Keith U

I have designed such a 3d part for my 2001 C2. It fit, bench tested great, and worked on the car once. One full open to windows up. One full closed to windows up. Then (printed in polycarbonate) the threads stripped. But, here's the design for anyone interested.

Side flap threaded insert had split, so the rod was spinning in it at the top most position. The microswitch wouldn't engage, so the clamshell wouldn't close. I made a replacement. https://makerworld.com/en/models/3232512-porsche-996-cabriolet-side-flap-repair-insert#profileId-3661479 https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7401985 EDIT2: That was a design flaw, not a material flaw. I updated the files (above) and my top works as expected Video! EDIT1: With my part made out of polycarbonate and installed, the top opened completely as expected until the windows went up, then closed completely as expected until the windows went up. Then my part failed: threads gone. I sent my design to a shop to make me some out of nylon, PA12, I'll see if they hold up better. Regardless of the stable solution, The top works.

Following up, though the top isn't 100% sorted yet. POTs 1 and 2 were on the car when I got it, I didn't change them. I changed the arm on POT 2, before my first post here, because mine was broken, but not the pot itself. I assume at some point these worked on the car. Looking at the actual and stored values from above (and copied below), Pot 2 (conv. top compartment. lid), when reset to 6.25k ohms, was showing an actual value of 2.51 v. The stored value at fully open was 2.71 v. So, following this thread (which presented the same issues I was having), I removed POT 2 and the motor from the clamshell transmission and advanced it using a 9v battery in tiny increments, then plugged it back into the control module to read actual values, until the wide open actual value was 2.71 v. Then the top actually opened fully and closed to the point that the latch would latch. With the clamshell fully closed, I got an actual value of 1.55v, which is identical to what had been stored. POT 2 is close, and apparently close enough to not need recalibration: stored value 1 is 0.80v, and I'm reading an actual value when closed of 0.83. Along the way, I managed to strip one of the side flaps, so that's off the car for a 3d print solution, but I believe that's the last thing I need to do: top seems to open and close as expected. Without software calibration. Will post again once the entire system is 100%. I have not tried calibrating again. Keith From above (I can't unsee it, now: 2.51v at fully open is not 2.71 v): Pot 2 (conv. top compartment. lid) 2.51 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 1 0.80 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 2 1.27 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 3 1.88 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 4 2.29 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 5 2.96 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 6 3.22 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 1 1.55 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 2 1.82 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 3 2.00 Calibration: Pot 2 val 4 2.71

I was just thinking about cutting the gray pink wire myself. Were you ever able to resolve this? Our stories seem very similar.

Just going to keep reporting on things that haven't resulted in a successful calibration. Fuses checked. Battery on charger and showing 14.34v. Mini switches in the latch cleaned, and all report anticipated actual values in PIWIS 38.25 with one exception. The switch depressed by the fork arm when the top makes contact with the windscreen frame reports results the opposite of expected values: when in the service position, it reports Convertible top raised. When manually depressed, engaging the switch, it reports Convertible top not raised. Back and forth, 1:1 with depressing and releasing the "fork." The one other anomalous actual value reported is speed which continues to show > 5kmh. Parking brake is engaged and that is reflected in actual values. Latch bench tests as expected: deploys under power, retracts when polarity is reversed. Then latch was reset per the FSM before reattempting calibration. Side potentiometer arm (reminds me of a large paperclip 🙂) is intact (unbroken) and captive by pin on hydraulic ram so that pot moves freely when the ram moves. (Not captive as in bound.) Side flaps lubricated and behave as expected (up and down) when actuated via drive links, with anticipated actual values reported. (Up is up, down is down). Hydraulic pump has fluid, no leaks, and when power is directly applied, goes up and down (when polarity reversed) as expected. Clamshell motor has been disassembled and relubed and bench tests as expected. Installed, it seemed to be binding, so I completely disassembled the clamshell transmission. No broken cables or gears, and I cleaned out all the crud before relubing everything. With everything reinstalled, when power is directly applied to the motor, clamshell smoothly goes up and down (when polarity reversed). Potentiometer set to 6.24k ohms on bench; tests 6.28k ohms installed onto clamshell transmission on car. All points of the top frame that move have been lubricated with teflon dry lube. When the hydraulic fluid relief valve is open, the top can be raised and lowered by hand with no binding. When I depress the #3 microswitch (latching hook, windscreen frame) with my finger, the rear windows will go up when their respective buttons are pressed. When released, they will not. As expected. When attempting to calibrate, nothing moves and "Function inactive, end position not reached." Control module replaced with same part number: when attempting to calibrate, nothing moves and "Function inactive, end position not reached." I'm running out of ideas. It's as if every single component works exactly as I'd expect it to work, but in concert, the software is like, "nope." On a lark, I even asked Durametric to calibrate it. "ECU returned a negative response. Sub function not supported / invalid format."

