SMART TOP...NOT SO SMART!!!

Bought the smart top in the group buy recently...and suddenly the top did not open anymore!! When the my P didn't start (see my sad sight post!) I told the garage about this problem..since the car had to be fixed anyway (eventhough it was only a fuse)....anyways they took out the "smart top" module and the top opened and closed....put back the module and nothing worked....conclusion Smart top module is broken. Anybody else any problems with this?? Cost me one hour of labor!! So smart top is not so smart after all!!!

felt bad for you, i am sure they can give a replacement. mine works great.

I'll tell you what I tell my stats students in the intro class.......correlation does not infer causation. Translated? Just b/c nothing worked when you plugged in the unit does not mean the module is broken. It very well may be but I would contact them first to figure it out before you you make your own conclusions regarding the SmartTop. Did the top work at all when you installed it the first time? Did you install it properly? Have you contacted Wilhemy-IT? Just trying to get you down the correct path.

Dell,,,I installed the smarttop and remote top right after receiving it( a month or 2 ago and it worked fine).. it stopped working last weekend...so the garage took it out and the top worked normally...then just to check put it back in and the top didn't work....hence it is the module....I hope I spelled it out for you!! It is a simple plug and play device, even a kid can install it! But when it stops working after it worked fine for a month a so....it has to be broken! And of course they will replace it.....just wanted to know if anybody had the same experience! And Dell you are the reason I never liked teachers!! Always "trying to be smart"

Nicolaas, not sure if you are being funny or being a jerk but I am going to assume funny since I haven't seen that other side out of you. But I ask you again, have you contacted Wilhelmy-IT and told them what happened? We already know you blew a fuse screwing around with the electricals from your other post so I just want to make sure you understand what is going on. As you said "conclusion smarttop......broken" and without acutally knowing for sure that is not a valid statement. But I ask you this, if a child could install it (as you stated) then why in the world did you pay for an hour of labor? And by the way, it is professor, not teacher. A teacher is what you had when you were learning your ABC's and 123's. And trust me, I am EXACTLY the type of professor you wanted and would ahve loved to have when you were in college....I am somebody who actually cares about my studetns and approach my courses as if I was the student (e.g., how would I want to be taught and treated fairly). As I said, I sincerely hope you were just trying to comical and it just came out wrong. I would be interested to know your intent.

I am always comical..my father in law is a professor! I always tell him to change the world by starting with yourself! The top stopped working before the fuse blew..so the 2 are unrelated. I didn't pay an hour for the install, but for them to figure out why my top didn't work anymore and since the car was at the shop already I didn't want to make my hands dirty. I didn't think about a faulty module, but something much worse. If something stops working after working perfectly for about 2 months...there must be something wrong with it...because now (after taking the module out) my top works perfectly...so it doesn't matter how I or you look at it..when it doesn't work I call it broken..I am not accusing Wilhelmy-IT...they already reacted to my email and I will ship the smartop back and they will test it....and mail me a new one. Did you do the install? If so you know how easy the install was..if not..... My remarks were a mixture of humor and sarcasm.... and I am sorry that I called you a teacher....I sincerely hope that you are the professor you state you are for your students and the worlds sake. I was only stating a fact....when it doesn't work....it is broken. Call me simple. For you to throw in your 2 educated cents, went into my uneducated wrong hole and I couldn't help myself being a little sarcastic...but I think you are making more out of it than I meant it to be...so sorry if I offended you. I am European, so blame it on the fact that English is my second (actually my 3rd language) and let's move past this. BY THE WAY..I wasn't screwing around with the electronics...I was merely following detailed instructions on how the add a AUX line-in to my Becker radio....screwing around is what your students do when you turn your back to them (JUST KIDDING!!!!)

Which fuse blew? It could be the SmartTop Module that caused the fuse to blow or something else that caused the fuse to blow which in turn blew out the SmarTop Module.

