For anyone contemplating fitting a SmartTop device to their NC PRHT now or in the future this has the potential to be of interest. You will no doubt have gathered from all the literature, reviews, forums etc that the single most likely difficulty is the separation of the existing electrical connector in order to insert the manufacturer supplied 3-way replacement connector for the device. It is required that you pull this connector apart which is only achievable by depressing at the same time a tab at the back of the connector and all in a very confined space. To cut a long story short I just couldn’t do it despite having read and tried every possible hint and tip including the guide generally considered to be the best and found here https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=421629
I had been trying for a couple of hours each day for three days and all I had to show for it were masses of sore and scraped knuckles when my friend and neighbour Graham came over to see what the problem was. My hopes were raised because a) he is considerably younger than me with proportionately stronger hands and fingers and b) because he is a fully qualified mechanic working on the big jets at Gatwick as well as servicing and maintaining his own families’ three cars. They were soon dashed however when after an hour and a half he was also unable to get the offending item apart. It was then that his chance remark set a train of thought going when he said “unless you can get at that tab from behind and press it properly I don’t see how you will ever get it apart”.
Up until then all efforts had been from the starting point recommended by the manufacturer i.e. Roof open and fully folded away under the deck. Obviously this gives you much more room to squirm around in the seat while working on the open panel behind it. Following Graham’s remark though I thought what if… So I started her up and closed the roof up to the point where it had reached the front rail for locking then took my finger off the button just before the deck starts to go down. Hey presto it was now relatively easy for one of us to reach in under the deck and press the tab with a suitable screwdriver and with some actual pressure on it. We also put a work light in the empty roof space to make it easy to see what was what. With Graham wielding the screwdriver and me pulling the connector apart kneeling in through the door it separated first time and we were good to go.
From thereon in it really is as simple as the literature leads you to believe and it was all up and running within 5 minutes. I had already programmed the device to my requirements via PC which is very easy and fully covered in the manufacturer’s guides.
I appreciate that this suggestion makes it a two man job rather than one man but hope that it could be of help to someone in the future.