JasonGoalie34

Facts:
-I ensure that I am in neutral (6-speed), put my foot on the brake, and open the manual latch up top.

-The light signaling that the top SHOULD be opening does come on. The windows come down, but nothing else happens.

-I just replaced the 5th bow motor... perhaps premature, but did it nonetheless.

-Passenger seat is not working from an electrics standpoint. I know the seat is supposed to come forward a bit when opening, but does that somehow interrupt the roof retracting process??

-Fuse under the hood for the convertible top looks good..

-there's some jerry-rigged wire behind the passenger seat, and behind that small compartment (not the glovebox, the thing above it) that appears to do something with the top. when I pull the wire, the aforementioned top light comes on once again, but still, nothing... not a peep.

I have no idea what's going on. I knew the top wasn't working upon purchase, figured it wasn't a big deal to fix. I am learning just how complex this thing is...

JasonGoalie34

Additional Facts:

I did some tinkering... Now I'm getting a quick electric motor rev (like, 1/4 of a second) upon pressing the button, Sounds like either the 5th bow motor or the pair of storage hatch motors are TRYING to do something, but ultimately failing.

Someone please help... I'm at a TOTAL loss...

4xelements

Hi, you are right about this being complicated. The passenger seat is supposed to tilt towards the front of the vehicle before any motors engage, so im not sure if this is your issue. I know there is a switch on he back of the seat which can cancel this, you may want to toggle that and see if it helps.

Also make sure the vehicle is running and you have the brake pedal pressed.

The first motor to operate is actually the "5th bow unlock actuator" which I believe is housed in the storage lid itself. There can also be an issue where the auto-closure wire gets tangled, Nissan released a service bulletin about how to fix that. I will try to upload that and the manual for the roof, which is about the size of War and Peace and reads like an AP physics book :/

Best of luck.

4xelements

couldn't upload the roof manual, but look around its on this site somewhere

JasonGoalie34

I have a gifted mechanic.

I'm going to make a video and perhaps post a new thread about it, but what he did is half crazy and half genius. Basically, he manually wired all phases of the hatch opening process (5th bow up/down, storage hatch open/close, roof retraction/return) to a series of two-way toggle switches mounted nicely to the left of my steering wheel.

It's crazy because it takes more time to open the roof, and it certainly took a lot of work to rig this up. But it's genius because the whole system is now so much more electronically simple... no more requiring the seat to come forward, no more electronic sequencing that can get all messed up. The reliability of this system is sure to be way greater than stock, and if something ever does go wrong, it would be very simple to diagnose.

Videos to come. The roof works, I love it, it's the most comfortable open-air driving experience I've ever had. Consider me obsessed.

RedTopZ33

Hey! My top operation $hit the bed last fall, and once the weather starts getting warmer here, I plan on looking into this again. I am considering wiring the top to some toggle switches as well, but have been mainly looking for a reliable wiring diagram so I can test power flow/supply to trace the real issue down before I re-wire anything. Where did your mechanic find the wiring diagram/schematic for the top? And locations of any and all switches/connectors? Post a video of where you ended up too if you get a chance!! Thanks!!

RedTopZ33

Did you end up taking any vids or any wiring diagrams on what to wire to for each process?! Thanks!

Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

This thread (specifically the last post) may be helpful: https://my350z.com/forum/350z-roadst...table-top.html

RedTopZ33

Thank you! I will look into this.

53Starliner

I'm experiencing the dreaded storage top issue with my 04 Roadster. Storage lid stops while in the open top sequence (shortly after the fifth bow motor has retracted the convertible top. The storage lid opens perfectly each time to begin the close top sequence (in which the convertible top is stowed and is in the process of being put back up). According to the Nissan service manual, the problem is occurring during OP6. Sometimes the lid works as it should. Other times it does not. It's an intermittent problem.

Rule outs:
1. Storage lid acutators (the 2 motors that drive the storage lid up and then down): If it was a motor issue, then the lid should theoretically hang up in both the open and close sequence. Mine has never experienced any type of problem when beginning the close sequence in which the storage lid is the first step in the sequence. And anyway, I just had both motors rebuilt and it's still happening.
2. Any mechanical issue such as not enough grease, mechanism binding, etc. This is ruled out for the same reason as number 1.
3. Temperature, etc. This does not appear to effect the problem as it remains intermittent in all conditions. (I live in central Florida).

Observations
1. When disconnecting the battery for about 5 minutes or more, then reconnecting it and then starting the sequence, the storage lid operates properly. No issues at all. I've tried this during a cold sequence in which the vehicle has sat overnight, and when I've just completed a top up-top down sequence. Works perfectly each time after disconnect/reconnect of battery.
2. The issue tends to occur less frequently if the top up/top down sequence has been recently completed (ie, within the 5-30 minutes), although this is not 100%. It just seems to happen LESS frequently, but not always.

Speculations

1. Year of vehicle: I'm wondering if this issue occurs with greater frequency with earlier (03-06) than later cars. I would be interested to hear from other owners to find the year of their storage-lid issue cars.
2. Fifth-bow full open detection module: Since this module operates just before the storage lid opens at the start of the top being put down sequence, could this be the culprit? This module does not come into play at all when the top is stowed and the storage lid opens at the beginning of the "putting the top back up cause it's gonna rain" cycle.
3. Roof full open detection switch for the same reasons as above.
4. Soft top control unit: this unit is located in the trunk between the two storage lid acutators (motors). This could be an issue for two reasons:
a. The battery disconnect/connect method may be resetting the module so it works properly, although temporarily.
b. Nissan made a change in the part number at some point, indicating a change was made in the module, possibly to address the issue in later vehicles. (Again, knowing the years of vehicles with this issue would be helpful). The two part numbers are 285C1 CE400 and 285C1 CF400.

Would love to hear from others experiencing this issue!

Steve