Hello: had a new top installed turned out fine, however they noticed that one of the hydrolic lift arms were leaking, so I had them both rebuilt by top hydrolics out of Portland Oregon. They installed them and then the trouble started, now nothing works, windows don’t go down when turning D handle, and the light for the top on the console is blinking. Needless to say, they don’t know how to repair. I searched everywhere in Richmond va and no one including Mercedes will work on this car. Can anyone steer me towards an expert that can repair my too ? I love in the suburbs of Richmond, Va

 

Who is "they" installed them and was it someone that knows and understands Crossfires? The sensors on the cylinders must be installed correctly.

 

The very fact that turning the "D" handle does not cause the windows to go down points rather sharply at the PTCM (power top control module).
The windows going down is fundamental. I"m actually having a hard time understanding how they could screw it up this badly. A blinking light on the top switch (is that the one you refer to?) indicates that the PTCM is alive but confused or it sees sensor inputs that make no sense to it. But it also means that the "brain power feed" is OK (so that fuse is OK). I'll think this over a bit and tell you what I think when I come to a guess as to what is going on.

Did it work when you got the car back and then fail later, or did they return to car to you not workintg?

 

Thanks for your reply. The company that worked on it is called interior guys in Richmond, Va. The top stopped working in July. They said replacing the left and right lift arm would solve the issue. They F’d up everything and then say they can’t fix it.

 

You do not appear to understand, in order for me to understand the flow of events, I must form a timeline in my head of exactly what happened and when. First you said they replaced the top and that started the trouble. Now you say replacing the "arms" (I think you mean cylinders) caused the problem.

The more I read here, the less I think I know what is going on. Try reading this and then posting:
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tech-help.html

 

What ? I told you I had a new top installed, that part was fine. In addition, The top won’t function, I was told the hydraulic lift arm on left side was leaking fluid and needed replacement. I had both the left and right lift arms rebuilt by Top Hydraulics and installed. When they installed them, all these electrical problems occurred. They worked on it today and now the windows go down and the top control button isn’t blinking anymore. Now a just have a top that won’t function

 

So is this the order of what happened, or if it's different, please fill in the blanks:
Your top worked fine before you had it replaced, but it needed to be replaced.
The techs at Interior Guys in Richmond, Va replaced the top.
Then they noticed the left side hydraulic cylinder was leaking, so you had both cylinders rebuilt by Tops Hydraulics.
The techs at Interior guys put in the rebuilt cylinders and that's when the electrical problems began.
You took it back to them and they were able to get the D-ring to activate the windows and the top button light is no longer blinking.
However your top will not work by using the button.
Have I missed anything?
Can you operate the top manually?
Please understand that if we were there and could visually see and hear what is going on with your car, it would be easier to figure out.
Pizzaguy is one of the best at figuring out electronics issues.
The more information you give in the order that it happened, the easier it will be to help solve the problem.

 

Your re-enactment is spot on. Thank you for understanding it all. So after a new top, 2 new hydraulic lift arms, I have no functional top. But at least the windows go down when the D handle is activated.

 

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Just a guess here but are you sure the cylinder position sensors were put back in the correct location (right one in the right place)? Hope you get it sorted out, good luck!



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No problem.
Like ZERACER and GraphiteGhost posted, maybe it's the cylinder position sensors.
You can also try looking at the trunk divider switch. It's located on the left side in the U shaped slot that the trunk panel hooks into. Make sure that it moves correctly. You can bypass it and see if your top works. Apparently this switch fails a lot.
This thread by pizzaguy has a ton of information in it. Conertible top thread

 

YEP, refer to post #2, they are not interchangeable.

 

I modified my reply. I forgot that you had already mentioned the sensors in your post #2.

 

No problem, we are all just trying to help. I just wish more people would respond with the actual solution they find.

 

truly appreciate all the responses. Just to clarify, are you saying that the left or right hydraulic lift arms are. Labeled left and right and must be installed as such ? Are the arms labeled ?

 

I am talking about the sensors that attach to the sides of the lifts that tell them if they are extended inward or outward. the correct one must be at the top and the other correct one at the bottom, on both lifts. Did you watch Top Hydraulics videos on U-tube?

 

Gotcha, well the shop that installed the hydraulic lifts was in contact with Top hydraulics on the install. They assured me that they followed directions and installed them correctly. What they are uncertain of is if all the sensors/ relay switches are working properly. And they just aren’t experts in this category, nor am I so I need to find someone that understands the issues and how to solve.

 

Are you on fakebook?
There is a Crossfire forum on there. There are a few people that travel to do repairs. One guy is Brian Hoffman. He installs convertible tops for a living and also does repairs. He travels to basically anywhere.
I have never used him to repair anything on my car. If you post your problem there you might find someone else close by that may be able to help.

 

There is a guy in Cape Coral Florida who is a former Chrysler tech who has all the DRB3 software on his laptop. He is a pro! You can find him on Facebook as Tight Works Auto Repair. His name is Alex Tuchbaum. He is a real Crossfire guru. Don't know if that is very helpful but we are running out of experts on our cars and he's really sharp!

 

Thanks, really appreciate your taking the time to give me a contact, question becomes, will he travel and at what cost, thanks again. Hard to believe I went to 2 Chrysler dealers and they said they don’t have anyone familiar with Crossfires, lol, Terrible

 

That's because you don't have a Chrysler, you have a Mercedes for the most part.