The dash lamp for the top comes on during power on (bulb check) then goes out. And stays out. Always. No matter the state of the top. Latched, unlatched, service position, down and stowed. No light. That doesn't seem normal. I took the controller out and magnifying glassed it for obvious solder issues but came up with nothing. Not really a surprise, visual check isn't worth much.

Thanks, Loren—I had not noticed there are three microswitches in the latch, I'll look at that 3rd one next.

OK, fixed the latch / catch not unlocked issue. I had not fully advanced the hook after lining up the dots as I thought I had. Microswitch now engaged, correct result reported. Same result when calibration attempted: nothing, followed by "Function inactive, end position not reached."

My 2001 C2 top has not worked the entire five years I've owned the car, full saga below.* Without all the back story, here's where I am today. When I click "Calibrate," nothing happens and PIWIS 3 returns "Function inactive, end position not reached." The front latch is reset per the service manual, and the clamshell potentiometer was installed at as close to 6.2k ohms as I can get it (about 6.24-6.26). [I rebuilt this engine in my dining room with my cat, 12,000 miles ago—I may not know what I'm doing, but I can follow directions.] Top is in service position. Actual Values / Input Signals Latch locked Catch not locked Latched unlocked Catch not unlocked (can't be both, right, has to be one or the other?) EDIT: RESOLVED, please see follow up post. Convertible top Convertible top raised Convertible top compartment Convertible top compartment lid unlocked Right side flap up Right side flap not up Right side flap down Right side flap down Left side flap up Left Side flap not up Left side flap down Left side flap down Speed Speed >5 km/h (3 mph) (that's not correct) Handbrake Applied Latching hook Latch hook not actuated Engine-compartment lid Engine-compartment lid closed Convertible top button Close convertible top button actuated Supply voltage 14.45 v Warning light on 36044.3 min (!) Actuation counter 1 1746 Actuation counter 2 65536 Calibration counter 2 Pot 1, convertible top 0.92 v Pot 2 (conv. top compartment. lid) 2.51 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 1 0.80 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 2 1.27 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 3 1.88 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 4 2.29 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 5 2.96 v Calibration: Pot 1 val 6 3.22 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 1 1.55 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 2 1.82 v Calibration: Pot 2 val 3 2.00 Calibration: Pot 2 val 4 2.71 These aren't even actual calibration values, are they, they're stored values from the last time it successfully calibrated. It's my latch isn't it. There's a microswitch I've overlooked, a stupid simple on off switch, and because of that, it never starts the calibration process. Guess I'm going out there one more time this weekend and taking that off again. Insight invited, thanks for letting me ramble. 😄 Keith *The Complete Saga I bought the car like this in January of 2001. Tip cab with a top that had been manually put up via emergency procedure. Dash light for the top was on. I found a matching hardtop an hour away that same week, manually put the top down, slapped the hardtop on, and drove it. Turns out, the left rear window regulator had failed and someone had manually pulled it up (the motor was missing) and then drove a drywall screw through the regulator frame close enough under the bottom of the window bracket that the window stayed up. I rebuilt both rear window regulators and in October of 2021, started working on the top. I probably didn't reset the latch correctly at that time, or the clamshell pot. Still, I told Durametric to calibrate and it started to. When the top moved doubt 1/2 way up, I could hear the pump motor straining and—since the rear interior panels were still off—I took a look: both hydraulic pistons were jetting fluid down the rain drains. I put the hard top back on. Then the engine failed, then (unrelated) I moved, and I spent all of 2023 rebuilding it. July, 2024, I sent two cores to Cab Hydraulics in Sarasota to rebuild. Put them in, new hoses too, and this time I reset the latch and the clamshell pot correctly. I think. But there was no longer a top warning light on on the cluster. I told Durametric to calibrate it, and it wouldn't. Opened a dialogue with the developers, sent them logs they asked for, did everything the guy said, and the last I heard was that maybe their software wouldn't calibrate it unless it was in an error state. Then (not their fault) I took a job and started the process of moving. Hard top went back on. July 2026, time to get back to it. I knew I was going to have to have access to PIWIS, so I followed that thread on some other forum ("under $75") and got the image running on my shop computer. Which, I understand, isn't the same as pulling up to the dealer, so I'm aware that's a possible failure point. I 100% believe the latch and clamshell pot to be correctly reset now. No dash light. When I click "Calibrate," nothing happens and PIWIS 3 returns "Function inactive, end position not reached."

