[T12121]

Today my car will not start. Did some shopping, got home, went to start car little bit later, and just a click. I am done with this car. Looking to sell. Also winter tires on stock rims looking to sell.

 

[Ironjoey]

Battery?

 

[T12121]

New battery only few months old, checked wires on battery everything good. 12 volts on scangauge when vehicle not running. Just not putting any more money into this pos of a car.

Message me if interested.

 

[Yinzer]

A car battery showing only 12 volts when under no load is at a very low state of charge. A healthy, fully charged battery should be 13.2 to 13.5 volts under no load.

 

[jsenka]

I've had four batteries that were less than a year old fail on my three smarts in the last year. Two of them were M-B labeled batteries, one was from O'Reilly's, and one from Sam's Club (that one was 4 months old).
All replaced under warranty.

 

[kheran]

Could be a crank position sensor(happened to me ) . Do all the lights on the dash come on when you try to start?

 

[T12121]

Could be a crank position sensor(happened to me ) . Do all the lights on the dash come on when you try to start?

Looks normal on dash, just clicks and no start.

 

[amosd70]

Sounds battery like to me. Common problem on any car not just smart. I would change the battery out for a good branded battery and try it again before I got all " Just not putting any more money into this pos of a car." I always have the place I purchase batteries from run a battery load test as well before I purchase it. I have gotten a few batteries in the past that were DOA.

 

[svaraman]

I've had four batteries that were less than a year old fail on my three smarts in the last year. Two of them were M-B labeled batteries, one was from O'Reilly's, and one from Sam's Club (that one was 4 months old).
All replaced under warranty.

If you've replaced the battery that many times in that short of an interval, then clearly the battery is NOT the problem. I propose four possibilities:
1. The charging system is over-charging your battery. I'm not sure if the voltage regulator is built into the alternator in your smart or if it's a separate device but you need to check the voltage regulator.
2. There is a zombie load on your battery (light left on, electrical short, defective voltage regulator, defective electronics, etc) that is repeatedly discharging your battery. You can check this for yourself with an ammeter or have your battery shop verify that the load on the battery is very low when the car is off. You may need to check this repeatedly as the load may be intermittent.
3. The charging system is only charging the battery intermittently. This can be caused by a loose cable or intermittent alternator. This allows the battery to deeply discharge which is NOT good for lead-acid batteries that aren't designed for deep-discharge.
4. Variant of #2 : Something or somebody is leaving the lights or other electronics on when the car is off. Perhaps the timer on the headlight has gone kaput and is leaving the headlights on for 30 minutes every time you shut off the car?

Deeply discharging a lead-acid battery even once will greatly shorten its life. It's pretty easy to kill a battery in 4 months if you repeatedly discharge it.

In any case, replacing the battery is not the solution. Just because the battery is the component that is failing doesn't mean the battery is to blame. You don't blame the engine for blowing up when the oil pump fails. Similarly, don't blame the battery for failing when it is being abused by something you haven't yet discovered.

 

[LTDThree]

Anyone thought of checking the starter connections. I changed my starter a while ago and was shocked to see how badly the connections were

 

[toaster]

If the car has autolights and automatic wipers, there is a known problem whereby the battery will drain if both are left in the on position.

~toaster

 

[steveg]

i have seen this in a few smarts, driving the owners (and me nuts). sometimes it something stupid like a corroded connection at the battery, or ground cable on the engine to body...sam unit with a burnt connector, or realy loose...

then occasionally get the random bad battery, alternator, and even a ignition switch.... electricals are hard to track down and solve when problems come up.. my best bet is that its something stupid and ab easy fix.

steveg.

 

[DreamCarOwner]

My battery in my smart is almost 5 years old and is starting to fail. After it sits for a couple of days the battery drains enough with the pod clock, SAM,phantom glow of my LED interior lights and my DVD <MP5 Backup camera in my rear view mirror needs power all the time, so it drasins my old weak battery. I try to start it and it just clicks the first 2 or three times I try it. If the battery is indeed low when it clicks to try to start you will hear the Pod tachometer spin up, and thats a pretty sure sign that battery voltage is dangerously low. Mine still barely starts after a few tries. The SAM will even shut off the dome light and extra things trying to conserve power to start the engine. After it starts it's good for the next day or two but I noticed about a week prior that the engine was cranking slower than usual and I noticed the dash lights and headlights dimming or pulsing a little at night. If everything stays bright during the attempt to crank, the starter solenoid is kicking in (this the click), but the starter is not spinning. You need to try and jump it to see if it starts. If you have a test meter check battery voltage with it running. It should read 13.5 to even 14.5 if it's charging hard.If it's around 12 volts running I would suspect the alternator, which I believe has a built in voltage regulator if my memory serves me right. I know car problems can be aggrevating, but you can methodically work through them and troubleshoot your problem. We can help you.

 

[jsenka]

If you've replaced the battery that many times in that short of an interval, then clearly the battery is NOT the problem. I propose four possibilities:
1. The charging system is over-charging your battery. I'm not sure if the voltage regulator is built into the alternator in your smart or if it's a separate device but you need to check the voltage regulator.
2. There is a zombie load on your battery (light left on, electrical short, defective voltage regulator, defective electronics, etc) that is repeatedly discharging your battery. You can check this for yourself with an ammeter or have your battery shop verify that the load on the battery is very low when the car is off. You may need to check this repeatedly as the load may be intermittent.
3. The charging system is only charging the battery intermittently. This can be caused by a loose cable or intermittent alternator. This allows the battery to deeply discharge which is NOT good for lead-acid batteries that aren't designed for deep-discharge.
4. Variant of #2 : Something or somebody is leaving the lights or other electronics on when the car is off. Perhaps the timer on the headlight has gone kaput and is leaving the headlights on for 30 minutes every time you shut off the car?

Deeply discharging a lead-acid battery even once will greatly shorten its life. It's pretty easy to kill a battery in 4 months if you repeatedly discharge it.

In any case, replacing the battery is not the solution. Just because the battery is the component that is failing doesn't mean the battery is to blame. You don't blame the engine for blowing up when the oil pump fails. Similarly, don't blame the battery for failing when it is being abused by something you haven't yet discovered.

Thanks for your troubleshooting tips. As I said in my original post, these were three different cars and testing the charging system was the first thing I did! All of the failures were shorted or open cells.

 

[svaraman]

Thanks for your troubleshooting tips. As I said in my original post, these were three different cars and testing the charging system was the first thing I did! All of the failures were shorted or open cells.

Shorted or open cells are caused by overcharging or deep discharging. I understand that you tested the charging system, but that does not mean that the charging system is ALWAYS working properly. From your description, it sounds like an intermittent problem with the charging system. Intermittent issues are really a pain to diagnose.

 

[benzo12]

smart car would not start after i sut it off for about ten minutes i went to leave and nothing car would not start it turned over but no start so i then had smart towed to house and then tried to start again turned over but no start then i checked it in the morrning and it wont even crank now all lights come on battery is good. what the hell. please tell me somthing good thanks David g

 

[vadsoom]

David, take a close look at the battery terminal on the starter. It’s prone to corrosion and can become so bad the car won’t start.

 

[SmartNewb]

I have same issue, followed all trouble shoot Inc N11-6 no voltage. Have all guage lights including no key blinking. BATTERY @ 12.6V Car parked.