9 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCH996 Cabrio clamshell stuck on one side
Leading reported evidence
Replace battery
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Suggestion
I also had to replace the battery, so now my driver's side window won't roll up.
Leading evidence: 'Replace battery' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace battery' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suggestion
The previous owner replaced the convertible themselves and didn't do a great job of it, so the plan is to fix the clam shell and replace the top at some point over the winter.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Suggestion · Original poster
* Using force to pull the stuck side while opening/closing
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Suggestion
The previous owner replaced the convertible themselves and didn't do a great job of it, so the plan is to fix the clam shell and replace the top at some point over the winter.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
9 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261027T011819Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Hi,
yesterday I encountered an issue with the roof on my 2002 Carrera 4 that the clamshell (the lid that hides the the roof and contains the top break light) won't open properly when attempting to close the roof. One side (the driver side) stays closed while the other side opens normally causing the clamshell to start to bend. This happens with the electronic button and when cranking the manual emergency operation behind the rear seats. It appears that the latch on the clam shell is not unlatching itself. This is not certain as it is really hard to see the latch with the roof down and the clamshell being tightly stuck, but when attempting to wiggle the driver side there is no play, while on the other side there always is some play. This issue happened after I heard something crack when opening the roof that morning (but the roof managed to complete the operation just fine).
So I'm wondering if anyone has experienced and solved this issue or whether there is a way to force the latch open somewhere so I could get the roof up at least. Is there a panel or something that could be removed to actually see the latch better instead of the small gap between the frame and the folded roof?
I've search about this issue, but cannot find this exact problem mentioned anywhere. Things I've tried:
* The manual emergency closing as mentioned above
* Using force to pull the stuck side while opening/closing
* Pushing/wiggling both of the sides while opening/closing
The car also has had some hydraulic oil leak, but the clamshell is a separate system as far as I know? Also the manual override should still work?
Any help is appreciated, thanks!
I'd suspect that the latch is not releasing on one side. There is a connecting rod that can separate from the latch (due to a missing retaining clip) that might cause this problem.
Take a look at this thread; it might help.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-top-part.html
This just happened to my 01 Carrera 2 Cabrio. Driver's side clamshell is down and will not budge. At this point, tried all the manual overrides and nothing has worked.
I haven't had time to work on it but started digging into today and came across this thread.
I'm going to check the link posted above and post my progress.
At this point, I want to get it closed so I can drive the car. I'm struggling to find a local shop that's willing to work on it, so DIY to the rescue.
Check out this thread. I had the same thing happen and this was the most helpful thread...
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...more-pics.html
One of two things may have happened. Something broke in the clamshell cable system (the clamshell is electric / cable operated, not hydraulic).
Or in my case, a bracket just bent.
It was still a major pain as I had to look in tight spots, fish a rope back behind the bracket and pull like hell to get it to move... But it CAN be fixed and does not require a dealer to program anything. Just a really good understanding of how the top mechanism works...
Whatever you do, don't grab the clamshell and try to pull it open. It's as flimsy as rice paper.
In my case, the cable was broken, but I didn't have an understanding of how to replace it, although I could see it was a $1000 part (4 years ago). Sadly, my indy wouldn't touch the top and even one of the Porsche dealers wouldn't touch it, but Danbury Porsche said to bring it in and $3000 later it was all fixed. I'm pretty sure I won't have to deal with that again, but if I had to, it would be DIY.
I got the passenger side clamshell nuts removed no problem but the top itself is stuck and I can't push it closed. The driver's side clamshell is essentially unreachable. I turned the manual override in hopes of being able to move something but no dice.
EDIT: Tried to post pics but they didn't load. The roof gets jammed up against the clamshell on the drivers side and I don't want to break anything by forcing it.
With the few inches that I can push it up, I can reach the rear 10mm nut on the clamshell. I'm going to see about getting that off and then go from there.
I couldn't get the fourth one off, so it's not completely resolved. I was able to figure out that it's a jam. I was able to move it enough to get the roof up all the way. I also had to replace the battery, so now my driver's side window won't roll up. The switch is working and I can hear clicking in the door, so that's my next project, for now.
The previous owner replaced the convertible themselves and didn't do a great job of it, so the plan is to fix the clam shell and replace the top at some point over the winter.
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