3 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHConvertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Leading reported evidence
Check contacts
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.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Yesterday l pulled the dashboard up/down rocker switch out and checked the contacts.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Leading evidence: 'Check contacts' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check contacts' (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.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
I swapped the new relay in but unfortunately, it did not get the top going up.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Clean relay socket contacts
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
Given removing and replacing the relay 'fixed' your problem (for now) I'd be looking at cleaning the relay socket contacts with electronics contact cleaner.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Test ), switch at the top latch and a switch
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
Also be aware that there are a few microswitches involved that can be an issue with top operation.....parking brake switch (bypass at relay to eliminate or test), switch at the top latch and a switch on the drivers side, behind seat and below roll bar.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Clean relay socket contacts
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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
Given removing and replacing the relay 'fixed' your problem (for now) I'd be looking at cleaning the relay socket contacts with electronics contact cleaner.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Test ), switch at the top latch and a switch
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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
Also be aware that there are a few microswitches involved that can be an issue with top operation.....parking brake switch (bypass at relay to eliminate or test), switch at the top latch and a switch on the drivers side, behind seat and below roll bar.
Convertible top weirdness - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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.
3 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 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: 20261026T124918Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
My 1999 base 986 did not have a convertible issue for my first 6 years with it. Last month the top stopped going up reliably.
TTGator's excellent troubleshooting guide
https://youtu.be/xntJKWZpFac
has kept me going, but only intermittently:
I pulled the convertible top relay, and whacked it on the ground, put it back in, and the top came back to life. As a backup, I bought a "new" relay from Parts Geek LLC ($250+/-) and I had it handy a week later when the top stopped going up again. I swapped the new relay in but unfortunately, it did not get the top going up. (When the top is oiperating, it works as normal, no grinding or strange sounds.)
After a day of the top not working with the new relay I remembered TTGator's first suggestion: just take the relay out and put it back in again. Then, that did it, so now the new relay has been working for 3 days. But for how long?
Yesterday l pulled the dashboard up/down rocker switch out and checked the contacts. Everything looked good as new, no corrosion, no oddities.
So, could this mean the replacement relay has aged out and developed the same condition as the original? Should I return it and try another one?
Parts Geek said it was new, and it didn't look especially worn, but it also didn't look brand new.
Thoughts? TIA~
Given removing and replacing the relay 'fixed' your problem (for now) I'd be looking at cleaning the relay socket contacts with electronics contact cleaner. Also be aware that there are a few microswitches involved that can be an issue with top operation.....parking brake switch (bypass at relay to eliminate or test), switch at the top latch and a switch on the drivers side, behind seat and below roll bar.
All may be worth a look due to age. Parking brake switch is easiest to eliminate and see if it affects your issues.
Thanks, I hadn't heard of electronics contact cleaner. Will look into that.
On one video I saw, they said that if your parking brake light goes on, that means your parking brake is not the issue, but I am not sure that is right. That supposes the microswitch there is dependent on the parking brake light working, and I don't see how that relates, if it all. Do you think that is it or do I have to dig deeper than just looking at the parking brake/parking brake light relationship?
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
