Spyder roof question?

[petronic]

Hi all a happy Christmas and a happy new year – Now the questions: As the owner of a spyder there is such a thing as the “closed season†eg roof down !!!
Well during this time on good days I will put the roof up and down a couple of times. Normally no issues, but this time the hood got to the vertical position and – stopped. I took my finger off the button – without thinking I then pressed the closed button no problem the roof closed and secured.
I am now awaiting a dry day to check things out and see if the issue remains. I have operated the emergency roof closure before so I could do a manual job and hopefully spot any mechanical issues.
I understand sometimes the micro switches cause issues and if they malfunction that's as far as the hood will go - computer say no – any input?
No error messages or alarms were noted – any suggestions would be appreciated at this stage – during the initial opening smooth and no issues.

Thanks PeterC

 

[BennyD]

If the roof is up, the storm outside should have a name! Mine is down if I can live without breathing gear. As for the hood, it may just be Italian character. As you are doing, just try putting it up and down a couple of times. Check the hyd reserve level. Also, the boot and handbrake affect hood operation; the boot should be shut and the handbrake on.

 

[petronic]

Please find the information i have found below it may help others. I did exactly what they said and the roof folded into the boot and the emergencey buttons worked - the roof now goes up and down again - can not explain the feeling I got when it all worked!!!!!! so thanks to our friends in the USA who have more experience of "sunny days" and the use of soft tops?

Part 1
If it is opening approx 2/3 the way and will not allow you to "help" it the rest of the way, I guarantee you the 2nd bow is not coming back and binding on the first bow. What happens is the elastic straps on both sides do not pull back the second bow when the front is released. Then when the front "main" bow comes back, the second bow stays below the first one and once it reaches that point, it is in a bind that if forced will make things very expensive. I bough $12 of 3" wide elastic at the local fabric store and sewed it into a 12" diameter loop. Replaced the old ones and problem fixed until the elastic dries up. No micro switches, no bleeding, nothing. I wish I had a picture to show you. 98% of the convertible tops I've fixed on the Maseratis and the 355 Ferrari have been that problem. Let me know if I can help any more.

Part 2

JSRJunkie has it spot on, this is almost definitely the cause of the problem. If you close the roof about half-way, and get out to take a look, you'll see three main bars that go across the roof.

The front bar - fixed. The middle bar will move forwards and backwards freely by hand. The rear bar - fixed.
What is SUPPOSED to happen, is the middle bar is pulled towards the rear by a bit of elastic strapping, which goes off/perishes over the years, meaning it stays forwards and prevents the roof from fully closing.
You'll find the roof won't close using the electrics or by the fully manual option.

The temporary solution - close the roof half way, get out, push the loose middle bar backwards towards the rear of the car, get back in, and complete the procedure.
The more long term solution, get some elastic strapping or webbing, and fix it between the rear and middle bars. This will gently pull the middle bar rearwards on opening/closing the roof.
As always, this is much easier to see in action on the car than to explain in words!

 

[BennyD]

Thanks mate, I'll bear this in mind for the future. Mine does have the occasional hiccup but it is usually the tensioning motors on the boot lid.

 

[conaero]

Again thanks for the heads up that's a very useful bit of info