1965 Ford Thunderbird Convertible Top Problems

Luke_Jon

Hello, I own a 1965 Ford Thunderbird convertible, the car is definitely a project. It is mechanically sound, but I am having trouble with the top. To my knowledge I have checked all connections and fixed and breaks in the wiring. I have no power to the top switch in the center console, I have checked the fuse bank and there is power to all fuses and breakers. I have been going through the service manual to try and diagnose the issue, but I just cannot seem to nail down what it is. Has anyone else experienced this problem, if so what have you done to correct it? I am open to any suggestions as I am pretty much lost.

graphicguy

Admittedly, I’m not a classic car expert, but if you have power from the fuse box to the top’s switch, I would check the switch. After that, is there a “jam” somewhere in the top’s mechanism....assuming it’s 50+ year’s old, I would think the mechanism would need some attention, too.

thecardoc3

It's been a long time since I worked on one of these. There is a safety circuit designed into the system to prevent operation unless conditions are correct to allow it. Do you see the "Top Control Neutral Relay" in your schematic? Notice how one of the circuits goes to the neutral safety switch, that provides a ground to turn the relay on when the car is in neutral. That turns the relay on and allows power to the convertible top switch. The schematic that I am looking at has the relay and the control switch on the right hand side of the page and can be found at http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/wiring/1957-65Accsy/pages/3WD-442_jpg.htm

thecardoc3

Luke_Jon said:

I am open to any suggestions as I am pretty much lost.

Did that information help?