Hi Folks,

I am on Crossfire SRT 6 for a couple of weeks now. It's an 05, graphite, 46 Tmiles, pretty good shape after some decent detailing and cleaning. Use it as a daily driver and as my 2nd car. I am really enjoying it - awesome car.

New to the forum as well. The entire forum in general was very helpful and it is amazing how much knowledge is out there.

In any event I haven't found a fix / an area to search addressing the following issue:

you close the top - everything works well (windows down, back opening, top closing) till you hear the 1st klick. Then the top window is going (fine as well) down but the final step where you hear the 2nd click afterwards before you make the final maul step is not working at all. The hook is not going into the opening or the catcher is not getting the hook.
Work around: you close the top by pressing the back center below the window just manually down till it clicks and continue /finish the closing process just as normal. No red or blinking light on the console switch after everything is done.

Any ideas where to start or to search any further.

Thanks
Aatln

 

As you described, the problem is in the rear bow latch. This latch is hydraulically operated, the first thing I would try is some white lithium grease on all the moving parts including the hook arm attached to the top bow. ( This fixed mine 2 years ago with this same condition, and still working fine today )

You can remove the 4 10mm nuts (#2) and drop the unit down inside the trunk for access to all the points that need lubeing :

 

alaxfire,

please excuse my ignorance, as I am not a Crossfire owner. The rear bow latch and cylinder (p/n A 193 750 01 84 aka 1937500184) are a slight variation of a part that is literally used in hundreds of thousands of Mercedes SL-Class convertibles, and we have rebuilt a good fraction of those already. We have never run into them being sticky from lack of lube or from dirt inside, but they may be mounted in a more protected way in those cars, which could make all the difference. Did you notice your latch having a hard time moving, or was it particularly dirty?

Coincidentally, these are typically the first cylinders on Mercedes convertibles to show leaking, because they are mounted in a spot where they get exposed to more heat than the other cylinders, and the seal decay is a chemical reaction that gets accelerated by heat.

What we do run into with those locks (latches) if the top won't close properly, is that the prong they are supposed to receive from the rear window is not hitting the lock in the right spot, meaning something is out of alignment, some hinges are terribly sticky, or the hydraulics are pushing unevenly. On all cars that I have worked on, the prong can be adjusted by loosening its mounting bolts and sliding the prong around to where it needs to be. I assume that's the case for Crossfire convertible tops, as well. (Important: mark the original position first with a felt tip marker...)

Klaus

 

All good points.
Mine was not particularly dirty, it just looked as if it may have had some corrosion.
When the top is down on the XF Roadster, the rear bow slot is left open and exposed : I suppose if someone left it in the rain with the top down, this can happen.

I have often thought that Chrysler / Daimler should have supplied a simple rubber plug to close the hole if so desired.