Dell is correct in this advice. Good grief, our $95K cars behave the same way on occasion ..... quitting or malfunctioning for no apparent reason. Reference the above picture on the flat bed. As for the SmartTop .... mine began to give some unpredictable responses after 6 or 8 months. One call to Wilhelmy, and a new one was on the way. I certainly could not have asked for a better response to what, inevitably, will occur in a certain percentage of any manufactured device. Absolute, bullet proof reliability would be nice .... but I didn't get that in my car, so why should I expect it in a $250 electronic part?

Nicolaas, did you call them or email them? what did they say? i would contact them for tech. support. i contacted them twice, by phone and email, both times were responsive and effective. good luck, get your car ready for spring!

Good grief, are you serious? I expect a $250 part to work correctly forever since it has no moving parts or ever runs out of memory. What type of unpredictable respnses were you getting? Sometimes mine doesn't seem to want to close while in 3rd doing 20 mph. I put it in 2nd and drop down to 18mph then it works. Of course by that point I'm in my driveway.

I didn't know instructing strippers in Pole Dancing 101 was so involving

It's not exactly Pole Dancing 101 but, hey somebody's gotta do it! You'd be surprised at the numbers of "dancers" that are in my classes. I honestly think this is the only place where the old addage of "I am just doing this to put myself through school" actually holds true. Gotta love this place

Mind if I sit in on a few classes Dell?!

Yes, I'm serious. Perfect, no defect electronic components would be nice, but not a realistic expectation in my experience. Witness the postings regarding alarm problems, central locking computer problems, key head problems, radio problems, etc. I have had some experience in my distant past with lesser (but certainly not zero) defect electronic components. The manufacturing process was called "Mil Spec" (short for military specification) and involved over engineering and extensive post production burn-in and testing of each individual component. Even that process did not produce zero defect components .... but it certainly resulted in the military paying a huge premium in cost. (worth it, in some cases, when my life depended upon the component). I consider a reasonable & preferable compromise in non-critical applications to be a more affordable product backed by no-questions-asked service and replacement when necessary. As for my experiences with the SmartTop, after approximately 6 months of flawless ops, it would occasionally not function via one touch when the car was moving. Also, the rear window auto movement was not consistent. One call to the company brought the response .... "we'll send you a new one right away". As I made clear before, I thought that was a pefectly acceptable outcome, all things considered. I would dearly love to hear that from some of the other companies one deals with in pursuing the Porsche addiction.

Sure thing! No cover charge for Rennlisters

I mailed the module back today....they responded right away to my email....and I expect no problems...nothing is fail safe.... I have a G5 quad core top off the line Powermac...after 4 days smoke came out of the machine!! got a new one....and after 5 days the machine began to crash....so I got another one..... knock on wood...now it works like a charm.....and the G5 isn't 250 bucks (and I got 2 of them)..... electronics..I love gadgets....but hate them also.... In the end I am glad that I can open my top...because I love to drive with the wind in my hair!!!

Nicolaas, I had a similar problem with my unit about a month after install. I actually had to manually open the top to get to the module (and the manual says to take it to the dealer to re-set...which I did myself). Anyway it turns out the module had come alittle loose. There is a velcro strap that can be installed (originally I ignored this) once I installed this I have had NO problems.

When I opened the back of the car and viewed the position and vulnerability of the installation, I decided the "optional" velcro strap was not optional at all. I followed the tip to loosen the bracket screws so as to snake the strap behind and then firmly wrapped it around the module.

Same here. Installing the "optional" velco was NOT an option in my book. Makes it that much more secure. Considering I track my car as well, I needed all the security to keep it in place I could I used that velcro.

My top didn't work at all....after operating perfectly with the module.....the dealer opened the cab with the key in the door!!! We (he ) checked the module....but even after taking it out and putting it back in it still didn't work. And yes the velcro strap is a must!!! I am glad it was nothing serious, because I love to drive with the top down....catch some rays while driving!!! We will wait and see what is up with the module....they should have received it by now. Will keep you posted