My roadster top works through the whole process until the last stage. When I pull it down to latch it to the windshield frame it won't latch. Is it possible it is the latch sensor?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

What does it do / not do? Does the D ring turn? Do the hooks on the front of the top move? Does it pull down to the header and line up? How long has it been doing this? Has any work been done recently?

 

Thanks for your quick reply, unfortunately I had to leave right after I posted this and couldn't get back to it until now.
It goes through right until the last phase when you pull it down and lock it to the windshield frame. The D ring does turn and it pulls down to the frame but the ring won't turn back to lock it. The hooks prior to pulling it down do turn. It pulls down appearing to be flush with the frame but the ring won't turn to lock the hooks in. It started doing it last fall just before I put it away for the winter. I haven't been able to drive it much this year and have only taken short trips with no rain in the forecast. No work was done prior to it starting this.

 

THis comes up from time to time. It is hard to say what it is, because there are a few similar issues that all kinda sound alike.
But I suspect the top is not lined up exactly right such that the hooks are not 'fitting into' the opening in the windshield frame and therefore, the D ring can't go back where is should be cause the hooks cant seat where they should seat.

Take a look at that. As the top is pulled down, are the hooks not lining up with the opening?
Can you use your phone to shoot a short video of what is happening? That way, we can see exactly what is going on and take it from there. There are adjustments in the linkages/straps that can cause this, it's not all that hard to fix, most of the time.

 

Thanks for the info. It seems to be lined up as it seems so flush when it snaps down, but it snaps so fast into the frame. I will get someone to help me to see if we can check it a little better.

 

It appears to be lined up and fits down in the openings the way it should, but won't allow me to turn the D ring to pull it down tight. Is it possible that it just needs a slight adjustment in the linkages/straps you mentioned? Where are they located? Is there anything that is in the openings for the hooks that is moved as a result of the process of going through the power cycle of raising the top?

 

I had a similar problem with my limited 2 or 3 years ago, something had broken apart in the mechanism that I couldn’t repair. I had to take the fabric loose across the front to get in there for inspection. I bought a replacement mechanism off eBay. Pretty simple repair.

 

Do you mean the mechanism that controls the movement of the hooks from the D ring? In my case the hooks turn fine and that part seems to be okay. The problem is once I get it snapped down to the windshield frame the hooks won't turn in to lock the top down.

 

The latches in the headliner are nothing but open cavities that the hooks go in. the one on the passenger side has a switch in it that verifies it is latched / unlatched. put a finger in each of the cavities to verify nothing is in there. if they are clear, it has to be an alignment problem. verify the bolts are tight and they do not move. If they are solid, take measurements to see if anything is bent or damaged. Are you certain the top lip goes all of the way down to the windshield header?

 

Okay thanks for the information. I won't get a chance to check the above until tomorrow. I have put a finger in the cavities and nothing is in there. The top lip seems to go all the way down to the header and is flush all the way along. It seems to be at the same position it has always been until it gets locked down with the hooks being locked in.

 

I was able to get a better look at it on the weekend. It looks like the hooks are going into the opening but are stopped on something and so don't hook in to pull all the way down. Where are the linkages/straps to adjust in order fix the alignment?

 

Will the D handle turn completely to the locked position when the top is at rest above the windshield frame?

 

When it goes through the cycle and is at the point to pull it down the last bit and lock it the D handle works fine and the hooks move to the locked position as they should. When I pull it down to the windshield frame and try and lock it in, it won't lock. If I move it off the windshield frame a bit then the D handle moves the hooks open and closed as they are supposed to.

 

I'm still can't get the top to latch but I did discover by accident that if it goes through the whole cycle except stop it where the last part where the rear window section moves down into the cover it will then latch into the windshield frame. But doing that the cycle won't finish with the rear window section snapping in. I have to unlatch from the windshield frame and pull it away and then the back will finish.

 

The linkages in the top are out of adjustment. Please see post 4.

Robert McCubbin in Olathe, Kansas has dealt with this. I will try to get him to chime in as I can't tell you exactly what he found.

 

Thanks for the reply. Where are the linkages located? I'm not very mechanically minded so forgive me if the question seems simple.
Any help is appreciated.

 

I think it is time to take the fabric loose across the front and roll it back so you can see what is happening when you try to lock it in place.

 

That is what I would do. Just watch the video on replacing the top.

 

1) Robert says: Usually, it's because the top is not tight to the front windshield frame. Since the owner can do it before the back bow is engaged, that would be my guess. All of a sudden, Jodi's Roadster is having this issue. You have to really pull down on the D-Handle hard before you can get the top tight to the front windshield frame and then turn the D-Handle. What I did not make clear to him, is that you can latch the top with the bow not yet latched - with the bow not lacthed, the top should NOT lock to the frame, but your's does - this tells me the linkages are NOT set properly. This is a mechanical issue, not hard to fix, unlike the electrical issues our cars often have.

2) The 2008 Roadster Service Manual is the BEST source of service information on the top - all other versions leave a LOT out. Download that manual today.

3) I asked you (in post 4) to make a video of what the hooks at the front do but you skipped that, but still expect someone to come up with an answer. As I tell people all the time "I am not going to work harder on this than you do." If you can't be bothered to do that, why should I take my personal time to help someone FREE who can't be bothered to provide the information I asked for?

I am not standing next you your car, you are. READ THE LINK IN MY SIGLINE BELOW.

3A) Stop to think that you are asking someone to diagnose the top without being there to see what is going on. Why not SHOW US what is going on? All I can do is GUESS, which is all that others in this thread are doing because that's all THEY can do.

 

Pizzaguy, is the 2008 Roadster Service manual available for download?

THANKS