The roof will not open manually until both of the roof rams/lifts are unlocked. This link will show you how to unlock the rams.

Link http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Auto...oof%20Rams.jpg

 

Amazing that I’ve not heard or read anything of this lockout before now. THANK YOU. I hopeful this will resolve the issue. At what point should the ram piston valves be closed?

 

If you are going to operate the roof manually the petcock on the pump should be open.

Gus
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

Ok, this is getting frustrating to say the least. After following the manual reset procedure (in various variations), I was able to clear the "Front not latched" error msg which allowed resetting of the windows and movement of the roof. Unfortunately, while attempting to close the roof automatically, it stops well short of the front locking brackets, closes the locking latches which, again, triggers the "Front not latched" error msg. Any suggestions?

 

Search this forum for ‘Hood Not Latched’.
There have been several problems that have caused it. A couple owners have had the cable that runs along the edge of the top get out of position, usually at the hinge point at the front seat position. Most recently an owner had some frayed wiring.

 

Typical behavior when the front windows limits need to be reset. Reset both front windows and it should start working. Sometimes it takes a few tries for the reset to take, so repeat as necessary.

 

This thread came up on me subscriptions and I replied thinking it was an XK8. Sorry I will un subscribe.

 

I have a pristine XK Portfolio Convertible which stays off road in a garage over winter and this time, the trickle charger became unplugged and I found the battery as flat as the proverbial pancake! I found this thread and waded through it to find this particular comment from you re the F8 fuse. You sir are a genius as it worked for me straight away and saved me a load of cash (plastic actually!) as I was going to take it to the dealership. I can't thank you enough but if ever you are in the UK near London, the drinks are on me!

 

Glad it worked !

 

I performed the disconnect of the neg terminal and 10 min wait. Reassembled all, works as advertised!

 

Just wanted to resurrect this thread as I just picked up an 07 BRG XKR with an unresponsive vert top - no window movement, no errors message, just nothing.

Was weird because the seller had sent me a video of the top functioning before I flew down to pick it up and drive it home. The day before I flew down they called to state the TPMS light came on so they'd brought to their independent mech to repair before I picked it up, but when they got the car back, they wanted to take one last evening cruise with it and the top didn't work.

Messed with window reset, messed with luggage separator, nothing worked. Found this tidbit about pulling the F8 fuse, boom - success!

Once again, this forum and it's info comes thru! Love it.

 

Another thread update in 2025. This is for a 2007 Jaguar XK convertible. This car was bought used and did not come with an owners manual, but this Jaguar Forum has very helpful references to manufacturer documentation. Someone said and/or the owners manual says, to not stop the operation of the top mid way before the cycle is complete. Well I can confirm the top will get into a bad state if you do that. I was trying to clean underneath the tonneau cover for the top some of the weather seals, and then after about 10 minutes it started to move on its own and ended up in a bad state. I tried the window reset, I tried the battery disconnect & reconnect, no luck. I did the manual pump adjust option, which is not as bad as it sounds. The car comes with its own allen wrench to relive pressure on the convertible hydrolic pump, but if you have a basic metric kit you just need the 4mm wrench. It is very easy to get to the passenger side panel in the trunk and turn it counter clockwise to relieve pressure, then you manually fold in the top yourself, then turn the adjuster on the pump clockwise again after the top is completely down and the cover is closed. When everything is closed up and latched, the car computer system then knows the top is in an open state (meaning the top is down), and if you then push the button to close the top, it should operate successfully and that latch open message on the dash should go away.

I was going to make a YouTube video of the process, but I found another video that already did this. It is from the owner of Top Hydraulics , recorded back in 2018. It's a long video but it is really good if you want to learn more about the convertible hydraulics system of a Jaguar XK from 2007-2013. The guy is a pro, and he basically said the convertible top hydraulics system was made extremely cheap with bad quality parts. I don't know why auto manufacturers don't just put in a little more effort to make better quality parts that will last longer. As a Jaguar XK customer, I would be willing to pay say $1,000 more a new car that already is very expensive, to have a convertible system that could last 20 years or more without aging issues.

Here is the video link: