Spyder Convertible top not operational, makes odd noise

My 1998 Eclipse Spyder GS has developed a problem with the convertible top. After starting my car or turning the key to the On position, I can hear an odd noise coming from behind me, near the rear speaker. Presumably this is the convertible top motor. The sound is a short "squawk" noise that only lasts a second, it repeats every 15-20 seconds. This is not a clicking sound or the normal gears spinning sound, but more like the motor is jammed or stressed. The other motor on the passenger side is silent.

This has happened intermittently a few times over the past year, and each time I noticed that the top would not go up or down. Now it is happening consistently. My top is currently closed. Pressing the top up/down switch on the dash has no effect. The windows do not go down. The last time I drove this car, about a week ago, there was no odd noise and pressing the up/down switch worked as expected. Several years ago I replaced the bent arms with the better Ebay ones, and have had no trouble with the arms and mechanical operation since.

I've read many posts regarding the manual switch in the trunk, the shear pin repair, etc. But no posts describe the sound I'm hearing or the fact that the windows do not go down while pushing the switch.

Any troubleshooting help is appreciated.

 

[noavgjoe]

What this sounds like to me is that one motor is trying to do the work of two. Since the passenger side is silent the pin may be totally broken. The driver side may be a little 'off' since its trying to raise the top alone. I cant remember if my windows moved when my pins broke but I will check in a sec (because they broke again). For now I just open and close it manually.
You should take the motors out and check the pins. I havent found a good replacement for them so I used coat hanger that was suggested in a previous thread. FYI, they dont last very long. I'll go and check to see if my windows move and hit you back.

Ok, I just checked and yes the windows still go down when I hit the switch to open the top, this was regardless of the position of the switch in the trunk. So, the only other thing I can think of is the harness that runs from the front to the back and is located under and behind the rear seats. Double check and make sure that its secure. Maybe even reseat it. If all else fails pull those motors and check to see if the pins are broken. I hope this helps even a little bit. Maybe someone with a little more experience will chime in soon. Goodluck!

 

[Alextrash]

Thanks for having a look at your Spyder. Since my windows aren't going down and yours are, I don't think it's merely a sheared pin. The switch should activate both the top motors and all window motors simultaneously, so my guess is that some failsafe circuitry is tripped with the top motor(s) failure and must be preventing the windows from activating.

After more troubleshooting, I also learned the following:

• The top open/close switch doesn't interfere with the window operation. That is to say, where normally the open/close switch prevents you from rolling up the windows, I can control the windows while the open/close switch is depressed
• The squawking noise does have an occasional "click" to it as well, and continues for another minute or so after the car is off and the key is removed
• The auto/manual switch in the trunk has no effect on the squawking noise, which continues even when this switch is in manual mode

And finally, I was able to get everything working again. By setting the trunk switch to manual, lifting the top open until it is completely stowed, I could clearly hear the gears spinning properly. Afterward, turning the ignition key to the ON position produced no squawks (which I knew meant it would work again). And indeed, pressing the open/close switch worked perfectly. Once closed, no squawks were heard.

My guess is that there is some gear slippage or misalignment in the drivers side top motor, and manually opening the top rotates the gears to proper engagement.

I suppose my next step should be to remove the back seat and inspect the top motors for broken or worn gear teeth.