Inefficient repair of a convertible top

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Yoda
Site Admin
Posts: 169
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 1:11 pm

Inefficient repair of a convertible top

Post by Yoda »

I've been trying to hunt down a convertible top gremlin since October (https://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/ ... =7&t=15573). An hour here and an hour there, but was determined to get things working this weekend.

Had power at the 60A circuit breaker & at the smaller breaker in the fuse bay. Had power at the control switch. Next logical step to me was to pull the back seat and use the individual relays to open up the trunk (I have the relay replacement unit). Relays didn't work either, but the bus bar had power. Thankfully the deck lid was unlocked so I went ahead and unbolted the rams so I could open the deck. Disconnected the rams and got the decklid propped up. Went over everything and checked connections. Found a bad/weak ground at the pump, but still nothing would work. Bus bar would lose voltage any time I touched a relay override button.

Now I'm suspicious of the circuit breakers or the neutral safety relay. I rig up a long jumper wire with an alligator clip so I can run power directly from the battery to the relay unit. Everything works perfectly.

Now I start tracing back to see where things went wrong. Started with the hot side of the 60A circuit breaker. No power. Quickly loosened and re-tightened the connections at the starter relay and the circuit breaker. Everything works again without the jumper.

So I dismantled a significant portion of the car to fix a 12" wire that is easily accessible from under the hood.

Not all is lost.
  • I understand the top much better now (although there is still a lot that I don't understand)
  • I'm using the opportunity to tidy up a bit.
  • I've replaced some connections to head off future problems.
  • I've run wires in loom from the relays to under the rear ashtray (emergency power, deck unlock, deck open).
  • I'm going back to a factory head unit (with the Bluetooth upgrade) while I have stuff pulled apart.
  • Next time I'm going to check resistance, not just voltage.
Thanks to John Draxler for helping me to get back on the right track and to various forum posters for bits of insight here and there.
back_seat.jpg
decklid_open.jpg
relay_remote_wires1.jpg
relay_remote_wires2.jpg
relay_remote_wires3.jpg
relay_remote_wires4.jpg
bad_relay_to_breaker_wire.jpg
Attachments
decklid_open.jpg
back_seat.jpg
relay_remote_wires1.jpg
relay_remote_wires2.jpg
relay_remote_wires3.jpg
bad_solenoid_to_breaker_wire.jpg
relay_remote_wires4.jpg
Brian E. Pangburn
VTCI Administrator
1965 Convertible
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