Convertible top operation

[Marc Robic]

Good morning to all my fellow 63/64 Caddy friends,

I have a problem with my convertible top operation that has left me puzzled.

When opening and closing it, the process has become painfully slow. When raising (closing) the roof, it actually stops in the middle of the process and only works after I leave the switch alone for a minutes or two.

I thought it might the oil in the pump and followed the Manual to purge and fill it with transmission oil. There was none missing, but followed the steps in the Shop Manual anyway.  But this did not solve the issue.

What can be the cause of this slowness and actually stopping?

Thank you to all who might have any idea what can be the cause.

[Russ Austin]

The motor is overheating and the internal circuit breaker is activating.  Try a little lube at the hinge points. A silicone spray might work.

[Anders]

I haven't worked with a convertible so I don't know. But does it have grease that could be dried and seize the operations in the same way as the transmission for the power seat?

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Sounds like the electrical motor part of the hydraulic pump is the problem overheating

You can lube the hydraulic cylinders Arms ---on both sides of the back seat with brake fluid per the manual to see if that allows them to move more freely ( less resistance on the motor )

If you can get to the motor brushes on the armature check them for wear
Not sure if replacement brushes are available but others should chime in on that

Replace the motor if all else fails
Good chance you can find a replacement motor on this site

Enjoy

[Russ Austin]

Groundhog day Tony, I posted that stuff earlier.

[Jason Edge]

Looks like Tony went into considerably more detail.  Again, we have no rule where only one reply per question. In fact, it is better to get feedback from everyone than stay quiet if someone answers something.  We all have different experiences and knowledge and the more feedback the better. There have been lots of examples of topic discussions here on the forums where I think I have the complete picture and someone adds a bit more detail that I had not considered or did not know. 

[Tony and Ginny 429]

Russ

Just seconding your thoughts is all

Enjoy