'04 NBC Manual Crank for Convertible Top?!?

[VWChikkie]

Is there a manual hand crank for the '04 NBC?

Mine goes down almost all the way and then stops. It won't drop the rest of the way and the flaps won't fold down. After driving for 10 minutes or so it will finally respond when I hit the top down button.

Is there a quick do it yourself fix to get the top working well again?

If not, a manual hand crank like I had in my Cabrio would be comforting in case it gets stuck for real. Thanks!

[VWChikkie]

Please help? Please?

[miffmole]

I don't have any answers, but mine exhibited the exact same symptoms...

See Looking at buying a 2004 beetle convertible. Should I?

My dealership finally fixed it, even though it was 2 years out of warranty, for free. The service manager told me it would have been about $700. I don't know what was done, but I looked through the glass at one point and saw the mechanic walking around with a large part, presumably for the convertible top mechanism.

[pencilneck]

99% of the time, this is a failed top position switch located on the right side hydraulic ram. The switch for "top closed" sticks and as the top opens up and triggers the "top open" switch, the control module freaks out because it is getting top open and top closed signals at the same time.

The top stops working by default, it is trying to protect itself. If you have a helper, while flipping the switch to try and close the top, have some one go to the right rear side of the car, put their hand under the first fold of the top and push up on the top like they were going to try and manually push the top upward to close it, this will get the switch off the "top open" signal and the control module will turn the pump back on and close the top.

[miffmole]

Originally Posted by pencilneck

99% of the time, this is a failed top position switch located on the right side hydraulic ram. The switch for "top closed" sticks and as the top opens up and triggers the "top open" switch, the control module freaks out because it is getting top open and top closed signals at the same time.

The top stops working by default, it is trying to protect itself. If you have a helper, while flipping the switch to try and close the top, have some one go to the right rear side of the car, put their hand under the first fold of the top and push up on the top like they were going to try and manually push the top upward to close it, this will get the switch off the "top open" signal and the control module will turn the pump back on and close the top.

The past two days, my top has suddenly not wanted to go back up...no problems with flaps. Just nothing happening. It finally went back up, but now I'm wary of opening it again.

Would this method you mentioned help in my case?
Thanks.

[Mellow Vert]

There is a manual way to bring top up or down in the owner’s manual incase it does stop working but it’s kind of complicated. Good luck

[pencilneck]

Originally Posted by miffmole

The past two days, my top has suddenly not wanted to go back up...no problems with flaps. Just nothing happening. It finally went back up, but now I'm wary of opening it again.

Would this method you mentioned help in my case?
Thanks.

If the top completes the full open cycle so that the display status goes from amber back to blue, and then you try to close it and nothing happens, then that is a different kind of problem than the top position switch sending an open and closed signal at once. So pushing up on the right rear corner of the top won't do anything.

With a top fully cycled open and then not wanting to close, I would suspect the switch that operates the top might be at fault. But I would confirm this by using VCDS (formally known as VAG COM).

[VWChikkie]

Originally Posted by Mellow Vert

There is a manual way to bring top up or down in the owner’s manual incase it does stop working but it’s kind of complicated. Good luck

My owner's manual does not include this instruction. Can somebody post it? Thanks!

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by VWChikkie

My owner's manual does not include this instruction. Can somebody post it? Thanks!

I think you may be mistaken, what year NBC is it? I'll have a look if I have a manual for that year.
You don't say, and you haven't completed the information in your User CP (one of the purposes!). And after all, why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow?! (lol)

Just saw that you are the original poster for this thread. A year, and you still haven't got it fixed? Also just figured out you have an '04 NBC by your thread title.

Here are the manual closing instructions for the '03 NBC as posted in the other thread you just posted in.
Top will not go down

Here from YOUR Owner's Manual, Booklet 3.1; Controls and Operating Equipment, Pgs 40-41
Sorry "the douche at my dealer didn't give me this section of the manual". (????). I have the entire Booklet in .pdf, p/m me with an email address and I will send it to you, so your Owner's Manual is complete.

MORAV

[pinkbeetle]

Did you finally fixed it? cause I just fixed mine yesterday! it's also a '04 and it happened exactly the same... look for a video on youtube from Ross Tech and keywords "Beetle Top Convertible" (something like that) they show a trick you can do to push your top on a corner when it's almost down and it works!!!