14 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCH04 C4S Cab "Top not in latched position"
Leading reported evidence
Disconnect top will latch properly one or two times
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
When the battery is disconnected the top will latch properly one or two times before it faults out again.
Leading evidence: 'Disconnect top will latch properly one or two times' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'present' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check sensor by sensor' (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.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
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.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause · Original poster
I still suspect that the clamshell is at fault since the issue is present when putting the top up or down but don't have anything to support that theory yet.
Outcome qualification: Negation, uncertainty or missing explicit repair resolution overrides the raw extraction signal.
Check sensor by sensor
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
I�m wondering if I should try calibrating the convertible top or start checking sensor by sensor.
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.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
Any suggestions for checking the sensors manually or for a good scan tool that can access the cabrio data?
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.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
I thought that I might be onto something with that sensor but later realized that it coincided with me disconnecting the battery.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
Regardless of putting the top up or down, when the motors stop running the convertible top light on the dash illuminates and if you start to drive off "top not in latched position" pops up on the dash.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
Going either up or down during final latching you can hear the motors running for a a few seconds, then they stop and the top not latched symbol flashes on the dash.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
present
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause · Original poster
I still suspect that the clamshell is at fault since the issue is present when putting the top up or down but don't have anything to support that theory yet.
Outcome qualification: Negation, uncertainty or missing explicit repair resolution overrides the raw extraction signal.
Coverage and how to read this overview
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.
14 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 1 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T172408Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
2004 C4S Cabriolet having an issue with the convertible top faulting at the end of the latching sequence. The top goes up and down smoothly and everything appears to be in the fully latched position, but the car doesn't seem to think it is fully latched. I have watched the latches while the top cycles and it appears they all function properly and the top is flush against the windshield when closed. Regardless of putting the top up or down, when the motors stop running the convertible top light on the dash illuminates and if you start to drive off "top not in latched position" pops up on the dash. The issue being present when the top is in the up and down position leads me to think the issue may be with the clamshell or a sensor related to the clamshell.
Any suggestions for checking the sensors manually or for a good scan tool that can access the cabrio data?
There is a small plastic cover, that breaks/falls off/etc, that goes over the hook part of the latch that is needed to activate (hit) the micro switch that tells the car top is closed. Common problem with an easy cheap fix,,, for a change...
Think i saved the part number, I'll look for it....
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/por...dium=ppc&ttv=2
I was looking into that issue but would that cause a problem when putting the top down as well? Was under the impression that was only a problem when closing the top.
Well, when I read the below post, this is what most of the time causes the top up problem you have. Top all the way down problems are another thing. I'd start with this micro switch/plastic cover problem. Test the micro switch.
If you close top 90% of the way and use a bright flashlight and small tool to find/push(hold in) the micro switch gently, the light should go out...
So after inspection it looks like my hook does have the plastic cover you mentioned. I messed with the switch near that latch and got the top to latch properly twice. Thinking it was fixed, I put the top all the way down to see if it fixed the issues when opening. It did not and since putting the top all the way back I can�t get it to latch closed properly again. Everything appears to be working properly so I�ll have to get a scan tool to determine what is causing the fault.
Finally got a diagnostic in to read the fault codes on the convertible top but the only code it has is �maximum time exceeded (timeout)�. So I�m suspecting that a micro switch somewhere is not resounding with the correct values or in the correct amount of time. I�m wondering if I should try calibrating the convertible top or start checking sensor by sensor.
Once again the symptoms are:
top goes up and down without issue. Going either up or down during final latching you can hear the motors running for a a few seconds, then they stop and the top not latched symbol flashes on the dash. If you start to drive away a warning message will appear on the screen saying �top not in latched position�. If you remove the battery terminals for a while then reconnect them, the top will latch properly the first time but not after that until the battery is removed again.
I have a Launch scan tool and the Durametric Pro tool and neither one can read live data and switch status of the convertible top. Which scan tool do you have?
Durametric Pro. Pretty disappointed with the convertible top module functions, it's quite limited like you say. I'll have to break out the multimeter and verify values
Not sure what "messed with" means, but if you got top to latch closed properly 2 times with no light on, by whatever you did by the latch, I'd look there to start. Seen that plastic cover look good but its not. Solve 1 problem at a time.
When putting top down, Does the clam shell close all the way when holding tops dash switch in...?
"Messed with" meaning I manually actuated the sensor myself. I thought that I might be onto something with that sensor but later realized that it coincided with me disconnecting the battery. When the battery is disconnected the top will latch properly one or two times before it faults out again.
I have a new plastic cover for the hook and will install it this afternoon.
Yes, the clamshell closes all the way when the top goes up or down. I still suspect that the clamshell is at fault since the issue is present when putting the top up or down but don't have anything to support that theory yet.
After further investigation I’ve found that my clamshell potentiometer isn’t maintaining 6.2 KOhms. I can set it to 6.2 KOhms but after actuating a few times the resistance always ends up back around 5.95 KOhms. Does this sound like the potentiometer is defective or am I missing something?
Just wanted to provide an update.
It appears that clearing the cabrio module faults and calibrating the top it seems to be functioning correctly again. Thanks to everyone that helped diagnose this.
For others trying to troubleshoot this, and because PIWIS 3 is somewhat of an undocumented mystery to all of us, something Ross and I learned was that the PIWIS 3's calibration procedure would not run when the cabriolet top was in the full closed/up position. That stumped us a bit until we decided to try the procedure again after we put the top into the fully open/down position. Then the calibration procedure was able to be started.
One other thing, initially, we tried to save time by only scanning the convertible top module within PIWIS but the calibration routine was never presented to us as a choice. It wasn't until we went back and scanned all the possible modules, then went into the convertible top module that the calibration routine showed as choice.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
