1996 E36 Convertible top and Air Bag Light Problem

[DDDZ4]

While putting top down for first time this year the rear window raised off the cover and cover started raising and all movement stopped. Sometimes the window part of top would catch on cover. I had two friends watching it to keep top from catching. I do not think they could have caused this.

I found the lever below the rear seat and pulled it to unlock the top and cover. The top motor unlocked and the
cover motor did not. I bumped it with a screw driver and it released. I noted the 2 cables attached to rod were very tight. Now I have little slack in cables. I manually raised the top and put the cover down. I then lowered the top into well below the cover let cover down and put a little weight on passenger side of cover to activate trunk lock. I reset both motors closed the tunk which was locked and removed the weight. I got in the car pressed the switch forward and turned the key to first position. The cover moved down slightly and all stopped. I have done this 6 times and cover never moved again.
I replaced top fuse by the battery.

At some point I started the car aE10 means no communication with computer? I have 2 other code readers and they
are not communicating either. Again engine sounds good and no check engine light.

I would appreciate any help I can get. Had car year no problems. One time let battery get low and air bag light stayed on and cleared code and never came back on until today.

( Resyncing top: Have read ignition switch 1 click and read 2 clicks also read push switch forward and read push it
backwards. Tried both ways. I have not checked the switch.

Thanks in advance

Bill

[66 6]

Resync.
Hold top up switch then turn ignition fully on but not to start. The sucking down of the tonneau is correct. If all is well it should be through the rest of the operation. You should have someone apply the weight to the passenger side then when the cover gets pulled down, let go and allow the operation to continue.

Airbag is a separate issue. Run the codes to determine the issues. Most likely seat of seatbelt. especially if you have manual seats. The wiring may jiggle when someone moves the seat quickly.

[DDDZ4]

Thanks. The air bag issue is fixed. I read about the stomp method and plugged scanner in under the hood and after several stompings the E10 went away and gave me 2 minor codes and let me clear them.

I tryed resetting procedure again after I cleared the code and still did not work. It only pulled the cover down once and did not finish the process. When I first pulled the lever to drop the motors the lid motor did not drop. I noticed the 2 cables on the lever were very tight. I had to take a screw driver and apply a little force to make the motor drop. It now drops each time I pull the lever but I noticed the 2 cables have some slack in them? Could this be the problem?

Thanks
Bill

[110reef]

Cables need to have slack in them in order for the motors to latch when you re-engage. That is not a problem, in fact, not having slack is a problem. Are you sure they are all the way back in place? Sometimes the teeth don't mesh so easily and you cannot get them back in without turning the gear a little bit.

When doing the resync, when the tonneau cover pulls in, keep holding the switch. It takes a while. 1-2 minutes maybe?

[DDDZ4]

Thanks for the reply. I only got cover to pull down once and nothing else happened. I tryed to resync it propBABLY 10 times and it never pulled down again. I am converting it to manual operation.

Bill

[66 6]

Thanks for the reply. I only got cover to pull down once and nothing else happened. I tryed to resync it propBABLY 10 times and it never pulled down again. I am converting it to manual operation.

Bill

Do you have a full auto top or semi auto? Semi autos are simple to convert. Full autos are a little more difficult. You need to cut out a section of bracket.
If needed I have all the parts to convert full or semi auto to full manual. Just PM me if interested.

[DDDZ4]

Its a Semi Auto. I have already converted it. Seems to work well. I had one question about the rods attached to the top motor. Do you leave them attached ?

Thanks for the reply

Bill