Originally Posted by vader007

Hi all, I have a rather crazy idea. I am considering converting the fully auto top into a semi-auto one. The car is not worth much, so it didn’t make sense dropping almost $1k to rebuild the cylinders. I studied the raise/lowering sequence, and as far as I can tell, the sensors which detect the position of the top components are independent of the hydraulic system. The system proceeds based on what the electrical switches detect. My idea is to substitute out the hydraulic power with my human power to move the top. The exception would be the tonneau cover, which is too difficult to simultaneously raise/lower with only one person, since the one person will be handling the top. (The tonneau rams aren’t leaking… yet) See attached pdf for parts I’m referring to.

Thus my proposal is to a) convert the top raise/lower switch (S84/10 in the pdf) into one that can be stick ON even though nobody is holding the button, probably via a three-way switch, so that the system proceeds while I’m outside lowering the top; and b) plug off all hydraulic lines at the pump except for the tonneau cover rams. (If the system errors out and stops, I could also maybe build an arduino controller to re-trigger the switch every second or something.)

Then, the opening sequence from the pdf would be modified as follows:

Stage 0: Use allen key and unlock top from front. Then flip the modified S84/10 switch from Neutral to Lower
Stage 1: Tonneau rams automatically partially raise tonneau to relieve tension on bows
S2: I manually raise the bow/rear glass until switch S84/15 sees the bow in fully upright position
S3: I already manually unlocked the roof in S0, so cylinder 2 is not needed. The switches register the position is correct for the next step
S4: Tonneau rams automatically fully raise the cover
S5: I manually lower the bow/rear glass into compartment.
S6: I continue to manually lower the top into compartment.
S7: I finish manually lowering the rest of the top into compartment.
S8: Tonneau rams automatically lower the cover
S9: Tonneau rams automatically pull cover completely closed. Now I go back into car and flip the switch back to Neutral.

I understand that using an always-on switch defeats the safety mechanism inherent in having a person manually pressing the button, maybe resulting in pinched fingers, but I am willing to take that risk. I’m a reasonably strong guy so I doubt the top will be too heavy to manually raise/lower.

Before I start ripping things apart, anyone have opinions on whether this will this even work? I just want to know from a technical standpoint (pls, no comments about “ruining the car” - I know it’s not morally right) Will the pump be blowing fuses all day? Is it even possible to plug off the lines?

Originally Posted by Zundfolge

Thank you for all of the pointers! Hope one of you knows what's wrong with mine. The top was going slow and the pump making a sound to make me think it was low on fluid. I took the cover off and confirmed, it was low. I filled the reservoir with some Febi I had laying around, but didn't think it looked right. It looked dark in there. I poured some into the lid and could see floaters. So I used an external pump, emptied the reservoir, then took it off of the pump to clean it. I unbolted the pump from the floor just enough to give me good access to the screws on the bottom of the reservoir.

I filled it back up and bolted it back down. Tightened the pressure screw as I had to move the top around a little.

It doesn't work now.

I have cycled it manually (with pressure screw open, and it is now closed). I swapped the two relays in the truck. All fuses are ok. I swapped out the relay with the one from O'Reilly's as well. I jumped the pins on the wiring harness and the pump came on (kinda quiet, tho). I pressed the soft top switch down until the red light turned off. When I pick up on the switch, it turns red then begins to blink. The roll bar does not go up or down, but I can hear something working. When I open the top with the handle, the windows go down.

Any ideas? It worked fine until I did the above.