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2002 CLK 320 w208 Convertable.
The rear bow lock releases, but it does not 'pop up' enough to let sensor know to continue the top down cycle. Is there an adjustment? I assume I need a new latch mechanism. The hydrolics work fine.
03 SL Kleemann, 97 SL320 pano top, 95 Lorinser E320 Cabrio, Ferrari 360, Tesla X
Convertible top hydraulic failures
Hello Mark,
welcome to the forum! You are posting on the W208/W209 AMG forum (for CLK55's), while you actually have a 2002 CLK 320. That's quite alright, because AMG owners need to know about convertible top failures, as well. There is no W208/A208 AMG convertible as far as I know, but we are frequently rebuilding the cabriolet hydraulics for newer A209 CLK55s. A209 convertible top problems are usually quickly resolved on the C209/A209 forum https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class-w209-43/
There are quite a few threads about the convertible top failures in the W208/A208 forum. The most in-depth thread is the following, and it has the likely answer to your problem around post #80. https://mbworld.org/forums/clk-class...-failures.html.
As you are saying, the soft top controller is apparently not getting the signal that the rear bow latch p/n 124 750 04 26 has unlocked after the rear bow lock cylinder p/n 129 800 16 72 in the latch had just opened it. The micro switch on the latch actually creates an open circuit once the latch is unlocked. That makes diagnosis in your case fairly simple:
Disconnect the latch from the wiring harness and see if you get a warning chime when you put the car in gear. This normally yields a chime when the car is put into gear, because it signals that the top has not been latched all the way. If there is no warning chime with the latch disconnected, then you likely have a short in the wiring harness between the latch and the soft top controller. The insulation on the wires can go bad in the area around the case cover hinge on the passenger side, where the harness flexes when the storage cover opens. See the picture below in which I'm holding some hydraulic lines - the wiring harness is behind the lines, wrapped in cloth tape. Unwrap the cloth tape and see if the two wires are shorting together somewhere.
Rear bow lock wiring harness (wrapped in cloth tape) behind the two hydraulic lines in above photo - A208 CLK-Class near the storage cover hinge.
1998-2003 A208 CLK-Class cabriolet hydraulic system component locations
Please let us know what you find, and we will take it from there.
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