Thanks, Loren - per other threads here, I've cleaned the MAF sensor and checked its actual values via the Durametric (V did increase with RPM, as expected), and I've run a tank of Techron to see if I could cheat and easily clean the injectors. New fuel filter, too. None of which are dispositive on those issues, though, of course, and I haven't done anything to test fuel pressure or flow rate or for intake air leaks, but Next place I will look is the exhaust, because I took the mufflers out when I did the coils and plugs, and these codes weren't happening before. Simplest explanation might be the most likely, if I didn't button up the exhaust properly, there you go. Regardless, I suppose there's no alternative to methodical and systematic troubleshooting, so thank you for the list!

2001 Cabriolet, Tiptronic. Got a whole handful of codes today after the car had sat for five hours in Florida shade - maybe not a 100% cold start, but not anywhere near temperature. Notably, the secondary air pump did not come on. New Beru coil packs and Bosch plugs all around. Start up / idle RPM only: 600 - 1,100 rpm. Based on my searches only, it seems I'm looking at two different things - the secondary air pump and 1128, 1130 can be connected to the misfire codes. Lots of threads here just on those codes by themselves. But the 1341, too, on cold start, well under 3,000 rpm? I mean, good threads here too on troubleshooting that for electrical, DME, solenoid, or actuator, But to get all these at the same time? Am I ignorantly looking for some correlation between cause and effect that may or may not exist? P1341 Porsche fault code 174 - Camshaft adjustment bank 1 below limit value P0300 Porsche fault code 62 - Misfire damaging to cat. converter P0301 Porsche fault code 63 - Cylinder 1 misfire damaging to cat. converter P1128 Porsche fault code 360 - Oxygen sensing adaptation idle range bank 1 P1130 Porsche fault code 361 - Oxygen sensing adaptation idle range bank 2

Thank you Loren, I swear I looked longer and more times than I’d care to admit. 🤪

Rats. Well I haven't yet figured out the magic solution to having a post signature ...

I should have said, it's auto. Good point, if I was shifting (and I wish I was), it'd be flying all around the inside of the car, without a seat back on my back hahahahaha There's probably a way I can put all that info in my signature, so it shows up in every post ...

I'm driving it now (well, not right now), I just get "low rider" stuck in my head every time, because I have to lean forward to sit upright.

See, these are the types of things that wake me up at 3am in a cold sweat 🤣 And I get your point, because the position my seat is in is SO AWFUL that if I can just get it somewhere closer to where I'd want it, I'll bump this project to the bottom of my list. But it is SOOOO BAADD - the good news is that if I wanted to sleep in the car, I'm all set!

Thanks, Jon, that's what I was afraid of. Oh well!

