ascMcLaren Enthusiasts

[CocoLoco]

OK. I know this has been beat to death before but I can't figure this one out. This is for an 85 Capri Vert.
1) I see the info for the Mustangs - are the Capris different? I know the bow #5 pin is a hook on the Capri, not a screw. Wiring the same?
2) The roof switch, when pushed up, releases the tonneau with the key in the ACC position. Seems OK here.
3) I put the roof up and lower the tonneau cover. When low enough, it just starts driving down on it's own. Up until today, it stopped in the down position. This happens even without the pin in the hole.
4) As above, the only way to get the pin in and latched was to insert it in the hole prior to lowering the tonneau cover the whole way (the point at which it starts down on it's own. This seemed to work OK the last few times I did it.
5) I put the roof down 2 weeks ago. Today I tried to put it up. Tried my proceedure as above, but now the tonneau does not stay down. It goes down the whole way and then starts right back up. Then down again, up again, down again - you get the picture. Pin in or not.
6) The only way to get it to stop is to turn off the key when it is down the whole way. Not right and not good.
7) Also - the roof switch does not seem to do anything when pressed down. I checked the switch and it seems to operate like a standard single pole, double throw center off switch.

So there I am. Stuck. I have looked at the Mustang wiring diagrams but they show a 2 pole switch arrangement (I think). Where is the famous roof relay module located? I see a big green relay in the trunk along the left side. Is this it? Do I have a wring problem? Defective relay? Got a feeling a previous owner may have "fixed" this.

Any and all help appreciated. If you have a Capri that works correctly, please let me know exactly how is supposed to work so I have a starting point.

Thanks - Dwight

PS - here is what I found on the switch:
There are three wires - Red/wht on top pin (1), white on middle pin (3) and blue on bottom pin (5). It has 5 pins and works like this:
Middle position - 1 and 2 made, 4 and 5 made.
Up position - 1 and 3 made, all else open.
Down position - 3 and 5 made, all else open.
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1985 Red ascMcLaren Convertible #218
1990 Seafoam Auqa ascMcLaren Convertible #263
2001 Yellow Mustang Convertible
1977 Red Bonneville Coupe

[85asc239]

Sounds like a stuck relay. You might flip floping the wires on the switch and see if the same things happens. If it does then relay.


ps the pull down motor is from a lincon town car trunk


Jeremy

[CocoLoco]

Thanks for the help. Appreciated. But I haven't had time yet to look into the relay issue. Any other ideas out there? Can someone describe the correct operation of this thing?? Someone has to be an expert on this. At least I hope so.

Dwight
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1985 Red ascMcLaren Convertible #218
1990 Seafoam Auqa ascMcLaren Convertible #263
2001 Yellow Mustang Convertible
1977 Red Bonneville Coupe

[CocoLoco]

I found a green module in the trunk - left side near fender well. It looks like it could be the roof relay. Not sure. Is this it or something else?? Keep in mind this is an 85 Capri, not a Mustang.

Thanks- Dwight
_________________
1985 Red ascMcLaren Convertible #218
1990 Seafoam Auqa ascMcLaren Convertible #263
2001 Yellow Mustang Convertible
1977 Red Bonneville Coupe

[dahberg]

[dahberg]

[CocoLoco]

Thanks to both of you for the help. Things have gotten worse. Now the tonneau motor will not cycle at all. If I push down on the tonneau the whole way, it will latch. And the Bow 5 pin will not latch at any time.

So if the green box is the trunk relay, where exactly is this mysterious "black box" relay I see in the wiring diagrams?


I'm going to read through the manual and see if I am missing something. For pity's sake - I'm an electrical engineer. You'd think I could figure this out.

Dwight

****UPDATE****
I just went and started looking round at things. Best I can figure out right now is:
1) There is a "hook" on the cross member of the tilt mechanism that rotates into position to "grab" the bow 5 pin. There is an adjusting screw (thread rod type thing with a 7/16" nut) that can adjust how far in/out it rotates as you lower the tonneau. This is a liitle hard to visualize.
2) I think in normal operation, you put the pin in the hole and lower the toneau (thus rotating the hook towards the pin).
3) Then, you push the "down" switch to run the pull down motor to further lower the tonneau and further rotate the hook, pulling the pin down and thus pulling bow 5 (the back of the roof) against the tonneau cover.

My pulldown motor seems now to be stuck in the full down position. It will not run at all. Probably shot. But I loosened the adjusting screw and now the hook seems to rotate enough to grab the pin as I manually push down on the tonneau to latch it.

So in summary - it's broke. But I can get by with it until I get the urge to fix it. I'll troubleshoot a bit further to see if the motor is bad or if it is an electrical problem

D.
_________________
1985 Red ascMcLaren Convertible #218
1990 Seafoam Auqa ascMcLaren Convertible #263
2001 Yellow Mustang Convertible
1977 Red Bonneville Coupe

[CocoLoco]

I got out the voltmeter and went to work. For future reference, the green box in the trunk is indead the tonneau relay. Confirmed this with Henry. I unplugged it and even the latch release won't work, so that must be the relay in question. I took the pulldown motor off and checked for voltage to it - no matter if I push the switch up or down, nothing. The latch release works when switch is up, so I know I am getting power through the trunk interlock switch and to the relay. I am leaning towrds the relay as the problem but I haven't ruled out the motor or maybe the limit switch on the motor.

I am thinking the wiring on the Capris is quite diferent than the Mustangs do to the hook vs. screw pulldown method. When I get done with this, I think I will trace out all the wiring and document it for other owners.
_________________
1985 Red ascMcLaren Convertible #218
1990 Seafoam Auqa ascMcLaren Convertible #263
2001 Yellow Mustang Convertible
1977 Red Bonneville Coupe