Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read this and offer suggestions to help. I bought this '05 roadster 4 months ago for my girlfriend as a reward for quitting smoking. She is still smoke free!

I have read a lot of the threads on here regarding top issues and spoiler issues and let me just say, I have only become more confused so let me start from the beginning.


Shortly after purchasing the 66k mile 2 owner convertible, we started having issues with the tow away alarm (lights only) going off for no apparent reason. we thought we had that solved by turning off the tow alarm when we parked the car. This was an intermittent issue and returns at times if we forget to turn it off.

Next, we found a leak on the main lift cylinders. I ordered and replaced all 7 cylinders (Top Hydraulics). When trying to bleed the air out of the system, the top would not go all the way up and the tank was depleting the fluid with each cycle. That is when I discovered the pump assembly was now leaking and had filled the void in the quarter panel. I ordered a pump assembly from Klaus and installed it. Just as I thought we would be ready to cruise with the top down I discovered the light in the top switch was blinking rapidly(owners manual states general top control module fault). Knowing that nothing had changed other than a pump assembly being swapped, I plugged the original pump back in. The fault remained(cargo divider is up and switch is made) so I plugged new pump back in. Fault is still there.

I decided to try and disconnect the battery and see if that would do anything. I found the negative clamp to be slightly loose and unable to tighten any more. I installed a new clamp, charged the battery and then reconnected the cables. When I got the cables on, the tow away alarm activated. I had to start the car to get the lights to stop flashing. The top fault is still there and when I started the car, the spoiler came up and will not go back down. So now I don't think I can manually lower the top with the spoiler up.

I have checked all the fuses under the hood and all are good. The light on the top switch is still flashing rapidly and when you unlatch the top and push it up to the first stop, the windows do not come down. The trunk will open however and you can hear the doors lock and unlock when the button is pushed.

I'm new to this forum stuff and easily get lost and sidetracked so I have not found a recent thread with anyone recommending a reasonably priced scan tool that will read the BCM and Top Control Module. Talk about getting sidetracked, trying to research scanners is another frustrating task, along with the whole stellantis secure gateway must buy a subscription bull!

Thanks again for any help you can provide.

 

Found a new thread from Pizzaguy August 2020. Looks like I need to check my latch retainer switch for my next step. Thanks to pizzaguy and srt6-xfire - David,
I now know where to look. It may beacouple of days but I'll be sure to let you know what I find.

 

Here is some info on top problems from Robert McCubbin and other sources : Crossfire Convertible trouble shooting top sensors 1. https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...tml#post945786
2. That's almost always a broken wire from the rear bow lock sensor switch to either the Power Top Control Module (PTCM) or to the ground lug over the rear wheel well. I have repair about 6 Crossfires with this problem and even did to fix mine but it will have to wait until after my Crossfire Tech Day tomorrow.
You can pull fuse to stop the beeping until you fix the broken wire.
This the top cycle didn't complete its cycle correctly, the Secondary Electric Lock Actuator Arm is engaged, which is why you can't get into your trunk.
There is a simple backdoor method to unlock the trunk. Try this first before trying to release the Secondary Electric Lock Actuator Arm through the right license plate light opening.
First, before starting the backdoor procedure, make sure that both doors are unlocked, which will mean the Primary pneumatic trunk lock is engaged in the unlocked position.
Backdoor Procedure:
With the ignition switch “On” press the “Top Down “ button. While holding the button down, turn off the ignition and continue to hold the button for about 10 seconds. Trunk should unlock.
This procedure releases the Secondary Electric Lock, which is what prevents the trunk from opening if the top operation doesn't complete the up or down movement cycle.

If for some reason this doesn't work then you will have to go through the right license plate light opening and pull, to the right, the Secondary Electric Lock Actuator Arm, to release it from the Primary trunk locking lever.
This procedure will also release the top's hydraulic pressure after about 5 seconds.
Another way to release the top's hydraulic pressure is to pull fuse #6 in the engine compartment fuse box.
Also, if the Power Top button in the center console hasn't been pushed in the last 10-11 minutes, then the hydraulic pressure will be self released.
Note: DO NOT attempt to manually move the top if the hydraulic pressure is not released.
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You probably noticed that the front bow didn't want to line up for closing. That's because the cycle didn't complete and release the hydraulic pressure.
Doing the backdoor procedure or pulling fuse #6 will release the pressure and allow the front bow to pull down into the latches for lock down.

3. Watch all the Crossfire videos by Top Hydraulics to help with you problem on Youtube


4. Crossfire Info s https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/tsbs-how-articles/49558-index-crossfire-problems-repairs.html

 

The alarm going off can be caused by a bad alarm siren, unplug it and see what happens. The spoiler going up is usually a sign of a weak or bad battery which can cause many other issues with these cars. I would replace the battery. Always have the car running when operating the top, this guarantees good strong voltage.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Update on the top issue. I tested the latch switch by rolling the windows all the way up and then trying to lower the top. The windows did not go down when the top was moved into the first step of opening.

Not having the time to disassemble the windshield trim tonight, I decided to manually lower the top and then try to raise the top(with the engine running). Although the spoiler is up, it is in the fully extended position which allowed me to manually lower the top. The top was smooth in it's travel and everything stowed perfectly so I'm thinking I did not put anything in the wrong place when I replaced all of the cylinders.

Things are looking up(I thought) so now we try to raise the top, the tonneau unlatched and raised about 3 inches. Klaus had stated in one of the videos that he had to press the button 10 times to get the top to fully raise. With that thought in mind, I tried again with less luck this time but I could hear the pump running. I checked the tank level and it was nearly empty. with a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, we checked the void in the quarterpanel and lo and behold there was the fluid from the tank. I called Klaus to see if he had any ideas of what I may have done to cause this but it was after 4 PST so I left him a message and closed up the garage. I'll try to get back at it in a day or so.

 

Update on the top issue. Finally got a chance to get back to the Crossfire tonight. I had pinched the bottom O ring on the tonneau lift cylinder. I got that replaced with one of the spares that were left from the cylinder replacement. Filled the tank up, started the car and the top went right up. The top also went down with the switch also, no fault light flashing.

feeling pretty lucky, I decided to try and lower the spoiler and it worked just like it was supposed to. I'm gonna leave the trim panel off for a few days so I can keep an eye on the fluid level but everything is looking good for now.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Thank you for the update.