So I finally got a manual top operating tool.
when I put the top down, I often get a beep beep beep alarm in the car while driving.
being that the larger cylinders are compressed in this stage I can push the top down button and the pump will kick in and all is well.
While manually operating the top I must be missing some step to keep it happy? Any ideas?
looking to do a full 7cyl rebuild thru top hydraulic soon, but can’t justify the expense currently due to a decreased income at the moment.

 

You are hearing a beep because you are not putting the top down manually correctly; you are not completing the cycle.
The reason pushing the button fixes it, is because pushing the button completes the cycle.

Are you locking the tonnaue lid? (I can never remember how to spell that...)

 

Yes torqued the cover till click. Think ur right on the cylinders not being completely compressed. Something I can live with for now, but waiting to do a complete rebuild. I’m used to 85k/year. Down to 3k/mo so I’m not spending on nice to haves.

 

Pizzaguy knows.

I was in your same situation a couple of years ago. I was manually putting the top up and down until I figured out that the two main lifting cylinders were leaking. I had TopHydraulics rebuild just those two and it worked great. I haven't had any trouble since then and I had completely forgotten many of the same issues that you're talking about when manually raising and lowering the top.

Looking back at a post I made in 2018, I said:

I have been leaving the engine on when moving the top up and down. As PizzaGuy says, it keeps the control system for the top knowing where the top is. I used to move the top up or down with the engine off and eventually, the control system got mixed up and I had to re-sync it.

I've added one more step to the manual process. After I finish the up or down process, I turn the engine off. I leave the engine off for two minutes. That seems to be the amount of time it takes the control system to go to sleep and the light on the power-up-power-down switch to go out. Once it goes out, (and it always seems to be right at two minutes), then it stays off after I start the engine up. I don't get any beeping at all following that system.

That might be worth a try. I don't know why it worked for me.

The other two questions:
1. Are you manually raising and lowering the top with the engine on?
2. Have you tried re-syncing the top following Pizzaguy's process of doing three complete cycles of raising and lowering the top with the engine on?

 

Thanks, will try with engine running.

 

And let us know if it works.

 

Yea, do not manually move the top without the key "ON", this powers up the PTCM and it can 'see' what you are doing, this will keep it from getting confused as easily as when the key is "OFF".
It does not matter if the engine is running or not, just get that PTCM powered up.

On a related note, do not raise or lower the top without the engine running if you are using the button. The spikes and sags on the 12 volt supply can be pretty severe - without the alternator powering the system, these gyrations in voltage can actually damage modules - case in point, I was putting the top up with the engine off back in 2015 when things "glitched" (my battery was almost five years old) and the top froze. I had to put it up manually, and had to re-sync it the next day to get it to move.

But the point is, my seatbelt module died when this happened. For so many reasons, always have the engine running when putting the top up or down with the button.

 

Thanks for all the great info! I have a pair of main lift cylinders on the way from top hydraulics. Hopefully back to normal soon!

 

Lift cylinders installed today! Thought I had a lifetime supply of hydraulic oil for this. Can leaked out in the trunk! Had just enough to fill to the low mark, more on the way. By chance I also had a box of Tide break open in there too, so it was just add water and scrub, shopvac out. Drying now. Nice to have this project behind me.

 

A bit late but it is tonneau not tonnaue. You have all the letters just flipped a little. I was not sure until the spell checker cut in and gave me a hint.