Well let me tell you about something, I had the same issue but because I am not as DIY as all of you I took my Smart to the dealer, 3 days after a received a call, they told me that the water pump had to be replaced, I told them that I was afraid that the water pump was replaced and that the light woudnt go away afterwards, they told me they did a full diagnosys and it was 100% certain that the light will go away for sure, well guess what? I got a call yesterday, they told me they dont know why but the light wont go away even after replacing the pump. They told me they have to search deeper into the issue.

By the way the stimate was 861€ and im going to attach the stimate.

I will update you on what happens next but the car has already be two weeks in the dealer.

 

and it was 100% certain that the light will go away for sure

I darn well hope they're not charging you for that. No fix, no charge, right?

Have you seen the last several posts in this thread? The issue is quite likely just a software related thing, pertaining to a value stored in the ECU's memory - like a lifetime counter. Lifetime counter goes too high, it throws a fault. The lifetime counter has no bearing in reality and is just a ticking time bomb. There's a way to reset it, even the dealer should be able to if you give them the info.

That's the running theory at least, without a good way to positively test it. Maybe give them the info in this thread (or just the thread itself)? For them to be "100% certain" it's the pump, means they must not be that familiar with the diagnosis so far... of all the people to get this fault, I don't think a single one reported it actually being fixed with the pump. And that pump is VERY hard to access, too - so it's insane that they went to all that effort without realizing it wasn't the problem.

 

Sorry to hear that.

We went through the same process - internet search -> dealer -> another try -> misunderstanding -> and finally, back to the internet.

If they replaced the pump and it didn't help, I'm pretty sure this is a software issue that can be fixed without taking the car in.

However, if you're not comfortable using engineering tools, it will be extremely difficult to fix without a skilled technician. You could damage your car if the tools are not used properly.

As FalconFour said, it would be a good idea to check previous posts and ask someone in your country to assist with this process.

We're happy to help at any step.

 

Today after 2 weeks i recived a call from the dealer, they told me they have figure out there is something wrong with the ptcu unit and that it has to be replaced. I asked about the water pump and they told me that the water pump was also damaged (I dont belive this part) hey have giving me an stimate of 490€ plus the 870€ that they already gave me for the water pump. What do you guys think?

 

I've never heard of the PTCU unit before. The damaged water pump sounds suspicious. I'm pretty sure your old pump is still working.

I wonder what they mean by PTCU. It's probably an EVC unit based on the price.

€490 to replace the 'PTCU' (whatever that is) doesn't seem like a bad price, but I'm not sure if it actually needed to be replaced.

Anyway, glad to hear your car is fixed !

 

Not fixed yet I have given the go ahead now and hopefuly it is enough with this. I will keep you updated. Thank you for your help

 

PTCU = Powertrain Control Unit. The ECU we've all been replacing and focusing on. Everything we all have already known so far still seems to be holding true in your case.

Likely it could have been a $0 job with DDT4All and resetting the counter value, because it's not that the ECU was actually "bad", but just that it had a ticking time-bomb that overflowed. The pump was never bad and the ECU wasn't bad. Replacing the ECU is like replacing a computer because it got a virus. Could have just been erased/wiped/reinstalled. It's upsetting that people are being taken for a ride like this.

 

Would you fight to get the old pump back?

 

Hi Ishad, I have two smarts that I replaced the ECUs with error P0463F1 some time ago.
Today I reassembled one of the broken ECUs and with your method it was fine again.
The only difficulty I had was that DDT4all does not accept the blank data field in "DataWrite ($3531) V_Timer_DrivWEP_ON", but I put the value from the good ECU and it worked.
Can you tell me how you did the reset without having to enter the value?

DataWrite($3531) V_Timer_DrivWEP_ON.
2148413625 FalconFour new ECU
2153411011 My new ECU.
2183844601 My old ECU broken.

Thank you very much for your help

 

Hi,

I'll share my experience with this issue. My situation was the opposite of yours.
When I tried to reset the DataWrite ($3531) V_Timer_DrivWEP_ON value, I initially copied the value from a working pump's parameter. By 'working pump,' I mean the back pump that cools the motor and inverter. However, when I entered this copied value, the ECU rejected it and returned an error.

I then tried entering 0, but the ECU still didn't accept it. Finally, I executed the command without entering any value - just selecting it from the dropdown list and clicking 'Execute.' Surprisingly, it worked! The high voltage check failure on the dashboard disappeared, and the value changed to something around 2148413440 (I'll confirm when I check the car again).

My previously saved broken value was 2183664341. Based on this, I strongly believe that 2183844601 (your broken ECU's value) is an overflow value, which is why the ECU gets stuck. A healthy value typically falls within the range of 0x80000000 (2147483648) and 10,000 hours. This value increments by 1 every second.

Here's a table with calculations for better understanding:

As you can see, Falcon's pump has only worked for about 258 hours, while yours has run for 1,646 hours. Your broken ECU's (And my broken also) value has already hit 10,000 hours, which likely means the ECU is programmed to stop working beyond this threshold, effectively forcing you to replace both the ECU and the pump.

Once I check my car again, I'll update the table with my exact reset value.

That's my conclusion based on simple logic.

Let me know what you think!

 

Smart EQ cars have Renault technology, and proof of this is that the parts have 2 part numbers, Mercedes and Renault.

