355 spider inoperative secondary hydraulic top cylinders

I completed the bleeding proceedure for the top hydraulic system, but the secondary cylinders still do not operate. There seems to be air in the secondary system because the secondary rams can be moved in either direction easily by hand. The hydraulic operation of the main cylinders works correctly in both directions. Does anyone know the proper proceedure to check and bleed the secondary system? Any advise will be appreciated.

 

it may not be getting the correct signal on the selonoid for the top rams, to check the selonoid it is behind the drivers seat up high, just remove the trim peice that is under the window. the sel is switched via ground wire just ground it out if the rams lock down then its a bad signal...which does not mean the pump or ecu is bad...more like a limit switch

 

I am having two problems when I try to get the top up:

1) When the main RAM on the passenger side retracts it misses the fork to lift the right side of the top up. Pressure placed on the fork moves it back in place so the passenger RAM can engage the fork. I looked to see if there were any adjustments but could not see any. I also did not see any bent frame members. The top on the passengers side is a little lower that the drivers side. Pushing the fork in so it will meet the Main RAM will lift the top up about one half of an inch.

2) the small RAMS do not engage at all to get the top to move forward even after the passenger fork is pushed back and engaged on the main RAM.

Any help would really be appreciated.

thanks everyone.
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Well, I got most of the problems resolved. I again followed the bleeding procendure
from FloridaF355. I made sure to do each step exactly as written. This resulted in the secondary RAMS getting totally filled and no movement was possible indicating they both had filled with hydraulic fluid.

Thank you FloridaF355 for the precise procedure.

One very important thing I found out is that the secondary RAMS only engage when using the console switch. They will NOT move with the emergency switch.

The secondary RAM movement resulted in the top actually extending out an additional 1/4 of an inch. The fabric was snug and very tight. I used the three side bolts of the frame base to move back the roof frame to allow for the roof to properly lock down on the windshield frame.

The only problem I have not been able to resolve is the passenger side fork being further out from the pivot bolt resulting in the top not being able to fully close by itself.

I guess that is the next challenge! The roof frame does not appear bent in any way.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

I'll post detail pictures when this is all over.

 

Keep us updated on getting the fork to line up

I get the same thing but been too lazy to tackle it

 

I realize this is a year old, but I have the same issue! Did anyone ever find a way to get the fork engaged with the pin on the ram?

 

The tip I found, not guaranteed to always work, is to loosen the 3 bolts holding the frame to the body, shove the top around and try to close the top again to see if the fork lines up. The movement apparently changes the geometry of the top such that the fork catches the pin.

Good luck.