BELOW the point where the metal button's actuator has to swing to open the trunk. (THAT was the problem all along, I just was not sure where the plastic part that was jamming it came from, or where it went after we got the trunk open.)
I will NEVER replace the emergency actuator piece as long as I own this car. I am going to put the trim back, and leave the handle / cable out and store it in the garage. PERHAPS, if I were to sell the car, I'd order the plastic part and put it all in. But it would be (to me) a time bomb in the trunk - wating to spring on the next owner.
If you want to avoid the mess I had on my hands, do this:
1) Open the trunk. (See your manual for instructions.)
2) Use a flatblade screwdriver (or the special tool from an auto parts store) to remove all the insert-thingys holding the trim to the underside of the trunklid.
3) The emergency release cable from the glow-in-the-dark-like-a-haloween-trick emergency handle will be attached to a plastic cam bolted to the latch assembly.
3A) Use a small wrench or pair of pliers to unscrew the built-in nut that is part of this plastic cam assembly from the latch assembly.
4) Remove the emergency handle from the trim piece and put the trim back on.
You are done.
I guess you could disconnect the emergency release cable from the actuator and tape the cable to the underside of the trim and put the trim in - giving the factor appearance of an emergency release - if you wanted to!
Or, just leave things as they are and hope this doesn't happen to you!
The design here is so stupid as to be beyond my comprehension. You have an assembly of all heavy metal parts (as they should be) in your latch mechanism. And in there, with those parts, is a plastic lever-thingy that the emergency release handle is cabled to. This cheap little piece of plastic is asked to slide the actuator down in the latch if someone pulls on the handle from the inside of the trunk. With the fact that plastics can become brittle such an obvious concern, I can't believe they'd rely on it to do the job!
But worse than that, is what happened to me last weekend. I am comfortable now (after spending the last 40 minutes in the garage) to lay blame on that very part. Read on.
Last night, I found the broken off piece of the lever in the little tray around the latch-hook on the back wall of the trunk. I had been wondering where the offending plastic piece that jammed the latch was..... and wondered where it came from. Well, when I found it, I "saw" where it came from: the plastic actuator cam for the emergency release had broken in two. I glued the two pieces together last night. Just now, I put that part back in, to try to understand how this all worked. I can't believe what I am seeing.
The piece of the plastic that is the actuator arm rests in the cavity with the metal actuator from the outside button. These two pieces jar each other during trunk opening and closing operations. (Mostly during the opening, actually.) At one point, sometime Sunday or before, the end broke off the plastic actuator and found it's way down BELOW the point where the metal button's actuator has to swing to open the trunk. (THAT was the problem all along, I just was not sure where the plastic part that was jamming it came from, or where it went after we got the trunk open.)
I will NEVER replace the emergency actuator piece as long as I own this car. I am going to put the trim back, and leave the handle / cable out and store it in the garage. PERHAPS, if I were to sell the car, I'd order the plastic part and put it all in. But it would be (to me) a time bomb in the trunk - wating to spring on the next owner.
If you want to avoid the mess I had on my hands, do this:
1) Open the trunk. (See your manual for instructions.)
2) Use a flatblade screwdriver (or the special tool from an auto parts store) to remove all the insert-thingys holding the trim to the underside of the trunklid.
3) The emergency release cable from the glow-in-the-dark-like-a-haloween-trick emergency handle will be attached to a plastic cam bolted to the latch assembly.
3A) Use a small wrench or pair of pliers to unscrew the built-in nut that is part of this plastic cam assembly from the latch assembly.
4) Remove the emergency handle from the trim piece and put the trim back on.
You are done.
I guess you could disconnect the emergency release cable from the actuator and tape the cable to the underside of the trim and put the trim in - giving the factor appearance of an emergency release - if you wanted to!
Or, just leave things as they are and hope this doesn't happen to you!
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
TIME FOR AN UPDATE!
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 12,780
Likes: 184
From: Lineville, AL
Re: Trunklid Jammed
Originally Posted by pizzaguy
TIME FOR AN UPDATE!
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Ok, I still say the emergency release is a problem, but I just got back from an 1800 mile trip. The evening before I left, it happened again, the trunklid would not open.
Of course, I was disgusted. But what is this? I removed the emergency release (which operates a PLASTIC cam in the middle of all of that metal in the latch assembly). What else could it possibly be?
Well, it was time to get to the bottom of it. I hit the button (top was up), raised the rear widow and decklid. I then crawled in and took off the trim cover from the trunklid. I saw the "rouge" piece of plastic jamming the lock and moved it aside. I then hit the button and closed the decklid and lowered the window.
Now, opening the trunk, I made up my mind to get to the bottom of this sillyness.
Taking all 14 nuts and bolts out, I removed the entire latch/lock assembly. GUESS WHAT! That was no "rouge" piece of plastic after all! The plastic I moved aside was the cam from the "electric cam lock".
See, our cars have TWO locks - the pneumatic lock and an electric cam lock. The cam lock (as I call it) is activated by the electronics when you hit the top button. This lock makes it impossible for someone to open the trunk during the 23 seconds it takes you to put the top up or down!
WHAT WAS REALLY WRONG:
The electric cam was not retracting all the way when the top was done moving - the cam motor/assembly is defective. In order to leave for my trip, I removed the two screws securing the cam assembly to the lock mechanism and tie-wrapped the mechanism to the trunklid so that it could go in and out all it wants to without interfering with the trunk latch.
I still think the emergency release is a potential problem, but now I KNOW that my problem was the electric cam for the "top movement lock".
Hope this helps anyone who has a problem with their Roadster's trunklid.
Last edited by ala_xfire; Jan 1, 2012 at 10:54 AM.
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: goodyear az
Re: Trunklid Jammed
I have been fighting with my trunk for a month now. I got in through the roof pulled the handle, it opened a couple times. Once I ran to town, it played dead again.
I will use the info from this thread to go after it..
Thanks guys.
I will use the info from this thread to go after it..
Thanks guys.