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Disconnected battery - won't start!

112K views 75 replies 43 participants last post by  carlmenard27 
#1 ·
I disconnected my battery, and upon re-connection, the car will not start!!! HELP!?!?!??
 
#5 ·
reset

1. Push down and hold in brake
2. turn key to on (#1 position)
3. shift from P-R-N-D then manual mode (+/-) then back to D-N-R-P
4. turn key off
5. start car

I could hear movement in the engine compartment (going through the gears) and it worked. The CSR said that if you shut down the car and it isn't in P completely, then upon restart it won't work... this somehow reprograms the car electronically.

Hope this helps anyone else...
 
#8 ·
1. Push down and hold in brake
2. turn key to on (#1 position)
3. shift from P-R-N-D then manual mode (+/-) then back to D-N-R-P
4. turn key off
5. start car

I could hear movement in the engine compartment (going through the gears) and it worked. The CSR said that if you shut down the car and it isn't in P completely, then upon restart it won't work... this somehow reprograms the car electronically.

Hope this helps anyone else...
GREAT INFO!!! thanks for posting that. it may help others......:D
 
#33 ·
1. Push down and hold in brake
2. turn key to on (#1 position)
3. shift from P-R-N-D then manual mode (+/-) then back to D-N-R-P
4. turn key off
5. start car

I could hear movement in the engine compartment (going through the gears) and it worked. The CSR said that if you shut down the car and it isn't in P completely, then upon restart it won't work... this somehow reprograms the car electronically.

Hope this helps anyone else...
This same thing happened to me when I changed battery, but I did find this procedure on evolution.com website.
 
#10 ·
I could hear movement in the engine compartment (going through the gears) and it worked. The CSR said that if you shut down the car and it isn't in P completely, then upon restart it won't work... this somehow reprograms the car electronically.

fyi,
Don't know if this means completely in any gear or just park, but I gotta tell ya that since I am use to driving a stick, I have on several occasions shut of my smart without putting it in park at all and have never had an issue with it not starting the next time.
 
#16 ·
Nope!



Still slow and smart. It is computer controlled. You know the drill. Garbage in, Garbage out.
Most problems or quirks are generated from a spot on the drivers seat, usually initiated by you know who!
The normal reaction is to blame the car.......!
Do what we do. Blame it on the cat..... chocolate is missing, blame the cat and her opposeable thumbs. Doesn't bother the cat.... We know where the chocolate went, and we laugh it off and buy more chocolate. No grudge is held against the car or its' engineers.
 
#18 ·
We recently had a used alternator installed and our 05 For Two Passion (euro gas model) has a horizontal dash in the display and won't start. The local smart center (90 miles away) has had it for three months and now they went out of business without fixing it. Any ideas?
 
#22 ·
This procedure saved me!!! I replaced my battery on a Friday, and really needed my car for work on Monday...I was in near panic all day Friday & most of Saturday because the car would not start...I was about to pay mega bucks to have the car towed to Mercedes dealer for fixing, which would have cost me between $100 to $400 "depending on what they found as the problem"...

I tried the sequence with the shifter, and like magic, the engine came to life!!!

I am sooo grateful to the person that posted this information, and I am amazed how this "secret handshake" procedure is so easy to perform, yet the local Mercedes service center, and SMART USA, failed to offer it as a solution to me when I called for help, even knowing my desperation to get my car functioning again...thank you again!!!
 
#25 ·
We've used our Smart for a toad for the first time last weekend. When we went back with the procedure to get it off the motorhome it wouldn't start for a moment. The dash flashes 3 lines where the gear position is. Sometimes it takes a full minute some just a few seconds. Seems like this procedure is different from what the owners manual states to take the Smart out of towing mode.
 
#28 ·
Replaced battery yesterday in my 2008, car would not even turn over, went to bed feeling horrible :( Woke up this morning, tried to start again, still not even a whisper of a turnover. :( :( Read this thread, went out and tried the secret handshake and whoopee, it started right up :):):) Thanks SCoA Forum.
 
#35 ·
This helped me. Thank you for posting. I accidentally drained my battery while changing the front brakes. Car would not start after I recharged the battery. I reset the car per the instructions and car started right up;
"To reset
1. Push down and hold in brake
2. turn key to on (#1 position)
3. shift from P-R-N-D then manual mode (+/-) then back to D-N-R-P
4. turn key off
5. start car

I could hear movement in the engine compartment (going through the gears) and it worked. The CSR said that if you shut down the car and it isn't in P completely, then upon restart it won't work... this somehow reprograms the car electronically.

Hope this helps anyone else..."

My HERO!
 
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