hello there.

everything waz sweet. lovely sunny day, roof down. Fun. Than i got back home, parked the car and presses the roof button down. it started to bring the hood down...and when it waz just about to lock it, about an inch....didnt do it.... checked the fuse from luggage compartament and a few from driver side....and still ....wont do it. Hood not latched. and the rear window are stil down.
any advice, has anyone been in this sittuation?
thank you.

 

After a quick search of the XK8/R forums...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ght=hood+latch

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...tch#post136421

 

Quick answer--the metal latch was probably binding as it came up out of its hiding space. If this happens, it is not lined up properly to accept the "hook" from the convertible top. You need to open up the pump valve so that you can work the catch mechanism manually--manipulate the top until you get the hook to fit in the latch and then manually close the latch. Once this is done the warning message should go away. Then you can close the pump valve and it should go back to working automatically. Be sure to lube up the latch either with WD-40 or some white grease.

Doug

 

thx for the quick reply guys, i think u are right, as i tried to bring down the hood by pulling slowly and soft when i saw that it stoped a inch away from locking and didnt want to lock , as it stoped a inch away, i cant see because the gap is narrow so i squeezed my fingers along the gap at the locking points,is like is hitting something, the latch itself, and that doesnt let the hood to go down all the way , , ......it lseems like the hook gt jammed in lock position....how do i operate the pump? And could u explain it a bit more detailed please!

Also...very important.......it doesnt go back either.......that makes it more odd! could it be the relays ?

 

Open the trunk and pull back the fabric liner along the passenger side (near the battery). Behind the liner you will see the pump. There should be a turncock on it--it should be obvious but go to Gus' website if you want to find plenty of photos. Turning this counterclockwise will allow for manual operation. There should also be an allen wrench clipped in near the pump that you will need to manually work the latch (there should be a small round opening near the rearview mirror where you insert the allen key).

This operation will also be explained (with pictures) in the owner's manual that you hopefully have.

Doug

 

I attached links to several of my pages to help you understand the roof function. Your roof is a series of electrical switches and hyd devices that work at the mercy of your body processors and the information it receives. Take one of these devices out of sequence and it will not operate properly.

I would first check the fluid level in your hyd pump tank and at the same time check the manual valve closed at the tank. Now your roof could be out of adjustment and I have not heard of that yet so I will rule that out unless you have a reason. At times the mechanism at the header could be gummed up and may need to be cleaned and regreased. Spraying with WD40 will help but it is temporary. Take your roof and pull it to the latch and use the allen wrench located at the pump and lock your roof closed. Then press your roof button closed, this will send the signal to the pump to close the roof by producing hyd pressure to the rams. Once the rams completed closing the switch in the right ram will send the signal to close the windows. The windows will not close until the roof operation is completed. Let us know how you make out. Yes a fuse or a relay could be the problem but i would check the fuse first.
Gus
http://www.gusglikas.com/AutoRepairH...lOperation.htm
http://www.gusglikas.com/RoofHoseReplacement.htm
http://www.gusglikas.com/AutoRepairHydHose.htm

 

Gus you are a star! thank you big time. I read a couple of times all your advices....went out and followed step by step. Open the boot, located the hyd hood pump...found the turncock....turned all the way counterclock wise, went in the car, found the small round opening near the rearview mirror where i insert the allen wrench that i found next to the hyd pump. Basicly the latch waz stuck in locked position. After i unlocked it, i waz able to bring to hood in the right position and thn put the latch back the way it was supposed to be . After that i turned the turncork from the hyd pump clockwise as it was , went back in the car and pressed down the roof button, rear window closed and the hood was locked. Reverse the all operation and it worked fine just a bit slow.

i could not check the fluid level because i dnt know where the reservoir is , and i dont have a manual, I wanna mention that i love this car so much that i coudnt sleep, i posted the problem around 11.30 pm GMT London time. As soon i had the advice from Gus went out and sorted the problem.

Gus mate your are a star! Thank you once again. You are the man. Also h20boy thank you too, thx guys

 

What am I--chopped liver?!?! Just kidding. Anyway, if you turned the **** on the pump then you also found the reservoir--it is what the turncock connects to. It is opaque plastic material and you should be able to see the fluid level.

Doug

 

ooops....i didnt see it last night........will do that right now

 

Thank you for getting back with us. We often provide help and never know if it provided a solution. As for the kudos, Thank You! We have one hell of a team on this forum.

 

While you're back there crazy, you might as well put that pressure relief valve on the system that Gus and his partner developed, as Doug and Gus both installed one, there's plenty of help if you need it. Just need to buy the kit.

Has your convertible 'sprung a leak' yet?

 

My problem is a bit strange in that the roof goes up and down perfectly and latches closed when the roof closes. However, when I lower the roof, the latch doesn't drop away into the header rail. I can drop it into the header rail using the allen key. Any thoughts?

 

This is very likely the little microswitch on the right side (I think) ram that tells the system that the top is fully down, and to go ahead and retract the latch. These switches can fail, and then the "top down" signal never arrives, and so the latch does not retract.

Resist any suggestion to wander off into hydraulics land with this one. If there were a hydraulic problem, the latch would not close when the roof closes .. it has a much harder job at that point than when the top is lowered.

Good luck.

 

Good advice from Dennis, doesn't sound like hydraulics. You might try some dry lube spray on it before you take it apart. Maybe it's just sticking.

If you do end up taking the covers off to test the switch, still a good time to clean up the moving parts. That latch can get pretty gunked up in there.

 

Be sure to use WD-40 as a way to break free whatever it is that's causing the jam, but never rely on it for a lubricant. WD-40 is a penetrating oil but not a lubricant. That's why when you use it on a squeaky door hinge the squeak comes back three week later. Great for cleaning guns and knocking off rust, but oils, greases or maybe silicone are better lube solutions.

 

Before pulling the car apart check the fluid level on the tank. If that is ok then check the leads attached to the right rear ram, you have one at the top and another at the bottom of the ram. Note they are a little hard to see.

 

I replaced all the hydraulics (after green rain) a couple of years ago (nightmare of a job). I have spare fluid and the fluid level is fine. I also checked the connections to the ram which seem okay. I tried gently pressing on the hood frame to see if it made the connection but it didn't. Sounds like a new microswitch.

 

Right. Low fluid would not cause what you're seeing. And anyway the fluid level is higher when the top is down (where your latch doesn't work) than when the top is up (latch does work).

Before digging in there you might want to go to a wiring diagram and see if there's a way to jumper across the suspect switch as the "lower top" cycle completes. This could confirm it's the bad guy before you go in to remove it.

Good luck.

 

To make matters worse, it problem is intermittent. I removed the shoulder panel to get a better view of the ram. Couldn't see anything so decided to lower the roof forgetting I had left a small box of tools on top. The roof lowered fully before I realised what I had done, trapping the tools in the folds. I raised the roof and then lowered it and the latch closed. I haven't been able to get it to do it again but it is obviously something to do with the ram microswitch which I will replace. Doesn't look easy.

 

The ram microswitch is sealed inside the ram. If this is definitely the issue you need a new or rebuilt ram.