718 Spyder RS - Convertible top not fully locked - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Spring has sprung, so time to go topless. One significant problem. With the roof fully off and neatly stowed away in the boot, after about 40 minutes and whist driving along, a sudden red warning popped up ‘Convertible roof not fully locked’. Thinking, this is very odd, as the roof is not even fitted, I stoppped. The warning cleared itself on restart. Then, out of the blue, it returned, the roof still off and in the boot. Nothing I can do will clear it. I will now put the roof on again, to see if that clears it.

Putting the roof back on, has cleared the warning. For now at least. Very odd that the warning comes up, for no apparent reason, when the roof is off.

Some people claim random errors on cars like this if the battery is low so thought I'd ask if you're confident in charge of battery, how often you use the car and if you use a charger etc?

Quite a few people in CSC with SRS's have had that when their roof's correctly up. There is a way of clearing it I think. If you're not a member I'd suggest joining and asking https://cscexchange.co.uk/dl/3b1bc8

On my 981 I had an error saying roof not closed while i was closing and then it refused to operate either way. It was about an inch short of being closed. My car lives outside so this was clearly a problem having the roof partially open. Luckily I have a little half cover so I put this on and the battery charger. By the morning the roof had begun to operate again and the error cleared. No idea what caused this but it has never happened again. Totally different error and circumstances but maybe just one of those things.

Wimpole said: Putting the roof back on, has cleared the warning. For now at least. Very odd that the warning comes up, for no apparent reason, when the roof is off. Update: I took the roof off again and drove for about five miles, with no warning. Then the warning came on again. Putting the roof back, cleared the warning. i then took the roof off again, with no warning.. I then drove along with the roof off and no warning showing. Whilst driving, I found that if I reached up to the front latch and pushed my finger into the hole where the latch engages, there is a little flap. If I pushed my finger up, lifting the flap, the red warning came on. If I removed my finger, letting the flap go down, the warning went off. I could repeat this each time. Push the flap up when driving, gave a red warning. Let the flat down, the warning went off. Then, the warning came on again on its own and wouldn’t go off. When I got home, I experimented by putting my finger into the hole where the latch engages and lifted the flap. I noticed that, as the flap lifted, there is the tiniest of ‘clicks’, very much like a small switch engaging, with the same ‘click; as the flap lowers. The closest I can get to a description of the ‘click’ is the small switch on a motorcycle’s front brake and clutch levers, which engage and disengage when the levers are pulled in and then released. I am guessing but I think that, when the roof is off, this switch (or its connecting wiring harness) is becoming ‘confused’ somehow, it believing the roof is on but the front catch is not engaged. Anyway, I have contacted my dealer. who can have the car back, whilst it is mended, as having a Spyder car which, when driven with the roof off, then displays an unclearable red warning that the roof is unlatched - and not to drive the vehicle - is not acceptable.

ATM said: Some people claim random errors on cars like this if the battery is low so thought I'd ask if you're confident in charge of battery, how often you use the car and if you use a charger etc? The car is kept on a battery tender. The warning first manifested itself, when the car had been driven with its roof off, for an hour or more. Edited by Wimpole on Sunday 9th March 07:31

Wimpole said: I have contacted my dealer. who can have the car back, whilst it is mended, as having a Spyder car which, when driven with the roof off, then displays an unclearable red warning that the roof is unlatched - and not to drive the vehicle - is not acceptable. This

I can't help with your problem but I love the spec of your car.

Mine did the same today when I took the roof off I turned car off and on and opened and closed the rear boot and then it was ok No idea if that sorted it but has not come back (yet)

I Like cars said: Mine did the same today when I took the roof off I turned car off and on and opened and closed the rear boot and then it was ok No idea if that sorted it but has not come back (yet) That’s interesting, thank you. Porsche East London can’t replicate the fault and nothing is stored in the vehicle’s fault memory. Let’s see if it happens again.

I Like cars said: Mine did the same today when I took the roof off I turned car off and on and opened and closed the rear boot and then it was ok No idea if that sorted it but has not come back (yet) That’s interesting, thank you. Porsche East London can’t replicate the fault and nothing is stored in the vehicle’s fault memory. Let’s see if it happens again.

I would wager it's a position switch inside the latch for the hood mechanism. Ask them to swap out the mechanism, switch or harness and see if that resolves the issue.

Because I am a tinkerer I would spray some electrical/maf cleaner into that latch orifice and see if that makes a difference. Could just be a sticky micro switch.

Same error message on my brand new Spyder RS. Could only clear it by turning the car off,locking then re starting it

Hi Wimpole I have had the message a few times - managed to clear it today as rear left latch was not right…..however I have been following the rennlist thread and I see your dealer in London has found the problem and fix, Would you be good enough to post on here their findings - that could maybe help a few of us? I hope Porsche do a “notice” on all these issues as this could be a disaster out of warranty Your help would be appreciated

Also interested, as it popped up again on my car yesterday - second time now. Each time it’s cleared (so far) by locking then unlocking car. Annoying though….

Hotrods1974 said: Hi Wimpole I have had the message a few times - managed to clear it today as rear left latch was not right…..however I have been following the rennlist thread and I see your dealer in London has found the problem and fix, Would you be good enough to post on here their findings - that could maybe help a few of us? I hope Porsche do a “notice” on all these issues as this could be a disaster out of warranty Your help would be appreciated Hi Wimpole - as above would you kind of enough to tell us what your OPC has done to solve your roof issue? Thanks so much

It still isn’t fixed. We now have a line in the sand date of 03 June, for a permanent and guaranteed fix. Or (subject to a satisfactory loan car that I can take to Europe for a month) until the end of June. After that, we move to rejecting the car. My relationship with my dealership remains cordial at all times; we have known each other for years. They are doing their best and have done everything that Porsche, Germany asks them to do and more besides. The car now has a temporary wiring loom, to see if the fault is gone. If it has, then it would seem to be a wiring issue. Then find the point….. and address it….. then see if that works. We are now into last rolls of the dice, I’m afraid.

It still isn’t fixed. We now have a line in the sand date of 03 June, for a permanent and guaranteed fix. Or (subject to a satisfactory loan car that I can take to Europe for a month) until the end of June. After that, we move to rejecting the car. My relationship with my dealership remains cordial at all times; we have known each other for years. They are doing their best and have done everything that Porsche, Germany asks them to do and more besides. The car now has a temporary wiring loom, to see if the fault is gone. If it has, then it would seem to be a wiring issue. Then find the point….. and address it….. then see if that works. We are now into last rolls of the dice, I’m afraid.

Wow, this is worrying. Thanks for the update, fingers crossed for you

Just had the same message on mine. Only the second time I’ve actually had the hood on and still in run in period! Doesn’t bode well!

Mine also appears to have an issue. More annoyingly Porsche cannot look at it for almost three weeks.

Mine is not yet run and in and I’ve had message three times now. Each time a simple “lock/unlock” using the key clears it. Clearly a problem with them all, can’t believe Porsche won’t come up with a fix sooner than later….

Hi, I have a Spyder RS, have now done 5,000 miles, have had the roof up and down more than a w es draws. Looking at your photo you have stowed the roof in the same way I did at first and I too got the dash warning a couple of times. I changed the way i stow the roof and have not had a warning since. When the roof is neatly folded, like you have done and like I was doing, the roof material is too far forward and sits on top of the carbon fibre header rail. I now undo all the back of the roof then roll it forward around its bar, like rolling up a sheet of wrapping paper around its cardboard tube, I roll it up to the header rail BEFORE I unclip the header rail, then lift the whole lot backwards and place into its foam holder, with the rolled up fabric AFT of the header rail. This keeps the height of the stowed roof lower, the deck shuts without needing a shove and a squeeze....and I haven''t had a single dash message.

boringbeige said: Hi, I have a Spyder RS, have now done 5,000 miles, have had the roof up and down more than a w es draws. Looking at your photo you have stowed the roof in the same way I did at first and I too got the dash warning a couple of times. I changed the way i stow the roof and have not had a warning since. When the roof is neatly folded, like you have done and like I was doing, the roof material is too far forward and sits on top of the carbon fibre header rail. I now undo all the back of the roof then roll it forward around its bar, like rolling up a sheet of wrapping paper around its cardboard tube, I roll it up to the header rail BEFORE I unclip the header rail, then lift the whole lot backwards and place into its foam holder, with the rolled up fabric AFT of the header rail. This keeps the height of the stowed roof lower, the deck shuts without needing a shove and a squeeze....and I haven''t had a single dash message. Really interesting thanks. If you get the chance, can you maybe stick a photo of it rolled up and in situ please - just to make sure I copy what you’re doing! Do you leave it rolled up for extended periods and how badly creased is it when you refit it ?

