[PBRoms]

Can anyone help - yes I have the dreaded electric roof problem.
The roof at the moment does the following but does not complete the opening cycle.
first the windows open
then the rear part of the roof lifts
now stalling, the lid of the storage compartment will not lift but I can hear the motor operating.
I have topped up the hydraulic fluid.
Any suggestions please?
Thank you.

 

[GT Paddy]

Sounds like the classic cog beginning to break down. Open up the compartment behind the seats and pull the carpet back, you will see the motor. Get a mallet. Start the roof cycle and when it tries to lift the lid jab the motor with the mallet. Do not wait for it to error as you need to do it when it is still attempting to do the roof cycle. You may have to hit it fairly hard, but obviously don't go nuts!

You will only have to hit a few times a year, but I now have a mallet in the compartment for this occasion!

 

[Rich_wookey]

.....,,You will only have to hit a few times a year, but I now have a mallet in the compartment for this occasion!

Unless the cog has stripped teeth or breaks in half! Then you will need a new cog!

 

[andy42]

Got exactly the same with my recently bought one, its going in a week Saturday for a check over and this looking at, I will let you know as soon as I find out the problem.

 

[GT Paddy]

Got exactly the same with my recently bought one, its going in a week Saturday for a check over and this looking at, I will let you know as soon as I find out the problem.

I had a replacement motor put into mine under the warranty. Took just over 1 year before I had to hit it again. The motor unit is very expensive. However, a person on ebay sells just the cogs. They are about 40 quid but made out of a higher quality nylon so should last longer.

 

[alfarc]

When I had this with mine I started by using the hammer technique, worked for a bit, till I lost getting past the raise of the cover. Took the motor and gear apart all OK with the teeth and drive system. Noticed that as tried to switch over to lowering the roof into the hold space the direction was not switching over, just whirring noise. Checked the cables and vaguely remember having to get the tension correct by adjusting their lock nuts, good lub' job then all has been fine since.

Link below may help with understanding mechanism more. First post shows good annotated image.

HOW TO - Spider 916 roof hood cover lock repair

 

[finbarnone]

I did the tapping thing with the mallet for about 6-9 months. Finally gave up when I was lucky to get the roof closed again. Bought a new motor on ebay for £245 and so far, everything is good. Bite the bullet.....it doesn't look good with your arse in the air, whacking away behind the seat with a mallet, hehe.

 

[PBRoms]

Thank you all - I will try "malleting!"

 

[alfanano]

It's worth following the "How To" guide to have a look at the cog. If it has got a few stripped teeth you can just rotate the cog until the broken ones are out of the firing line. I must admit that although my cog wasn't in bad condition I replaced it for peace of mind - I didn't want to get the "hood won't go up and its started raining" phone call from my wife! I see you can get them for about £50 on ebay.