Ticking noise coming from right behind my left shoulder

[RandallNeighbour]

burg, I looked in the same spot you mentioned and I see a black clip type of thing there, but no broken tape. It does not look like there was ever tape there.

When you have a chance, can you take a closer shot of the taped area and post it to this thread?

Spy, is the seatbelt guide is the black plastic covered bit that is attached to a pivoting point on the rollbar where it flips the belt to come into the cabin?

[Back2DTM]

I checked mine out. the driver side has no clear tape, just some black tape. I looked at the passenager side, there are clear and black tapes. I applied some clear tape to the driver side but the noise is still there
Thanks again for the tips, though.

I think I will learn to live with it... Maybe I should even feel lucky about having only 1 area making noise. :ah:

[Burg Boxster]

I'm on vacation (sadly w/out the Boxster until Sunday night). I'll take a picture of it Monday night and will post. In the mean time, here's a more detailed description of where the tape should be:

Open the top so that there is about 12" between the edge of the top and body of the car. Look into the cavity where the top goes, about 6 inches from the end of the door. You will see a red cap on part of the top mechanism. Now look a few inches further to the rear and you will see a cable that terminates on a connector with a washer and torx screw (as shown in photo above). Note that the cable is bare for about an inch and then is covered with a black insulator. Where the cable ends you will see a 1" wide thin metal plate covered with plastic tape that acts as a guide/clamp for the cable. Check to see if the piece of clear plastic tape is worn through to the metal. If it is, cover with a new piece of packing tape. Check the other side and you should see the same thing.

For those that replaced the tape and it didn't solve, you might want to check these two things as well - door latch (wrap a piece of electrical tape around the part on the body to see if it stops. If it does, your latch is out of alignment.

Or, when was the last time your top was lubed - especially the center cross bar? While driving, push up on the canvas just behind the crossbar to see if it stops.

I post a detailed photo of the "taped" area on Monday.

[Back2DTM]

Okay it is my door latch. The ticking is gone.

thanks~

[Burg Boxster]

Here is the entire series of photos



zoomed in - red arrows mark the plastic tape. There is a metal guide on the inward side sticking up there.


closer still - red arrows again mark the start/end of plastic packing tape I used. As you can see, the tape is starting to wear thru again - I last did the fix about 18 months ago.



Good luck and hope this helps!

[RandallNeighbour]

Does the tape simply go over the guide itself? I dont' see how that could make a tape clicking sound in my car. It does not appear that there has ever been any tape over that guide.

Now, I'd also like to know what part of the door latch to inspect. Could someone describe what they found, if it was loose, or what they did to fix it? How about a pic?

[Burg Boxster]

yes - the tape wraps over the guide. You'll need to pull the guide wire out a bit to slide it underneath. IIRC, the guide wire you see runs the entire side of the soft top up to where it meets the A pillar. The ticking/rattle sound happens most when the top is up as the wire isn't as tight thus it taps against the guide.

For the door latch, you're checking for the alignment of the catch (in the door) vs the latching loop on the frame in the car. Problem might be alignment or your loop or it is just plain worn/wearing out. You can replace it, or try and adjust. (I've heard some people have had luck w/ just flipping it upside down but I have no knowledge of it first hand). To do either, you'll need a triple square bit (looks somewhat like torx but has 12 points - I think it's size M8 ???).

I recommend you wrap it with electrical tape to see if it's the issue and rattle goes away. If so, then unwrap electrical tape and rewrap w/ masking tape to see where the tape wears and adjust the latch accordingly (usually towards the wear markings / towards the interior). There are hash marks in the jamb and latch to help you align/adjust minimally. You'll need to loosen both to move. Make sure you mark your starting point for adjustment or replacement so you have a good reference point (outline it w/ a grease pen or the like). Here are some pictures to help:



I marked where the alignment hash marks are in the body with white arrows for reference:


Good luck but definitely wrap w/ electrical tape first to see if it solves the problem.