8 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHConvertible top occasionally refused to open/close
Leading reported evidence
Install smarttop last year and since
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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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
I installed the SmartTop last year and since then I have had failures 3 times.
Convertible top occasionally refused to open/close
Read full discussion summary
Leading evidence: 'Install smarttop last year and since' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'parking brake microswitch' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check by unplugging it and substituting one of the others' (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 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.
Convertible top occasionally refused to open/close
parking brake microswitch
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
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 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
If the parking brake light does not come on then it is probably a bad parking brake microswitch.
Convertible top occasionally refused to open/close
Check by unplugging it and substituting one of the others
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
You can easily check by unplugging it and substituting one of the others.
Convertible top occasionally refused to open/close
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.
8 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 · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T181445Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
My 1999 996 occasionally refused to either open or close the top. Instead, the little convertible warning light falshes a few times and I hear a couple of relay clicks from the back.
I've tried ensuring I'm in park and that the brake is pressed, etc. Since I expect there are a few switches to prevent you from erroroneously operating the top whiel moving, but this does not seem to help. Also stopping/starting the engine doesn't seem to help either. Only after driving around a little will the top operate again.
I'm suspecting there is some microswitch somewhere that is telling it that the top shouldn't operate, but apart from the brake/'in-park' switches I'm lost for where else to look.
Any ideas?
You engaged the parking brake but are you sure the parking brake light on the dashboard is lit? If the parking brake light does not come on then it is probably a bad parking brake microswitch.
If those recommendations don't work, it might be that the dash switch has failed. You can easily check by unplugging it and substituting one of the others. I had the exact same symptoms and that was my problem.
I had the same situation last fall. Intermittent problem, I took it to the dealer for a trackday inspection and he said everything is AOK ( I assumed he repaired it) then the problem crept up again. They finnaly replaced the motor for the top. It has not happened again
For what it is worth...I had a 2000 Boxster that had a failure of the top relay that started as intermediate problems with the top opening and closing. It was fixed under warranty at the time. The dealership said it was a very common problem and that Porsche had come out with a new relay sometime in 2001. It would not surprise me if the relay for the 911 and the Boxster are the same.
I'm having the same problem as well. I installed the SmartTop last year and since then I have had failures 3 times. After driving around (even just letting the car sit) the lid would work again. This last weekend it failed again> Iremoved the SmartTop module and it still won't work...not a fuse and it does not work with the key...so it's not the dash switch. Off to the dealer. These intermittent problems are the worst.
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