boringbeige said: Hi, I have a Spyder RS, have now done 5,000 miles, have had the roof up and down more than a w es draws. Looking at your photo you have stowed the roof in the same way I did at first and I too got the dash warning a couple of times. I changed the way i stow the roof and have not had a warning since. When the roof is neatly folded, like you have done and like I was doing, the roof material is too far forward and sits on top of the carbon fibre header rail. I now undo all the back of the roof then roll it forward around its bar, like rolling up a sheet of wrapping paper around its cardboard tube, I roll it up to the header rail BEFORE I unclip the header rail, then lift the whole lot backwards and place into its foam holder, with the rolled up fabric AFT of the header rail. This keeps the height of the stowed roof lower, the deck shuts without needing a shove and a squeeze....and I haven''t had a single dash message. Not the same car but my 987 Spyder also seemed to benefit from tidy packing of the roof .. this looks to be very useful information and hopefully a solution for most ... the best of PH

finmac said: boringbeige said: Hi, I have a Spyder RS, have now done 5,000 miles, have had the roof up and down more than a w es draws. Looking at your photo you have stowed the roof in the same way I did at first and I too got the dash warning a couple of times. I changed the way i stow the roof and have not had a warning since. When the roof is neatly folded, like you have done and like I was doing, the roof material is too far forward and sits on top of the carbon fibre header rail. I now undo all the back of the roof then roll it forward around its bar, like rolling up a sheet of wrapping paper around its cardboard tube, I roll it up to the header rail BEFORE I unclip the header rail, then lift the whole lot backwards and place into its foam holder, with the rolled up fabric AFT of the header rail. This keeps the height of the stowed roof lower, the deck shuts without needing a shove and a squeeze....and I haven''t had a single dash message. Really interesting thanks. If you get the chance, can you maybe stick a photo of it rolled up and in situ please - just to make sure I copy what you re doing! Do you leave it rolled up for extended periods and how badly creased is it when you refit it ? If you look in the manual - there’s a digital version in ‘My Porsche’ - there is a clear picture of the roof rolled in the storage position. There is a gap between the carbon bar at the front of the roof and the rolled up roof I.e the rolled up part of the roof should be at the rear of the storage section not covering the whole roof front to back. This does require a thin rollup. At least one of the owner pictures I’ve seen did not appear to have the roof rolled up “correctly” - I’m not sure how you close boot without it being done the proper way as there will be significant resistance when you attempt to shut, putting unnecessary pressure on the rolled up section from the inside of the boot lid. The rollup procedure described above I.e rolling before releasing from the roof rail is I believe the correct one and allows for the rolled up part to be placed in the correct position/thickness before storage. Having cleaned mine today it is also apparent that a considerable amount of water is retained in the mechanical part of the flaps so this could also interfere with any electrical connections? I’ve not had any issues yet.

elisered said: finmac said: boringbeige said: Hi, I have a Spyder RS, have now done 5,000 miles, have had the roof up and down more than a w es draws. Looking at your photo you have stowed the roof in the same way I did at first and I too got the dash warning a couple of times. I changed the way i stow the roof and have not had a warning since. When the roof is neatly folded, like you have done and like I was doing, the roof material is too far forward and sits on top of the carbon fibre header rail. I now undo all the back of the roof then roll it forward around its bar, like rolling up a sheet of wrapping paper around its cardboard tube, I roll it up to the header rail BEFORE I unclip the header rail, then lift the whole lot backwards and place into its foam holder, with the rolled up fabric AFT of the header rail. This keeps the height of the stowed roof lower, the deck shuts without needing a shove and a squeeze....and I haven''t had a single dash message. Really interesting thanks. If you get the chance, can you maybe stick a photo of it rolled up and in situ please - just to make sure I copy what you re doing! Do you leave it rolled up for extended periods and how badly creased is it when you refit it ? If you look in the manual - there s a digital version in My Porsche - there is a clear picture of the roof rolled in the storage position. There is a gap between the carbon bar at the front of the roof and the rolled up roof I.e the rolled up part of the roof should be at the rear of the storage section not covering the whole roof front to back. This does require a thin rollup. At least one of the owner pictures I ve seen did not appear to have the roof rolled up correctly - I m not sure how you close boot without it being done the proper way as there will be significant resistance when you attempt to shut, putting unnecessary pressure on the rolled up section from the inside of the boot lid. The rollup procedure described above I.e rolling before releasing from the roof rail is I believe the correct one and allows for the rolled up part to be placed in the correct position/thickness before storage. Having cleaned mine today it is also apparent that a considerable amount of water is retained in the mechanical part of the flaps so this could also interfere with any electrical connections? I ve not had any issues yet. That’s a good shout re manual - just had a look and pasted the photo below:

Pictures of my car:- Roof rolled before releasing catch from header Roof stored Rear lid closes to this under its own weight - no pressure required If need be reduce the size of the roll by tightening from the inside

Thank you for the pictures. I had been rolling the top correctly, the lid closing with no undue pressure and with no fouling of (or by) the hood. It flashed up within 12 miles of Porsche East London, when Porsche themselves folded it away, too. Between myself and Porsche East London, who have had the roof on and off since mid-March (the car has been with them that long) the erroneous red ‘Do not drive’ warning has - despite everything - still been flashing-up randomly, with seemingly no rhyme nor reason to it. Parts have been changed, temporary looms installed, advice sought and acted on from Porsche technical support. In short, the whole nine yards, with no permanent fix (ie. no root cause identified) to date. There is clearly an all but global problem, with more reports of the erroneous message appearing, now that the warm weather is here and the cars used more. I have just put the phone down from a chat with Porsche UK’s customer services officer, who is escalating my problem further up the chain, within Porsche technical services.

Wimpole said: Thank you for the pictures. I had been rolling the top correctly, the lid closing with no undue pressure and with no fouling of (or by) the hood. It flashed up within 12 miles of Porsche East London, when Porsche themselves folded it away, too. Between myself and Porsche East London, who have had the roof on and off since mid-March (the car has been with them that long) the erroneous red Do not drive warning has - despite everything - still been flashing-up randomly, with seemingly no rhyme nor reason to it. Parts have been changed, temporary looms installed, advice sought and acted on from Porsche technical support. In short, the whole nine yards, with no permanent fix (ie. no root cause identified) to date. There is clearly an all but global problem, with more reports of the erroneous message appearing, now that the warm weather is here and the cars used more. I have just put the phone down from a chat with Porsche UK s customer services officer, who is escalating my problem further up the chain, within Porsche technical services. No doubt irrelevant but you can see there is a difference between your picture and mine right?

Have you tried doing it this way? https://m.youtube.com/shorts/0e8K3_--GyA Also, have you tried removing it completely from the car and leaving it at home? See if you get the error when the storage area is empty. I have to say, I think it’s ridiculously fussy to have to do all that (and have problems with it) for a car at this price point. If Porsche can create the super clever Targa roof for the 911 then they really should have tried harder on the spyder!

There is not enough room between the top of the GT3 engine. That’s the problem. Only reason.

Wimpole said: Thank you for the pictures. I had been rolling the top correctly, the lid closing with no undue pressure and with no fouling of (or by) the hood. It flashed up within 12 miles of Porsche East London, when Porsche themselves folded it away, too. Between myself and Porsche East London, who have had the roof on and off since mid-March (the car has been with them that long) the erroneous red Do not drive warning has - despite everything - still been flashing-up randomly, with seemingly no rhyme nor reason to it. Parts have been changed, temporary looms installed, advice sought and acted on from Porsche technical support. In short, the whole nine yards, with no permanent fix (ie. no root cause identified) to date. There is clearly an all but global problem, with more reports of the erroneous message appearing, now that the warm weather is here and the cars used more. I have just put the phone down from a chat with Porsche UK s customer services officer, who is escalating my problem further up the chain, within Porsche technical services. Did you ever get this fixed, similar issue tonight….