Cheeeeez

I have an '04 Roadster with a busted top. I think that may be relevant but I'm not certain. Whenever I open the driver or passenger door the window drops about 1" each time I open the door. My soft top broke and I have it closed up right now but the convertible top light is on. I'm not sure if that's related to the issue but it wasn't there prior to this. Does anyone have any thoughts as to where to begin troubleshooting this issue? For now I've been making sure to just leave the key in the ignition when I open the door so I can close the window back up before getting out of the car. I'll probably pull the fuse instead for now.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

The ZR top is a complex mechanism. Was it operational when you first bought it?

It's normal for the window to drop 1" when the door is open and you notice it retracts after you enter and close the door. The normal sequence when opening top should be for the seats to roll forward slightly, windows to drop and the rear hatch to open with the top retracting back. If all these coordinated steps aren't happening with your top, it's impossible to diagnose from behind a keyboard. Your best bet may be to call around and find a Nissan dealership with a tech whose been trained on repairing the top. Schedule some time with them and get ready to spend some $$ to get this repaired.

Cheeeeez

Indeed, it's quite complex. It was broken when I bought it. Someone sliced through the canvas to break in. What I didn't know when I bought is the mechanism was busted. Someone must have forced it open or closed and they broke the two hydraulic pistons. They sheered one of the ball joints one connects to clean off and the other the bracket that connects to the 5th bow motor is broken off. Indeed if you try to open the top the 5th bow is released and then you can hear the 5th bow motor start and see one of the brackets slide across the 5th bow which, if attached properly to the piston, would raise the 5th bow. I did recently open the rear cover manually but I haven't done anything else. Now the windows weren't doing this when I got the car or for the first year I owned it. So I guess it's safe to assume that somewhere, in the process of opening the rear cover I somehow tripped a switch or a sensor that is not allowing the window to come back up after it drops? I don't ever recall it dropping prior to this either.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Well, I can only hope this ZR was a good buy, as your description sounds like an expensive fix. Good luck!