[SailorJohn70]

This morning when I left work (I work 3rd shift). My 2009 Smart ForTwo 121K miles, would not start. I've tried the shifter reset process several times.

A week ago I had the shift actuator off and cleaned and lubed it and readjusted when I put it back on. I had to go through the shifter reset (or a variation - I did not at that time go through the manual +/- part) when I reconnected the battery to get it to start. It has run and shifted well for the past week (over 300 miles with various driving and traffic conditions.)

I got the car towed home and have carefully gone through the full shifter reset process several times, I have also disconnected the battery and let the car sit for hours before reconnecting and retrying. When I shift from P to R the dash screen flashes N. I can hear slight movement when shifting from R to D and good movement when moving to the manual side and going to 2 and back to 1. The battery has anywhere from 12.6 to 13.2 volts each time I try the reset and to start the car.

I am ready to pull the starter and have it tested at a local parts shop.
What else should I be looking at?

 

[vadsoom]

Battery. Definitely have the battery load tested.

 

[jetfuel]

A week ago I had the shift actuator off and cleaned and lubed it and readjusted when I put it back on.

[/QUOTE]
…shift actuator…like the one on top of the engine…2 plugs…black and white and a little white cap on top???
… that shift actuator???

jetfuel…curious

 

[SailorJohn70]

…shift actuator…like the one on top of the engine…2 plugs…black and white and a little white cap on top???
… that shift actuator???

jetfuel…curious
[/QUOTE]

Sorry no,
I was talking about the clutch actuator not the shift actuator.(under the car three bolts, one plug, pushes against the clutch plate/fork to disengage clutch when shifting).

 

[SailorJohn70]

Battery. Definitely have the battery load tested.

I am doubtful it is the battery (the car wont jump start either) but I will pull the battery tonight and get it load tested in the morning (if I can find a place.)

 

[SMARTKAR]

check starter

 

[jetfuel]

…that’s why I asked… there’s no lube or adjustments (sort off ) to shifting motor”S”…but they do get so dirty with carbon and oil that they fail to select gear or even short out ( due to carbon build-up) that keeps car from running…

jetfuel…btdtft

 

[SailorJohn70]

FYI, checked the battery at an O'Reilly on the way home. They tested it for 650 CCA and it passed (it was at 12.59 volts when tested).

I guess I'll pull the starter and have that tested.

 

[SailorJohn70]

OKAY,

So I got home and replaced the battery. Tried the reteach and it acted the same as it has been. Tried to start and again no start. Put the car in Neutral and pushed it (backwards) about 75 feet to the garage doors. Put the car up on jack stands and crawled under (no tools) to look at the starter to get an idea of how to remove it. Came inside and read a few posts about removing/replacing the starter read a lot of comments about checking the neutral safety switch first but they were olds posts and I new where the starter was but not the safety switch (besides the cars already on jack stands which should be the hardest part of the job). I went back out to remove the starter. I went to disconnect the battery and decided to put the cat in neutral first. When I sat down to in the drivers seat to put the car in neutral I figured I try starting it once more. YOU GUESSED IT The car started right up without even thinking about it.

So now the car is up on stands and I'm wondering should I be glad it started and leave it alone (assuming it will start again), or should I keep poking and see if I can figure out the cause (if that is even possible) and "fix" it in hopes that it won't leave me stranded 40 miles from home with another couple hundred dollar tow bill?

 

[SMARTKAR]

I would start checking for wires that can be moving around when the car is lifted…..Or maybe some fluke resolved itself

 

[DenisW]

I think you have told us before, but let's get a recap;
-The display will show P, but flashes N if you go to reverse
-The display will not show D or 1 or 2, etc
-Are you getting any codes?
-Have you made sure the connection to the Clutch actuator is clean and tight?
-Do the same with the starter connection, and as Smartkar says, check all the connections you can.
-Do you have someone that can sit in the car while you are under it (safely on good stands)? If so unplug the leads to the coils and have the person turn-to-start while you wiggle the wires to the actuator and starter.
-Outside temp noticeably hotter or colder when it won't start, or night vs day??

 

[SailorJohn70]

The display works/showes as it should. Only when I was trying the re-teach; when I would move the selector from D to R the display would flash N. (I do not know if the flash to N is "normal" during the re-tesch sequence, but I do not think it is.) No apparent difference in night/day or hot/cold (air temp or car temp) starting. As far as I could tell all connections are tight and clean. The car has started three different times now without any issues. I have decided not to investigate further untill I have more problems or time/resources.

 

[jetfuel]

…take the shift motor assembly out and clean it up…both of them…
…is not a matter of if but when it will leaves you out in the cold…

jetfuel….btdtft

 

[DenisW]

…take the shift motor assembly out and clean it up…both of them…
…is not a matter of if but when it will leaves you out in the cold…

jetfuel….btdtft

Well Jetfuel, It seems like if the shift motor was having a problem he would not get a normal gear display as he went thru the gears while the engine was off... FWITISW

 

[jetfuel]

…my bride’s ‘12 show no signs of failure…never got the 3 bars of death…one morning left her in the middle of the road 2 miles from home…got there to see and it started right away…swapped rides…not happy she got mine but that’s what we do…not a mile down the road it did it to me…let it sit …you can’t believe the amount of oil saturated carbon on the right motor…
…cleaned and all buttoned up it lasted almost 2 months…this time a did the left motor that I should off done the first time…this was 6 years or more ago…

jetfuel…btdtft

 

[DenisW]

…my bride’s ‘12 show no signs of failure…never got the 3 bars of death…one morning left her in the middle of the road 2 miles from home…got there to see and it started right away…swapped rides…not happy she got mine but that’s what we do…not a mile down the road it did it to me…let it sit …you can’t believe the amount of oil saturated carbon on the right motor…
…cleaned and all buttoned up it lasted almost 2 months…this time a did the left motor that I should off done the first time…this was 6 years or more ago…

jetfuel…btdtft

Interesting, good info.

 

[SailorJohn70]

Well it did it to me again. Started and drove fine the 40 miles to work I even stopped about 3 miles from work at a convenience store and it started right up. This Moring when I went to leave it would not start. I was able to get a ride home with a coworker. I'll take my truck and trailer in tonight and pick up the car to bring it home. I won't be surprised if It starts when I get to work.

I am not afraid to get dirty and tear into it but removing and cleaning the shift motors seems like a lot of work for something that might not be the culprit. (I would hate to go through all that work and still have this issue.)

Is there a way I can troubleshoot it to make sure it is the shift motors and not a neutral safety switch, loose wire, or some other fantom?

jetfuel, how confident are you that it definitely is the shift motors? Is there anything else that you think it could possibly be?

 

[SMARTKAR]

I’m not sure but did you every pull the codes?

 

[DenisW]

SaliorJohn, Are you familiar with Evilution | Smart Car Encyclopedia ?? Kane is in the UK and knows more about Smarts than the MB techs in the USA do. His web site is VERY informative with How-To's for every part of the car. He also answers emails to point you in the right direction. Part of the site is free for the reading, the meat of how to do something requires a subscription, which is only $35/yr.

 

[SailorJohn70]

I’m not sure but did you every pull the codes?

I check codes and live data frequently with this issue there has been no codes