Convertible top/central lock not working

[watut]

I have a '98 328 convertible. The 5 amp fuse for the central locking/convertible top keeps blowing. Any suggestions where to look for a short? I have checked the trunk lid harness and don't see any short in the wiring.

[110reef]

Do you know when it blows? During top operation, during locking? Anything else attached to that fuse? I probably have the electrical line drawing in my Bentley manual. But I would try to see what operation is actually blowing the fuse. If it blows but you never actuated anything, then that is another thing to consider.

[watut]

Do you know when it blows? During top operation, during locking? Anything else attached to that fuse? I probably have the electrical line drawing in my Bentley manual. But I would try to see what operation is actually blowing the fuse. If it blows but you never actuated anything, then that is another thing to consider.

Thanks for the reply Ken, I do not know exactly when it does it but it's not during top operation. I will play around with it later and see when it does it. Last time it blew, I changed it in the evening then drove to work and once I came out of work, I found it blown. Possibly when I locked the car or started it.


However, I did start the car, changed the fuse and ran the top through it's motions and it didn't blow

[JDStrickland]

When you lock the doors, the trunk locks at the same time. There is a wire harness that goes from the left side fender into the trunk lid, this harness breaks and the exposed wires can cause dozens of different symptoms. And the symptoms can be intermittent, depending upon the connection status at the time of the event. You need to remove the grommet at the trunk lid and slide the sleeve down to observe the integrity of the harness. If you must make repairs -- a highly likely requirement -- then I would encourage you to take the liner off of the inside of the trunk lid to expose more of the wire so the repairs are easier to make.

[watut]

When you lock the doors, the trunk locks at the same time. There is a wire harness that goes from the left side fender into the trunk lid, this harness breaks and the exposed wires can cause dozens of different symptoms. And the symptoms can be intermittent, depending upon the connection status at the time of the event. You need to remove the grommet at the trunk lid and slide the sleeve down to observe the integrity of the harness. If you must make repairs -- a highly likely requirement -- then I would encourage you to take the liner off of the inside of the trunk lid to expose more of the wire so the repairs are easier to make.

I will check the trunk harness again once the weather warms up a little bit here. Does it usually break inside the trunk lid or between the trunk and fender?

[Twistytee]

Can break in either location but the exposed bend between the trunk lid grommet and the trunk shock attachment point is the most common failure area. Also helps to remove one of the black hold down brackets where it passes under the shock. This gives the plastic sheathing and wires a longer radius to move along.

[watut]

Was able to check the trunk harness (again) yesterday. All looks good back there. Can one of the lock actuators do this?