I'm sure the answer to this is somewhere on the internet, but I've tried and tried and haven't found it. So I apologize in advance if this is stupid or I've just been searching incorrectly. Or maybe I just already know the answer and I'm trying to ignore it, hahahahaha. The left power seat doesn't work, in any direction. The fuse is good. I took apart the switch assembly, nothing visibly remarkable there - no obvious oxidation or visible deterioration. Is there any way to manually adjust the power seat, or is my option just to take it out, take it apart, diagnose what's wrong, and replace whatever has failed? 2001 996 cab, please and thank you. Keith

"You moron, 14%!? The head for cylinder 1 is clearly cracked and you are a cad. Do not attempt to drive the car under any circumstances. IMS. Bore scoring."

I just did this last weekend as well - the door handle spring had broken, at the inside handle end. I was able to bend a new hook, pull the spring out (to account for the fact it was now shorter) and put it all back together while I wait for my $8 replacement spring. But honestly, without that photo, gonna be real hard to answer your question. 🙂

Hi, first substantive post. I've been lurking a lot the last couple of weeks. About a month ago, I brought a 2001 996 carrera cab / tiptronic home. 164,000 miles, and needs some love. No visible signs of abuse (for what visible may or may not be worth) and no wrecks. Its just been neglected the last few years of its life. Drove it about 20 miles, half an hour, to get it home - coolant temp normal, oil pressure normal, no CEL. In fact, the only light is the convertible top light, which I know doesn't work. No smoke, runs and drives as I'd expect. The first weekend I had it, I drained the oil and autopsied the filter. I've documented that more than probably anybody would want to know on instagram, @keith_996.1. I sent an oil sample to Blackstone. Blackstone's report says there is too much fuel (2.5 and should be under 2.0) too much potassium (641, universal average of 2) too much sodium (158, universal average of 10) and too much silicon (20, universal average of 7). So, Blackstone suggests coolant pressure test. Because it looks like a blown head gasket, which would explain the fuel in the oil and the antifreeze in the oil. Except we know the M96 isn't really known for blowing head gaskets, it is more likely to have a cracked head. Also, for context, there is no visible coolant in the oil. There is no visible or physically discernible oil in the coolant. You know that sickening oily residue feeling on your finger tips, after a dip in the expansion tank? Yeah, none of that. Just looks and smells and feels like oil (from the oil pan) and coolant (from the expansion tank). Additionally, the expansion tank cap is an antique - an 00 cap that's probably original to the car, first-gen cap, and gurgles like a leaky lunatic after driving just up to temperature. So I pressure tested the cooling system. I put 19.5 psi on it, and at 15 minutes it was about 19.2. At sixty minutes it was just below 18 psi. So its consistently dropping about 0.3 psi every quarter hour, which seems pretty normal to me for leakage at the cap, and if I didn't have coolant in the oil, wouldn't suggest anything wanky to me. Started it up after an hour, no smoke. So I pulled all six plugs, stuck the throttle plate open, and did a compression test. Cylinder 1 produced 120 psi, about 13.6% lower than the highest cylinder - that's by far the largest differential. 13.6% isn't anything to be happy about, maybe (?) more so because every other cylinder is within 1.83% of each other. So #1 really stands out. But a) it is just one cylinder (not two adjacent); b) even 13.6% doesn't seem catastrophic on an engine that's got 164 thousand miles on it, and c) when I put some Marvel's Mystery Oil in there, it shot up to 150 psi, which I thought (?) is the result of ring seal. Poor ring seal might explain the fuel in the oil, but wouldn't explain the coolant. Again, though, like the coolant test, I totally wouldn't have any concern about the compression test unless I had a lab report that says I've got coolant and fuel in my oil. So at some point I'm going to drop the engine and tear it down and rebuild it anyway, but for now I'm thinking I'll replace the expansion tank cap, plugs, belt, and put about 500 miles on it while checking oil and coolant levels constantly, then send off another sample. The only other thing I know to do would be panic-drop it now and tear it apart, I'm just not convinced. Thoughts?

164,000 '01 cab with tiptronic. New to me, and I've just started giving it the maintenance and love it needs. 🙂 Would never have bought an automatic, but the price was just too low for me to pass up.