The title pretty much says it all ... I have a 2009 Passion that the battery went DOA from sitting ... I did have issues prior to that where the battery would be sucked down do to the parasitic issues commonly found in the SMARTs. Knowing this I purchased a new battery but could not find one exactly the same Cranking Amps (-100 amps) .. Yet the battery was same height, width but length was a bit shorter than the original.
After I installed the new battery and turned the key I showed nothing on my dashboard .... Turning the key and tried to start and nothing ... So I pulled my truck in and ran some jumper cables to the new battery and then turned the key and dash lit up and the engine would start. I removed the jumper cables from the SMART and tried to drive it and there was a big Mercedes logo with a "!" next to it and the dash lights would flash off and on - transmission was fighting the drive until the SMART actually died! ... Tried to start and nothing again no dash lights nothing... Had to jump the SMART again and fight it all the way back to the house ....
Now when I drove it last it ran like a top and was fun to drive ... After replacing the dead battery with a new one .. something has happened ...
Has anyone ever experienced this and if so what is problem? Is it because of the smaller battery causing this? Like I said its only 100 cranking amps less than original..
