Heyfolks,
New to the forum, though I've been reading quite a bit the last year or so.
I have a 2003 XKR convertible, and 2 days ago, the top stopped working in the open position.
I've read some of the posts, and sure enough, the fuse went. I chaned the 40A fuse, and it blew right away.

So without another fuse, I manually closed the top, latched it tightly with the allen wrench, BUT the rear windows still won't close.

Any suggestions, or work-arounds to closing those back windows? I can't drive it anywhere right now if I can't close those windows in case of rain.

Any help would be much appreciated.
p.s. I did read that post about fuses blowing all the time, and it resulted in the motor being replaced...but before I seek the $2K+ solution, I'd like to exhaust other possibilities. Thanks!!!

 

Do you know what fuse it is? Was it for the pump? I have a lot of information on my page but I want to see if we can get it all closed for you. If the fuse is for the pump and the pump has a problem you can close the roof manually. This is a link on how to operate your roof manually Hyd Roof Operation. If you have Skype use the link above to reach me.

 

Have you tried unplugging the pump, replacing the fuse and then raising the windows?

 

Hi Gus,
It's the 40A fuse. That's slot 14 in the trunk fuse box. I'm pretty sure it's the only 40A fuse in the box. That's the one I found blown, I changed it, tried closing again, and nothing...checked the fuse again, and found it burned out again. Unfortunately 40A fuses aren't available at CanadianTire here, so I have to wait until Monday for a Nappa autoparts store to open.
And yes, I did read your page. Thanks! I just didn't know what the 2 RAMS are that I have to to latch. This is probably why I can't close the rear windows with the switch. Do you have any details on latching to 2 rams?

Once I get more 40A fuses, I'll try unplugging the pump (black and white wires I think - that was from another post on a 04 and 05), and see if the fuse goes. I just hope it's not the pump since the other post said it was $2200.

 

If all else fails, if you remove the four screws for the armrest console and lid, there is a wire in there that you can ground that will raise the windows. Details are in this thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...op-down-37826/

 

In order to close the windows the rams must be fully extended. This could be accomplished by pulling up on the ram linkage. How do you do that?. If you look between the roof and the head liner just behind the quarter window you will see the linkage bar between the roof linkage and the ram, take a board and slip it under the linkage and push up. This is often done by using the back of the rear seat as the fulcrum. Yes the back of the rear seat, just put a towel on it and only apply pressure to close it, you will know. See if this works for you! Yes both sides!

 

Thanks for the link for the solution via the armrest. I think I'll try both that and lifting the ram into place. The good thing is...it's not going to rain for another 2 days...so I'll have some time to try both solutions.

It's dark now, so I won't go look right now, but will tomorrow morning.
So 1 last question...the first time I closed the top manually, I had a warning message saying the "Hood Open". So I assumed because of that, the rear windows wouldn't go up. I reclosed it, and the message is gone. So shouldn't that mean all the sensors check out and the computer thinks the "hood" is closed properly? Regardless...I'm going to do that RAM closure with a board in the morning.
Thanks again for all the help!

 

More potential bad news for you. I went through a similar situation last year but the top was closed and the fuse blew when I hit the "roof open" button. To make a long story short it turned out to be a bad pump motor (a short of something). The replacement pump was in the $2,000 neighborhood and are not all that easy to get. Luckily I was covered under warranty.

Doug

 

If a failed motor does turn out to be the problem, used ones are out there:
JAGUAR XKR XK8 CONVERTIBLE TOP MOTOR | eBay

 

Of course you are taking a huge chance that an ebay replacement is not much better. In my case, since it was under warranty the dealer spent weeks trying to source out a new one. They were really not readily available here an might have been obtainable from the UK. In the end they got one from somewhere that had (presumably) been thoroughly reconditioned and tested. Still the warranty receipt showed that the part was quite expensive.

Doug

 

Wow...so many things to try!
Well...let's go in order. I tried Gus' first because it was easiest to just stick a steel rod in between the roof and the liner, and made sure the rams are fully extended. I did that...and tried the "close roof" button, but nothing. So windows are still down.

So next, I read in another thread, and I think one of you suggested it, is to remove the power to the pump, put in a new fuse, and see if it blows. I didn't have a 40A fuse, but put in a 30A fuse just for the test. I removed the black&white wire, pressed the "roof close" botton, and then checked the fuse....it didn't blow. I reconnected the power to the pump, and pressed the button again, and the fuse blew right away.

