rear spoiler failure

[myturbo]

my 04 tt gets a spoiler fail light that goes on when it is supposed to retract after slowing down.  I can retract it with the switch though.  The dash light stays on.  Any thoughts about where to start looking?

[Glenn 911]

Does it function properly otherwise ? I.e. Go up on its own when you hit the proper speed and retract when you slow down?

Raise and lower when you press the button? If that's the case it's likely that it's one of the micro switches found on the passenger side ram under the snap on plastic cover. My spoiler wouldn't function at all. The fluid was leaking and really low, i removed it and purged and refilled the fluids but I bunged up the top micro switch and now I get a warning when it raises at speed I just haven't had the time to replace it. They are very small a very easily bent so be careful if you are investigating. My spoiler functions fine otherwise,but the warning is a bit of a nuisance. My alarm triggers when it raises, if your triggers when it retracts it's probably the lower one. There are two one at the top side of the ram and one at the bottom.

[myturbo]

It works fine when using the switch and deploys fine when at speed.  the failure gets thrown when I decrease my speed when it tries to retract.  I usually retract it by using the switch, which operates it up or down manually just fine.  The light in the instrument cluster stays on, but the spoiler is retracted manually.

 

By ram, do you mean the two actuators that support the spoiler when deployed and retracted?

[Glenn 911]

Yes there are two hydraulic Rams that are fed from the pump housed in the rear lid under the fan housing. The pump like any hydraulic system pumps the fluid through the bottom of the ram, to extend the piston and the top or reversing flow to retract it.

Have you nticed any fluid leaking usually residing in the caps on the bottom of the rams. I would check to see if the Pistons are raising

Uniformly, same speed same pace, any binding also when the pistons are extended are there any scratches or gunk on them that would impede free movement

My system was almost bone dry with residue in the caps on the bottom of the rams, I pulled the system out added fluid and bench tested it, it works great except for the occasional warning light. I took the car to work the other day and got no warnings at all, Im still pretty certain I Need to tweak/replace the top switch though

[DaveCarrera4S]

You can find the factory troubleshooting guide at the bottom of this page:  http://rennkit.com/why-factory-set-fails/

Good luck.