California roof stuck

bisc0tti · 11-11-2010, 10:19 PM

Hi,

My california roof is stuck partially open and I need to close it. Is there a manual way I can crank it shut? I can't seem to find anyplace on or near the roof motor to do so.

Thanks,

Scott

**cooljess76** · 11-11-2010, 10:56 PM

Hey Scott, not sure how much different the california roof motor is than the regular sunroof motor. But I'm assuming it drives a worm gear in a similar operation. In the center of the motor, you should see an allen head bolt that spins when the motor is being actuated. This bolt can be cranked manually with an allen wrench or the wrench supplied in the factory tool kit. Again, I'm not sure if the California roof has the same feature, but it's worth looking into. Best of luck!

-Jess

bisc0tti · 11-11-2010, 11:09 PM

Hi,

Thanks for replying. Yea i see the hole on the motor but it doesn't seem to be shaped to fit an allen wrench. It's just a round hole. I see it spin when I hit the forward or backward button so it seems like it would be the right place to crank it, but it doesn't have a hex shape to it.

Scott

**cooljess76** · 11-11-2010, 11:50 PM

Hmm, perhaps it's different then. Hopefully one of the other Cali-top owners will chime in. Here's a pic of my regular sunroof motor with the tool inserted:

roadrash · 11-11-2010, 11:59 PM

I think cars with the regular sunroof have a tool in the kit that is intended to be used to crank the sunroof open/closed in the event that the motor breaks. Perhaps you've got a tool in your kit? If so, once you see the tool, at least you'll have a better idea of what sort of receptacle you're looking for on the motor.

EDIT - yeah, that's the tool that Jess just posted above. LOL

**cooljess76** · 11-12-2010, 12:00 AM

Also, this might be helpful:
http://www.318ti.org/files/showentry.php?e=8&catid=1

bisc0tti · 11-12-2010, 12:01 AM

It's similar but a little different. I'll go take a pic of it right now.

bisc0tti · 11-12-2010, 12:11 AM

Here is a pic of it.

**cooljess76** · 11-12-2010, 12:24 AM

I wonder if the previous owner might have stripped it out??? It looks like it might have been a hex at one time, lol. Again, I haven't had any experiences with the cali-top before, so i'm just guessing here. I've ridden in ti's with cali-tops and it's a really pleasant feature. Give it some time and I'm sure one of the other cali-top owners will post something. You may even try PM'ing Pnosker, Lazoh, Marko, 96cali, and/or Cali-ti. Those guys all have cali-tops and I know a few of them have worked on or repaired theirs. Best of luck!

-Jess

eurekaiv · 11-12-2010, 04:43 PM

This was my car before I sold it to Scotti. The motor was a replacement for another motor that went tits up when the car had about 60-70k miles. IIRC, I bought it brand new at the time so I'm not sure how it could have been stripped... I put it in, it worked, and I never touched it again.

bisc0tti · 11-15-2010, 03:35 AM

Thanks CoolJess for the information. I will try to PM those guys and see if they have any suggestions. For now I managed to get it in my tiny garage and out of the elements(attached photo).

I took the motor out today and checked the plastic gear pieces. They all seemed intact and no obvious worn or broken spokes, but when I put it back in it did the same thing. I'm wondering if it may be something with the cali top track, and it's lubrication. If I bump the top with my hand when it gets stuck, it will go a little further, then get stuck again, bump it and it goes a little more but never fully gets closed.

Thanks,

Scott

3.2TI · 11-19-2010, 10:47 AM

Jess was right about allen key

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