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My convertible top is not opening because a steel strip connected to a microswitch is broken and needs to be replaced. The thin strip of metal about 2mm wide but when bent it needs to spring back to it's original shape. I have marked the steel strip in the image. When the latch opens the metal part moves to the right, strikes the thin strip and therefore pushes that strip to activate(press) the blue switch. When the metal part moves back to the left it loses contact with the strip and the strip comes back to the position shown in the photo(special property of that strip to spring back to it's original form) therefore deactivates(de-presses) the blue switch. Very difficult to find out what the steel strip is called on the web but I think it is called spring steel or spiral steel. Anyone know what it is called and where I can get it?
Doesn't look like any special metal to me, it's just got a bend in it where it attaches to the sensor is what it looks like to me. Any thin metal like that can deform/deflect a bit, then go back to it's original position.
Go to the dealership and look it up on a parts diagram and see if you can order just the metal.
What kind of car is it? The spring is probably only available as part of the switch, so if you can identify the switch that should be all you need.
Based on my ample experience with convertibles, that switch probably costs a lot and takes 4 hours to install, but I'm cynical when it comes to convertible tops. If I buy another ragtop it's going to have a manual roof.
No, you will not find just that spring part all by itself, you will be buying a new switch. At my job I get people every day who want to buy just a piece of something like this, and they end up having to buy a whole new part.
It's called a micro switch. They come with or without the steel lever. The microwsitch should be pretty cheap to buy
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