SAM Unit and Key nightmare

[Mud Pie]

Wow, third topic with the exact same copy/paste post from Ray. Ever think of changing your name to RedA$$Ray ? It seems like you have a case of it....

[Gilbert's]

Money makers.. technically if you lose the keys you send your vin no. to the dealer they should get a new keys for you dont tell me this is defferent than complicated MBZ....

the SAM and vin no.'s are assigned in that car unless you transfer that sam somewere else...

[smart2]

Need to know year of the car,This should work if you get the sam unit and keys and ecu from a matching car that ran, could be as much as $500 to $700 dollars, i have this setup in my 450, the Mercedes/ Smart dealers in england or germany will not make a key with these parts shipped to them! If you have an 06 or earlier contact Leroy on this forum.

Does anyone know if getting a donor SAM unit with keys from a scrapped car will work in my car? Otherwise I may have to turn it into a plant pot![/QUOTE]

[Leroy]

I have a spare 2003 to 2006 gas SAM unit and ECU with two keys just for the purpose of testing cars with bad ECUs. If the car is a 2001 or 2002 I can install the ECU in my car and program the keys. I have a spare 1999 to 2000 ECU with keys also. And I have three 2003 and 2004 diesel SAM and ECUs. I do have an extra 2003 ECU and SAM that have no keys. But if you replace the ECU and SAM the odometer will give you a blank reading with the ignition on. The odometer has to be matched set or install a new one and program it to the new ECU and SAM. The Air Bag moduel is the same thing but it will work without needing a new one. The ABS unit can be reprogramed with the new VIN from a differant ECU.

Leroy

[vidar51]

Happy New Year's Eve 2010 from a new member.

I have a similar problem in that I have 2 keys that can no longer communicate with the SAM unit on my 2003 Pulse. I apparently took too long to install fresh batteries in the key fobs and now all they do is make the tail lights flash, but I cannot start the car or lock it with the fobs. The local Smart dealer cannot fix the programming as his electronic gear will only work with the newer models (mine is a "grey-market" conversion). Neither can the local Mercedes dealer, whose gear won't read Smarts at all, nor can the local German specialty repair shop. My original dealer can fix it, but I'd have to have the car towed to Bellingham WA from Portland OR. Is there anyway I can re-boot the SAM to read the keys by myself?

[Leroy]

Sorry the only way it can be fixed is to reprogram the FOBs. If you send me your SAM and ECU and your FOBs I can do it for you.

Leroy

[GiantKiller]

Isn't that what our new vender SOS Diagnostics does?

[Leroy]

You will have to send him an E-Mail and see if he can do it.

Leroy

[vidar51]

Leroy,

Rather than send my SAM, ECU & key fobs to Kansas City from Oregon to be reprogrammed; would you be willing to tell me where such a reprogramming device can be acquired?

I know that my local Portland Smart dealer, my other mechanic, and a local locksmith have ALL been trying to find a device to reprogram the key fobs for the local grey-market Smart owners and I'd like to help them set up a local service.

Thanks for any assistance.

[Leroy]

All you would need to do is buy yourself a Mercedes Star system off of E-Bay for around $500 to $1000 depending on your laptop. Then you will need a TAN code generator for coding the FOBs. After that you will need to be trained on how to use it. Which means, if you do not know anything about computers you will be lost. What I have done with lots of people is to train them over the phone to use the system. By guiding you through the systems I can teach you how to program everything without to much of a problem. The Mercedes Star has a training part on the computer which you can play with to see how the system works with out screwing up the car. It also has the parts manual and the work shop manual built in. With this system you can work on any Mercedes cars, trucks and smart cars clear up to 2010. The Star system will not help you with the G&K mods or diagnose their emissions system. On this part of the car you will need just an ordinary OBD2 tester.

Leroy