top wont go up

hey guys, i have not seen the problem yet but the shop has a e36 convert coming in tomorrow and the top wont go up. All I know is that if you hit the switch nothing happens and if you manual try it only goes half way up. I figured a lot of you have encountered this so and advice or opinions are welcomed. I will constantly update until it's fixed. Thanks!


p.s. it's coming from another shop so I'm not sure how much they looked into it or what

Originally Posted by tchavera

hey guys, i have not seen the problem yet but the shop has a e36 convert coming in tomorrow and the top wont go up. All I know is that if you hit the switch nothing happens and if you manual try it only goes half way up. I figured a lot of you have encountered this so and advice or opinions are welcomed. I will constantly update until it's fixed. Thanks!


p.s. it's coming from another shop so I'm not sure how much they looked into it or what

See the Origami sticky

Originally Posted by tchavera

hey guys, i have not seen the problem yet but the shop has a e36 convert coming in tomorrow and the top wont go up. All I know is that if you hit the switch nothing happens and if you manual try it only goes half way up. I figured a lot of you have encountered this so and advice or opinions are welcomed. I will constantly update until it's fixed. Thanks!


p.s. it's coming from another shop so I'm not sure how much they looked into it or what

I am intrigued by this part. If the motors are all disconnected, the top should go all the way up manually. I suppose there is a physical problem with the top geometry. A common problem spot is the cross bar (or whatever it's called).

sorry i did not read the sticky or even search for that matter. i realize there is a lot covered on this topic. i have not been able to look at the car yet but apparently it would close before until it got like 2 or 3 inches from fully sealed. anything cross your mind?

If the car is a '97 or newer it has a fully auto top, which means the part that connects the front edge of the top to the windshield has a motor inside the top to latch it. If the top worked to that point and then stopped, it could be something as simple as a fried motor. Or it could be broken linkage cables. If that's the case, you'll have to open it up and replace them. There should be more than one thread on that subject around here somewhere. Be thankful the top is not closed with broken cables...

Originally Posted by petriej

If the car is a '97 or newer it has a fully auto top, which means the part that connects the front edge of the top to the windshield has a motor inside the top to latch it. If the top worked to that point and then stopped, it could be something as simple as a fried motor. Or it could be broken linkage cables. If that's the case, you'll have to open it up and replace them. There should be more than one thread on that subject around here somewhere. Be thankful the top is not closed with broken cables...

Could also be a problem with micro switch 7. When it closes the top controller thinks the top is closed all the way and locked down. If it closes prematurely, the top stops there........
The E36 convertible adjust PDF file has a really good explanation of how the top mechanism works and what the micro switches do.

okay well it was just a reset procedure needed. the prior shop was half way there i'm not sure why they couldn't do that. sorry for asking and not searching i figured it would be more difficult than turning the key and holding a button. thanks!!

Sounds like you lucked out! Nice.

Don't pop the champagne cork yet! Typically the top only needs to be reset when something else has caused it to lose track of where it is. Hopefully it was just something transient and it'll be good, but don't be shocked if they're back in a couple weeks.

Will keep in mind!

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