The water pump purchased from Mercedes costs €300 and comes with the Renault symbol, purchased from Renault it costs only €150.

When the car broke down, I went to a specialized Renault workshop where they informed me that the Zoe had an hour meter for the water pumps and that after a certain amount they would get an error.

This error was erased with Renault's VCI.
I tried to start the car with a VCI and Rernault software to reset the hour counter but it wouldn't start.

I don't know if it was intentional, due to forgetfulness, incompetence or lack of information, but the Mercedes software does not make the correct diagnosis and does not allow the hour counter to be reset.

With all cars giving this error at 10,000 hours, I think future software will be fixed to be able to reset the pump's hour counter.

You managed to do what the smart guys at Mercedes couldn't!

 

I'm just curious - did you manage to recover the broken ECU (2183844601) by rewriting a good value from a new ECU?

I'm wondering why my broken ECU receives ‘no value,' while yours rejects it and vise versa. Could it be due to a difference in ECU firmware?

When I get back to my car, I'll check the ECU firmware version.

Another thought - could the issue be related to different DDT4ALL versions or the database files we are using.

 

yes, i recovered the ecu (2183844601) by rewriting 2153411011.

I think the issue is related to different versions of DDT4all. I have 5.5.0

I don't have databases, I used your XML file.

 

I discovered how to reset the hours without having to enter a number.

You have to click on the data field, highlighting it, and then click on execute.

The saved value is 2147483693 (after the few seconds it takes to execute the DataRead($3531) V_Timer_DrivWEP_ON)

 

Yeah Thanks !, I missed this point when explaining in my previous post. I'll edit !

 

Do you think it’s possible that unplugging the battery waiting five minutes and plugging it back in might solve something? I want my cruise control back. I don’t wanna pay $1000 seems nutts

 

Unfortunately, it's not possible. It needs to be done through the diagnostic port using special software(DDT4ALL). Please read the threads above - they might help.

 

Hey guys,

I got some problems with this issue (lol, problems with issues).
So the thing is i have a Konnwei KW902 ELM327 w/ PIC18F25K80 chip, and everything works perfectly well until I try to reset the "devil" value... I highlight it then press execute and nothing happens, just keep counting the secs.

by the way, I found a menu item (for zoe) "water pump counters" reset and it doesn't work either

Am i missing something?
I am thinking that konnwei stuff is not really suitable for this task...

 

Try to Write the reset value 2147483693

 

i've already tried, not working, if i press execute its just refreshes like f5 in your browser

 

You are on DATA READ change to DATA WRITE

 

where?

edit: found it thanks

 

thank you all guys, fixed!

 

Incredibly poor design on Mercedes'/Renault's part - this is inevitably something that's going to hit every higher-mileage Smart 453 EV. Excellent work getting to the bottom of it, @lashad ! 👏🙇‍♂️

 

Is there anyway we can revive this thread with step-by-step instructions on where to get what with links and how to do it? I’m having trouble finding the correct …

 

I can help get started, but I would appreciate someone else in expanding upon it.

• Windows laptop
• OBD2 adapter that connects to the Windows laptop and works with DDT4All
• DDT4All software
• The data file for DDT4All (not in the standard "ECUs library" that often come with DDT4All - found in this forum thread)
• Pair Windows laptop and OBD2 adapter, creates a virtual COM port for Bluetooth adapter that connects to the adapter when software opens the COM port
• Confirm connection with DDT4All <-> Adapter <-> Car
• Load the data file (which corresponds to the powertrain control ECU) in the DDT4All software
• Access the interface for the pump counter data, read pump counter data
• Switch over to the function to clear pump counter value, and clear the pump counter value
• Done

Unfortunately I no longer have the Smart, so I can't help much further, but I think an "at-a-glance" overview like this might help get started.

 

Is this code related to the issue outlined in this thread: U301704

??

 

 

Don't think they are at all related. Since it is a stored code, clear it and see if it returns

 

Comes back in a few minutes. We changed the 12v battery as well. No change

U means stored code? P would be active code ?

the description has me wondering if it’s somehow related. I can’t find anything on the web

 

Does they key need to be on in order to successfully reset the water pump counter to zero.

I followed all the steps but does not seem to write any data to the ecu.

When I open the program, I get an error "no database found" so then i just browse to the .xml file and open it. Something tells me that is not the correct way to do this.

 

Update. Seems like the adapter I purchased does not support 29-bit CAN frames (extended CAN IDs).

This is the junk I purchased: OBDResource ELM327 USB OBD2 Scanner with MS/HS-CAN Switch

Make sure when you buy the adapter to only get the OBDLink EX or OBDLink SX, not the cheap clones on amazon.

 

Hello fellow Canadian, I am having the same issue. I’m wondering if you could post a link to the correct adaptor that would work ,also, are you by chance close to the Toronto area thank you.

 

I ended up ordering this one because it supports 29bit.
amazon.ca/dp/B094Z7PBLS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I haven't tried it yet but will later today and will update if it works.

I am in Ottawa, ON.

 

Update. The Vgate vLinker FS worked for me. I did have to go into the settings of the com3 driver and change it to 115000 baud rate and select 115000 baud in DDT4ALL before connecting. It would not connect until i made that change.