Lubricating rubber seals and what not to do!!!

[rhume]

So I had had a small amount of water come through the front rubber seal when the car was parked nose up on our sloping drive. Nose down seems OK. The seals felt a bit dry so I got some lubricant and opened the roof to a point where I could get to all the rubbers.

Lubricated them fine then realised that the roof would not now operate. A series of quick bongs was all I got. Realised that the boot lid had dropped back toward the half retracted roof. In the end had to use the allen key to release the pressure in the roof to close it manually. Then had to push boot closed. I could then start the cycle again with no problem.

It appears that if you are going to work on the roof you need to put an allen key through a hole in the boot hinge to keep it open properly. Thank goodness for the Internet in times of peril. PS it took that moment to start to rain.

[IanL]

Good to know

I have a strong impression from the accumulated wisdom on the web that the roof should not be stopped in mid-cycle for more than a few seconds. Perhaps it is the issue you have spotted, or there may be other quirks of the Roof ECU logic as well.

[gazza82]

I must have been lucky then. Early on in the ownership of a CC I cleaned up the roof seals and gave them a good coating in silicon grease .. I must have stopped the roof and boot at just the right place as I didn't have a problem.

And it was switched off for a while as I removed the green mould courtesy of spending its early life in damp Dundee.

[rhume]

I suspect that the problem occurred because I am on drive with a slope and the car is nose down. Hence the boot lid would fall due to gravity . I would have thought however that it would lock in position till roof movement was completed. I got the warning beeping to say I had stopped mid flow. This went off after a while which might not have been a good thing..

This was useful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYmVouLG74g

[Capncol]

As said elsewhere on this forum- Best practice is to operate roof with engine running in one continual movement, without operating any other electrical item until roof has completed it's cycle. Do not change direction halfway through. If you read the roof section, there are many tales of woe from people who have not heeded this advice.
You got away lightly.

[Luditus]

I might be missing something here, but all I do is completely lower the roof. I then clean up the windscreen seal and spray on the silicone grease. On opening the boot, both middle seals are presenting themselves for similar treatment. Too easy I think, but so far, always been effective.

[Capncol]

That's the best way to do it

[rhume]

Yes that is the way I will be doing it in the future!!