I did the no parking brake top mod

[Timeisrelative (Jason Miller 1993 XJS 4.0 convertible, 1997 XK8 coupe)]

I decided to go ahead and do the “no parking brake to actuate the roof” mod yesterday! So far I love it. I know it has its downsides, but so far it’s nice not to have to put on the brake everytime. Super easy and completely reversible if I decide to put it back!

[sbobev (Steve)]

For posterity, this is the mod that allows the top to be operated w/o the parking brake:

Involves just two wires, and as mentioned already is reversible:

[xj-s] emergency brake status light

It has been more than 8 years and I memory is fading, but looking at the electric diagrams for my 1995 convertible, the mod is very simple. In the convertible top panel (near the battery in the trunk), one needs to cut the BW (black/white) wire in pin 9 and ground it permanently (IIRC, I used a jumper to pin 1, the solid black wire, which is the ground). This “fools” the control module to think that the e-brake is operated. Notice that the transmission switch still has to be in P or N for the …

[Timeisrelative (Jason Miller 1993 XJS 4.0 convertible, 1997 XK8 coupe)]

My 93 pump and harness are in the cubby box. I just pulled the male end out of the connector and did a jumper with a loop to the one bolt that mounts the pump assembly to the floor.

[Timeisrelative (Jason Miller 1993 XJS 4.0 convertible, 1997 XK8 coupe)]

I also removed the driver’s side sun visor so I can see farther down the road lol