Convertible Top Repairs
I’m fortunate to own two BMW convertibles as my bride and I like to take summer evening top down drives. The ZHP convertible recently had the dreaded latch locking failure. The top would go down and so I put the hardtop back on the car.
As this was always a possibility, years ago I purchased a set of latching mechanisms and modified them as per the convertible thread on E46 Fanatics. In the days since this occurred I?ve been buying tools and materials for when this project is underway.
Mosquitoes are rampant now and my plan is to do this project late fall. The typical E46 convertible wiring stress breakage occurred about eight years ago and I repaired with wire having correct gauge conductors but with larger than original wire outside diameter. It has worked well, though it makes a thicker than factory bundle and thus sometimes has to be hand guided when raising or lowering the rag top. As part of this project, I plan to replace those wires with smaller and more flexible wires purchased years ago from McMaster-Carr.
The earlier wire repair work involved using a Weller pistol grip soldering iron and a magnetic holder with alligator clips. It was sub-optimal working conditions and quite frustrating at points. I recently received two Assenmacher wiring holder clamps for making the work easier and better quality. A new butane powered soldering iron was also purchased. This time we are ready to get it done.
Will see if I can do this without damaging the expensive rubber gasket piece that spans the windshield.
Anyone here done this repair?
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