[Nevadaboy]

Hi Everyone!
Well i guess i get the privledge of trying to work on this smart thing after a couple of failed attempts prior to me! And this being the first time i have ever even sat in one much less drive one! The only info i could acquire was that the smart had either a heater fan or the ac condenser worked on then it would not start! when i got this car the steering wheel & air bag were on the floor and i couldnt find on my online mitchell prodemand repair manual that would link that to a no crank issue. so i installed that back on the car, charged battery, load tested it, checked fuses & the fuel pump all good. now without knowing what clicking noises (relays) to listen for during start mode i dont know whats normal, but upon trying to crank i hear 2 relays clicking the first is the lone relay just under the cover of the sam next to the fuses i can feel it click on my finger the other is more of a faint click that is up inside further in the sam! now the only schematic that i could find for the relays is on the Evilution website which is for the 6 or 700cc 450 model which they look the same to me in picture, but that relay thats clicking loud is #13 which is not the starter relay the other i believe that i hear is, anyway i pulled the 2 wire N-11 connector on the top of the sam applied 12v to the violet colored wire which eventually is blue at the starter solenoid on the 451 and the engine cranks but wont run, so i gave it a little shot of ether while applying 12v to the solenoid and it started up for a brief moment but wouldnt stay running so my injectors are inop prob also. thats where im at now i dont know if there is a theft mode that would prevent the sam from applying a signal to the starter & injectors! everything on this car is to expensive to just replace and hope for the best, and im 200mi from the nearest mb dealer so thats not an option at this point so im open to all & any suggestions at this point! Thanks

 

[jwight]

Welcome to SCoA! You've got quite a problem there. The smart has an immobilizer so you need an original key that the immobilizer recognizes. If you have that, then the SAM is not getting the start signal to the starter for some reason. If you have fuel, air and spark it should start and run, idle speed is around 900 rpm. Have you checked the air cleaner and the rest of the intake system for any leaks?

 

[Nevadaboy]

Thanks! yea i guess that post was a little long but after reading others i just didnt want somebody replying the obvious like check the battery ect, but yes i sorta read up on the immobilizer but not sure how to go about checking it, i did get to the ignition & shifter theres a green light that illuminates from that little circuit board when i try to start but whether its sending a signal im not sure, i know you can get a device that will test the transponder coil signal but that dont mean the sam is reading it correctly, and i checked but i have no codes stored but they could have been erased when the batt was disconnected! the gear selector display works in all gears, at this point im siding with your assumption about the immobilizer so what would be the next step in checking it?

 

[jwight]

I'm not an expert and alldatadiy.com only shows how to remove and replace the transponder coil - no test procedure mentioned. If it's not working, my guess is that would store a code of some sort...

 

[Wcjro]

I'm not an expert and alldatadiy.com only shows how to remove and replace the transponder coil - no test procedure mentioned. If it's not working, my guess is that would store a code of some sort...
[/QUO

Hi Everyone!
Well i guess i get the privledge of trying to work on this smart thing after a couple of failed attempts prior to me! And this being the first time i have ever even sat in one much less drive one! The only info i could acquire was that the smart had either a heater fan or the ac condenser worked on then it would not start! when i got this car the steering wheel & air bag were on the floor and i couldnt find on my online mitchell prodemand repair manual that would link that to a no crank issue. so i installed that back on the car, charged battery, load tested it, checked fuses & the fuel pump all good. now without knowing what clicking noises (relays) to listen for during start mode i dont know whats normal, but upon trying to crank i hear 2 relays clicking the first is the lone relay just under the cover of the sam next to the fuses i can feel it click on my finger the other is more of a faint click that is up inside further in the sam! now the only schematic that i could find for the relays is on the Evilution website which is for the 6 or 700cc 450 model which they look the same to me in picture, but that relay thats clicking loud is #13 which is not the starter relay the other i believe that i hear is, anyway i pulled the 2 wire N-11 connector on the top of the sam applied 12v to the violet colored wire which eventually is blue at the starter solenoid on the 451 and the engine cranks but wont run, so i gave it a little shot of ether while applying 12v to the solenoid and it started up for a brief moment but wouldnt stay running so my injectors are inop prob also. thats where im at now i dont know if there is a theft mode that would prevent the sam from applying a signal to the starter & injectors! everything on this car is to expensive to just replace and hope for the best, and im 200mi from the nearest mb dealer so thats not an option at this point so im open to all & any suggestions at this point! Thanks

It’s interesting to me that you say the Condenser fan was worked on and now it won’t start. My daughter’s 2013 Smart’s condenser fan started making a horrible clanging noise a couple of days ago when she would turn the ac on, so I told her not to run the ac until I could get it fixed. I got a call from her at work today saying the car wouldn’t start so I went down to trouble shoot it. The car turns over but won’t crank. I really hope the two problems aren’t related. I just read another post on here about a no start problem and apparently the motor was messed up from overheating. I’m going to go back tomorrow and do some more troubleshooting on it. One thing I’m hopeful about is I don’t think I heard the fuel pump priming up when I turned the switch on, not that I’m looking forward to dropping the tank to replace a fuel pump, but I’ll take that over a blown engine. I also read on here about a no start being due to a crankshaft sensor that on the bottom of the engine. I’ll check that too cause I’d rather it be that. 😀

 

[toaster]

If the problem was related to a bad key or transponder, I'd expect you to see a key symbol on the dash where P R N D is normally displayed.

The car won't crank if it thinks it is in gear or the clutch actuator has failed. When the key is turned on (just on, not to start) you should hear the clutch activator move. A quick visual from under the rear of the car should verify this as well.

~toaster

 

[Wcjro]

Update on mine: After pulling the coil packs and testing for fire(those were fine), and mashing on all the wire connections on the engine I could find, crankshaft sensor included, I really didn’t find anything loose. But for some reason I could now instead of hearing just two clicks when I turn the switch to position one I also heard the buzz from the fuel pump priming up. The car was then able to start. I’m not entirely sure what the problem was. I wonder if it’s possible the fuel pump is intermittently going out?

 

[vadsoom]

Look carefully at the large connector on the starter motor. It’s on the bottom of the car and takes a lot of punishment from road spray and salt (if you are in a northern state)’. Corrosion causes a breakdown of the wire’s motor connection and it eventually breaks. Prior to mine breaking on a 16 hour road trip, mine was intermittent for months with the same results you report. Some days it would start normally, but other times it would just click, sounding like a dead battery. Still other times, it would give me weak cranking. I looked for the cause for months before the eyelet connector finally broke.

 

[Wcjro]

Look carefully at the large connector on the starter motor. It’s on the bottom of the car and takes a lot of punishment from road spray and salt (if you are in a northern state)’. Corrosion causes a breakdown of the wire’s motor connection and it eventually breaks. Prior to mine breaking on a 16 hour road trip, mine was intermittent for months with the same results you report. Some days it would start normally, but other times it would just click, sounding like a dead battery. Still other times, it would give me weak cranking. I looked for the cause for months before the eyelet connector finally broke.

Thanks vadsoom, good info to have, i’ll keep an eye on it.