First time fortwo owner with a question

1707 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Vincent Rapide, May 7, 2021

Cgdepriest

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2021

Hello! Hopefully someone can help me out with a problem I'm having.
My husband and I just got a 2016 Smart fortwo electric drive and we are having issues with charging. The charger that came with the car shows two flashing red lights at the top and then three flashing green lights at the bottom (in the pattern of first one, first one, first three if that helps at all). We are not using an extension cord, that was the first thing we tried. We also tried three different outlets (one outside and two indoors). We tried looking into this already and the only thing we could come up with was a grounding issue so we tried an APC battery backup as the power source since it has internal grounding. Same results.
If any other information is needed I will do my best to supply it. As the car is used we unfortunately did not get a manual and we have have no luck in finding one online.
Thank you in advance to anyone that can help!

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sokoloff

· #2 · Apr 28, 2021

Can you try charging it at another location, a neighbor, etc. Not sure how much charge you have?

Where are you located? Maybe another Smart owner or even another electric car owner can try their charging cable to narrow down where the issue is. Are you close enough to a public charging station to at least get the charge up?

You can get manuals here - download vehicle manuals | smart USA

Len
2014 EV Coupe 21,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 22,500 miles
2015 EV Coupe 20,000 miles

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hallcp

· #3 · May 3, 2021

You might also look closely at the brass prongs on your 120V plug. Take a pencil eraser or something and get them shiny. Also watch the car's dash display when you plug in to the car (plug in to 120V first, then the car). Normally the dash display will light up when the charger is first connected.

It seems unlikely that you would have so many mis-wired outlets in your house. Worst case look for a new Smart charger on eBay or better yet purchase a more capable charger like a Duosida Level 2 charger .

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hallcp

· #4 · May 3, 2021

Oh, and I don't see a manual for a 2016 smart ED, but it should be the same for 2015, 2014 and 2013. Newer cars may be different, but I'm pretty sure 2013-2016 are all the same.

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MB DNA

· #5 · May 3, 2021

If you have the OEM Lear EVSE, this may help with your troubleshooting...

Lear-Intertek Level 1 EVSE Manual

Lear-Intertek Level 1 EVSE Manual - OEM Those buying a pre-owned ED may not be supplied with this manual? As supplied with new delivery http://evwest.com/support/Lear-EVSE.pdf

www.smartcarofamerica.com

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lebikerboy

· #6 · May 4, 2021

We own a 2017 ED and that's not the charger that was supplied....

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MB DNA

· #7 · May 4, 2021

lebikerboy said:
We own a 2017 ED and that's not the charger that was supplied....

You are correct, your MY17 ED 453 has a different EVSE.

OP has a MY16 ED 451 for which the OEM EVSE is a Lear..

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Vincent Rapide

· #8 · May 7, 2021 (Edited)

Halfway thru the 2016 [edited] the smart_ev became the EQ, ie the 453 chassis which had a totally revised high voltage battery specific to only the 453 EQ and also the totally new external appearance. The rear pillar should say "EQ" unless someone has wrapped over it. So unless I'm mistaken the EQ is a whole new different car.

Nonetheless any and all EVSE 'charge cords' should work regardless of the year issued or the EV (Tesla, Smart,Spark,MachE) as long as they follow J1772 specs - if it plugs in, it's good for at least 8 amps. Some cords can provide 12 amps as an option using a switch on the EVSE itself or else controlled on the car's digital dashboard. Be careful when first using 12A/120v on a new outlet - watch for overheating of the plug or the outlet. And some EVSE even allow 240v operation as well as 120v. This is worth doing for efficiency and speed, but extra caution is advised!
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