a4 New member, used Audi A4 cabriolet owner

[shayva]

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I found out about it because I bought an Audi A4 convertible last summer, and have recently been having some issues that I cannot figure out. I'm hesitant to bring it to a garage because 1) i think it will be expensive even to diagnose and 2) its COVID19 isolating times and 3) my friend is a mechanic and is willing to give it a try but he's not keen to do the research! 

So just a couple of weeks ago, my battery completely died, and I knew it was old, so my mechanic friend replaced it for me. He does not know how to reset the computer, if that is an issue. Everything seemed fine though, so whatever.

The next day I took the car out for spin for first time in ages, and put the top down cuz it was a gorgeous day. When I returned home, the top would not close. The hydraulics lifted up the back cover, and then just went kaput, it would not continue the work. The back cover stayed up at 90 degrees. So I operated the top manually a few times, and  after that it again started to work, but when it got to the point when the back cover had to lift on its hydraulics, it wouldn't go, just sat there, holding up the progression. Also the switch to operate the roof is a bit funny- it lets me start the process, then it dies. Then if I start it again, it goes for a bit, then dies.... I keep ending up with the roof halfway up. I'm sensing here is something wrong with the hydraulics motor, or a relay, or even a short somewhere?

I'm so frustrated because I have hardly gotten to use the car with the top down since I bought it!! I would be grateful if anyone has any similar experiences and solutions to share. I am also desperately seeking the user manual for this articular model, it did not seem to come with the car when I bought it used last year. 

Thanx in advance!

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum  Shay, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch 🙂

Take a look at our search box as I know failing soft top roofs has come up a few times. 

I wouldn't normally direct members to another forum but this thread on Audi sport.net is particularly usefull:

https://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/audi-a4-cabriolet-soft-top-roof-hood-motor-repair-guide.131801/ 

Cheers

Steve