Electrical Convertible Latch

So I was at a junk yard and found a top that was in really really good condition. I bought it and installed it. Everything went well until I tried to latch the top.

The drivers side latch is not working properly. Its almost as if there is a pin missing or something. It doesn't pull back up.

Anyway, when I bought the top, I bought the frame and all since that makes it easiest to change that top. So I still have my old frame that I can use for parts.

How do you get that handle off of there? I want to keep from breaking the one I have and hopefully not have to put any additional parts into this new to me top.

Thanks,

Keith
 
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Ok, after not receiving any replies on this, I cut into my old top to see how this thing comes out.

There is one torx bolt that holds the main handle down. There is a pin and another torx bolt that hold the J hook linkages.

You have to loosen the front of the top in order to change this handle. I guess it would be possible to not do that, but it would make your life miserable to be honest.

There are like 15 torx bolts going across the front (I think they are torx 15) They are not the easiest things to remove and I had to return my torx screwdriver to get a new one after it eventually stripped all the way.

Once you have that metal across the front gone, you need to loosen the vinyl roof. This is held down by a bunch of 1/8" staples. I used 1/4" staples to hold it back down when reinstalling because that is all I had.

Be careful that you don't break the tack strip.

Once you peel back the corner you will see all the bolts I have described. There is a piece of plastic that wears out and eventually breaks that the smaller torx bolt holds on. This goes on the opposite side of the linkage from the bolt, and the bolt goes thru the hole. If this is worn, your latch will not function correctly.

I hope this helps someone in the future.
 
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