Yesterday was a perfect top down day, so I took my XKR out to run some errands. I always keep it on my battery maintainer, which was in float mode so I knew the battery was fully charged when I left home. I made 6 stops, parked, and put the top up each time. I used my Smartkey fob since I have WhiteXKR's remote control kit.

When I got home, and while in my garage with the door open and engine running, I pushed and held the overhead button to close the top. It made the usual noises but only made it about a foot or so out of the compartment, stopped moving, and flopped back down into the compartment.

I shut off the engine, got out of the car, closed the door, and walked around to the passenger side where there's more room. I then used my Smartkey remote to close the top. The lid opened and the top started coming out but it was moving slowly, so I gave it a helping hand and let go after it was halfway closed. It kept going, closed fully and latched normally, all the windows went up, and it locked.

I plugged in my battery maintainer and then searched this Forum for solutions to my problem. Most of the comments agreed that when the top doesn't fully complete an open or close cycle, it goes out of sync and a manual reset is required to fix it. I also was concerned about the hydraulic pump and low fluid caused by a leak.

My battery was fully charged this morning, so I decided to see if the cause was just a low battery. With my battery maintainer plugged in, I stood at the side the car and pressed the headlight button and then the door unlock button on my Smartkey and ... the top went down normally!

I didn't want to try closing the top until after the battery was fully charged, so I waited for the maintainer to go into float mode. It worked!

It appears that a low battery was the culprit. I'll have it tested and see if it holds a charge. If not, it's still under replacement warranty.

Thanks, Steve (WhiteXKR), as it appears that your unit automatically reset my top. No more pressing the overhead console buttons for me!

 

I wonder if pressing and holding the top button was part of the problem? Remember, with Steve’s controller you only need to ‘one touch’ the top button to raise or lower the top, you don’t hold the button.

 

Yeah, press-hold is OEM, and Steve's top only needs one-touch. I think KJ hit it.

 

I came to the same conclusion when I said "No more pressing the overhead console buttons for me!" I also stated "with the door open and engine running, I pushed and held the overhead button to close the top. It made the usual noises but only made it about a foot or so out of the compartment, stopped moving, and flopped back down into the compartment."

My point is that I tried to raise the top by following the procedure in the Owner's Handbook, but it failed. I suspected a weak battery and, based on the experiences of other Forum members, that the top was now out of sync and that I would have to reset the top and windows. That wasn't necessary when I used my keyfob to lower and raise the top.

I just wanted to point out another benefit of WhiteXKR's remote control device.

 

Stuart - Right on. Steve K's unit seems to override all the little quirks in the built in top controller. That is a real plus!!