So....I'm starting to slowly come to terms it's the pump. Of course, I was only using a 30A fuse...so I still have hope that it's not the pump, and it just blew because the pump requires the higher amperage.

Now...just to get the windows back up, I will tryp WhiteXKR's suggestion of shorting the circuit to get the windows up. At least I can then drive it.

THanks for the link to the new pump. I may end up needing it, depending on what my mechanic quotes me. I think I'll have to make that inevitable trip to the mechanics for this in the end....

Any other ideas?
I'll post later once I get the windows up with the "shorting" method.
thanks again!

P.S. You guys are way more technical than the Porsche 911 forum, but then again, the Porsche didn't have a roof that broke down on me ;-)

 

Oh, 1 other thing I forgot to mention which I thought was quite interesting:
My top stopped working when it was in the down position...so I'm guessing the computer thinks it's still down since I manually put it back up.

So...if I press the "Hood Up" botton, I don't get a chime or anything. The windows don't go down an inch, etc. Just nothing.

But...when I press the "Hood Down" button, I get the chime, the windows drop an inch, just like it was going to happen. But of course...nothing does...the latch doesn't raise, etc.

So...what does that tell me? The car's "Hood down" still initiates until it stops at the pump, but the "Hood up" doesn't do a thing at all? Does the "Hood up" action require that 40A fuse for the chime but the "Hood down" action doesn't?

Any guesses (educated guesses that is) would be appreciated.

 

If the rams are extended and the windows do not go up it could be a number of things, the ram on the right not extended filly, header latch not closed or the sys is confused. If the pump is not working pushing the up button will do nothing if the switches are not in sequence. The good thing is that you got the windows closed now. If you motor is bad it is going to cost you. I have a motor but it is storage and unreachable at this time.

 

996,

If you conclude that the motor is bad and do buy another one, here's a suggestion.

If you'll ship me the old motor, I'll try to repair it and -- whether I can or not -- I'll send it back to you either way. You may then end up with a motor you can sell to recoup what you've spent on the replacement.

There's some self-interest on my part here. I would like to do some probing into the internals of that unit.

Not sure if your "new guy" status lets you send PMs yet, but if not just post here if interested.

Good luck with all of this, IAC

 

Hey, I don't mind that suggestion at all, if what you learn benefits the group, then I'm all for it. I'll try to PM you about it, but right now I may not be ready to buy a new one just yet. I think I have to get past my "new guy" status first, 10 posts or something like that. (Yes, I did start reading the "welcome posts".)

As for a quick update, I just came in from the garage, FINALLY got the windows up. I watched that video that WhiteXKR sent me the link to, and it was very helpful.
But just as a caveat to those that want to try it....when you get to the yellow box with all the wires, and it's wrapped in that black cloth, DON'T just assume there's only 1 Green/Black and Green/Blue wire and start splicing without removing the black cloth and tracing back the wire properly! I guess I was lazy and just grabbed the bundle of wires that was closest to me, and started splicing the green/blue and green/black wires. What did I find out???!!!!...there's 2 (TWO) sets of these wires. Of course, I spliced the wrong ones and got all frustrated. Then I watched the video again, and decided to do it properly and removed the black cloth so I could follow the wire properly, and low and behold...I found the proper set. I wired it up, and it works like a charm.

So...I think for this summer, I may just go with the "Manual convertible" until I'm ready to spend $2K on a new motor.

P.S. I did get some more 40A fuses today. I put another one in, pushed the "Hood up" botton, and it blew right away. I'm now 95% sure it's the pump!

Thanks again for everyone that has offered advice! It's forecasted to rain 50mm tomorrow, so I'm glad I can drive the car!

 

The motor to my top went bad on my 2003 XKR. I could have written 996's post.

Fortunately my car was covered by an extended warranty that a month to run. The dealer charge was $5600. I would have pulled the car and went to a shop that would charge me less if it wasn't under warranty, even if it meant a used part.

I was also pretty upset as the dealer charged me $600 for diagnosis time the warranty company wouldn't cover. Doesn't sound right to me but I'm not sure what I can do other than sue them. They say the warranty company would only cover 1/2 hour of diagnosis. Dealer said it took several hours of diagnosis time which sounds like BS to me. I think the dealer padded the bill as the warranty company probably didn't pay them full markup on the part.

I'm sort of PO'd about this and thankful that it only cost me $800 (deductible plus the $600) at the same time.

Good luck with yours.