300sl hardtop removal & central locking problem

[jim nobel]

my 91 300sl is rarely driven; least in winter. After several dead batteries, the central locking and hardtop would not function. Still don't know if these are related. But thanks to Bob Terry's archived posts, they are both fixed without bending over for the dealer.
The central locking problem turned out to be a clear vinyl hose off inside the vacuum pump in the trunk. (Took the pump box apart to see what was inside since I expected to replace it anyway). I put the hose back on to test it in place with the cover off and found that it blows & sucks for locking/unlocking so the hose popped off again!! A little crazy glue on the nipple and it's working fine.
The top was less work but more frustrating. After reading every relevant post and trying all the tricks (checked hydraulic pump & relay; removed top manually & reset /..convert & rollbar not responding either), I tried the fault codes several more times getting different codes but not knowing what they meant. Finally they cleared and....Halleluja!!! Everything works.
I started driving & tinkering in the sixties when you could look under the hood and see your shoes. Now you can rummage around all day looking for what's wrong; all the while with the thought that it might just be some little glob of silicone in a bad mood!
It's hard on us old guys paying good money for things that make us feel stupid. But it's always the good news & bad and this computer led me to you guys with answers.
My first post (I'll work on brevity). So my sincere thanks to those who take the time to sponser this
site and share their knowledge.