Porsche 996 Convertible Top Failure: Hall Sensor Issue?

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my '03 Porsche 911 (also owned a Cayman). I've got some experience working with cars, but mainly basic maintenance stuff. My convertible top was acting up just like yours, wouldn't budge and had that annoying warning light. Turned out to be a loose wiring connection in the top mechanism. Took it to my trusted mechanic who found some damaged cables that were causing intermittent signals. The fix cost me about 95 Euro and solved the problem completely. Could you share more details about when this started happening? Does it make any noise when you try to operate it? This info would help figure out if you're dealing with the same issue I had. Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing your experience! My mileage is at 102101 KM and I just had it serviced last month. The issue started pretty suddenly, no weird noises beforehand, just completely stopped working one morning. When I press the button, I can hear a faint click but nothing else happens. Definitely useful to know about those wiring connections you mentioned. I'll have my mechanic take a look at that specifically. Was your repair a quick fix, or did they need to keep the car for a while?

Hey again! Thanks for the follow-up info about your 996. Yeah, looking at your mileage and symptoms, it does sound pretty similar to what I experienced with my 911. When I had the issue, that faint click you mentioned was exactly what I heard too! In my case, they kept the car for about half a day, not too long. My mechanic had to remove some panels to access the wiring harness, but once they found the damaged cables, it was a straightforward fix. Since you mentioned it was serviced last month, maybe something got knocked loose during the service? That's actually what happened in my case, turned out some connections had been disturbed during a routine maintenance check. Quick tip from my experience: make sure your mechanic checks the microswitches too while they're in there. They're pretty close to those wiring connections, and sometimes they can act up at around the 100K mark. Would hate for you to fix one thing only to have another issue pop up soon after! Let me know how it goes, I'm curious if it turns out to be the same problem I had. Good luck with the repair!

That's super helpful information, especially about the microswitches! Really appreciate you taking the time to explain all this. I've actually just booked it in with my mechanic for tomorrow morning, and I'll definitely mention both the wiring connections and microswitches to him. Half a day for the repair doesn't sound too bad at all, was worried it might be a week-long ordeal! Makes total sense about something possibly getting knocked loose during the service too, hadn't thought about that. You've really put my mind at ease about this whole situation. I'll update the thread once I get it sorted out, might help someone else with the same issue down the line. Thanks again for all your help!