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1975 Eldorado convertible top stuck

Started by Doug Spingelt, September 04, 2012, 04:15:28 PM

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Doug Spingelt

the top on my eldorado is stuck slightly up and when I activate the dash switch, the lights dim briefly, but no movement up or down.  I suspect it is the relay, as it is an electric motor.  I had this happen once before and the relay resent and worked again, but not this time. 

I see the relay in catalogs for about 65.00.  does anyone know if i could find siomething locally from a parts store, or if it is that special?  Also, can the top be raised manually? 

thanks for any assistance that is out there.  --Doug Spingelt
Doug Spingelt

cwcinps

I was having issues with my 1976 top.  I used the troubleshooting guide by some folks here in Los Angeles.
hope it is ok I attached their guide.  They have it posted on the web too.  I found it easy to follow, taking out the back seat is not that bad, just need a toro50 driver.   I had a combo of the actuator gear on one side and the top switch not sending enough juice to the relay. 

I did end up removing the pin from the actuator gears so I could move it up and down manually, even with my efforts to be patient and go slow it was so heavy I did warp one of the bows a little. 
Chris

1957 Coupe deVille
1976 Convertible Eldorado

Doug Spingelt

thanks so much for the quick reply.  I printed this and will keep it with my materials and test the relay tonight.  I suspect that is it, because it usually goes up and down w/u assistance unless it is really cold out, it sometimes needs some encouragement to go up completely then. 
Doug Spingelt

76eldo

STOP, or at least slow down...

You may be looking at this the wrong way!

Your top is probably BINDING and the mechanism is coming up unevenly or one of the arms is stuck.  If your lights are dimming and the relay or breaker is tripping, you are stressing out the motor, mechanism, or both and you will end up breaking something.

It is possible that your motor is weak or the grease in the little transmissions is hard and stiff.

Proceed with caution here to avoid breaking the top.

Brian

Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

Doug Spingelt

Thanks for the additional feedback.  Last night I detatched the gear cables on each side and was able to manually raise the roof, thank goodness.  Unfortunately when I press the dash button I still get the same response, I hear a click and then what seems like resistance, bit nothing happens in either direction.  Pending further ideas I plan to remove the seat and look at the motor, relay and gear.  (I repacked the gear a few years ago so that is all fresh, ... or was, plus i put new rubber mounts on the motor as they were broken.)

Incidentally, this got stuck about 1/4 of the way up, when it slowed down in its usualy slow spot that sometimes needs a helping hand, but then would not go up or down after that at all. 
Doug Spingelt

76eldo

Probably the motor.
Contact Hydro Electric in Florida,  www.hydroe.com.
They have a the parts and info you will need.

Good luck,

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado