Hello all,
More electrical issues, after I thought I had everything solved....
I most recently used the soft top around 2 months ago when I had to open the engine compartment for the mechanic to smog the car. I haven't touched it since.
Today I wanted to put the top down and nothing happened. Here are the symptoms and possibly some elimination of possible issues (I searched heavily before posting this).
-Car is a 1999 with the triangle marked relay
-To be perfectly clear, the car was running and the parking brake was applied
-The parking light in the instrument cluster was illuminated
-When I unlock the top at the windshield header, the windows roll down a few inches like normal
-When I press the top button, absolutely nothing happens
-No sound
-No signs that an electrical load is placed on the system (no lights dim or anything)
-Fuse D3 & B6 are intact. I cleaned them and reinserted them anyway
-I removed the relay, inspected it, cleaned the contacts, and knocked it around a bit, then reinserted
I've heard on the '99 cars there is microswtich under the clamshell and one in the b-pillar. But I don't see how these could go wrong when the top hasn't moved.
I've had the car going on 3 years and the top has never given me any issues.
The ONLY relevant things that I can think of that has changed since I last opened the top are:
-I installed a new ignition switch
-I installed a new radio head unit
-We had a big rain storm and the car was parked outside. I couldn't feel any significant water egress inside the car, but it was a bit 'moist' or humid inside, like water had seeped through the top. It doesn't appear that any of the top electronics would be vulnerable to water, am I correct? Also there don't appear to be any other electrical issues.
-EDIT: Also, and I doubt this is relevant, but the driver side heated seat button 'fell' out of its mount recently. I gather it's near the handbrake switch, so I thought i'd include it.