[OBXJackie]

I have a 2012 Smart Car ForTwo coupe.

Maybe 2 different problems

Back in September I took it to a mechanic to have a routine maintenance done.

2 of the things they replaced with the Serpentine Belt and the ac belt.

Now it is warm enough to start using my ac I get this loud weird noise from the front. It sounds almost like something is stuck on the fan however, my ac blows cold air.

But the noise is starting much faster than a month ago and now my car makes that sound while it is in idle even when I am not using the ac! Plus now I smell something weird when the ac is on. I don't run the ac anymore and not much I can do when it makes that sound while car is idling. However, within a minute or two after I start driving the loud noise stops.

This maybe un related: Today it was so hot in my car but it was only in the 70s. So I reach over to see if the heat was coming from the vents but no the heat was coming from my stereo!!! I shut the stereo off but it was still real hot for miles later!!!

Where my lighter would be is a battery type charger I have had a cell phone charger in it and it never charges my phone.

So are these things related? Is this an electrical problem? Is this a fire hazard? Is there a recall I don't know about?

The place where I had my car serviced went out of business because the owner retired. This owner and his business had a great reputation but I just don't know...

PLEASE HELP!

 

[jimvw57]

Sounds like you have a few issues there. the biggest is the fan noise. My second smart had that problem when I turned on the AC,it would n]make a LOT of noise like something was in the fan blades. turns out the mount for the fan was broken and the blades were hitting the housing. The mount for the fan is behind the radiator and condensor, that piece holds everything on the front end of the car. Replacement part isn't too expensive, but the whole front has to come off and prices were right around 500-1200 for the labor.
I added a front fan that pushes air through the cooling pack for about $80.

http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f353/noise-front-end-ac-43949/

as for the phone charger, there is a fuse for the "Power Port' that could be the problem.

 

[valvestem]

I'd be worried there is something generating a unusual amount of heat from under the dash, and I think it is safe to say it is related to the noise you hear. You need to investigate further before a possible meltdown or worse, an electrical fire.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Lots of different things going on here with many potential causes, I'll take a stab!

Now it is warm enough to start using my ac I get this loud weird noise from the front. It sounds almost like something is stuck on the fan however, my ac blows cold air.

But the noise is starting much faster than a month ago and now my car makes that sound while it is in idle even when I am not using the ac! Plus now I smell something weird when the ac is on. I don't run the ac anymore and not much I can do when it makes that sound while car is idling. However, within a minute or two after I start driving the loud noise stops.

Does this noise only show up when you first start the car? If so, that's normal. That's the secondary air injection pump priming the catalytic converter. That pump only comes on when it's warm enough outside and the computer deems it necessary for a first start.

Otherwise, the A/C does kick on the front radiator fan as well.

As for the smell, you may need to replace your cabin air filter.

This maybe un related: Today it was so hot in my car but it was only in the 70s. So I reach over to see if the heat was coming from the vents but no the heat was coming from my stereo!!! I shut the stereo off but it was still real hot for miles later!!!

The radio in a smart seems to be a hot little bugger. Even after you turn it off the heat will remain for a very long time as well.

Also, make sure the temperature lever on the is on the lowest setting. If it's on a hot temperature, it'll blow hot air even if the fan setting is set to 0.

Where my lighter would be is a battery type charger I have had a cell phone charger in it and it never charges my phone.

Well, this one needs more context. When you plug in the phone, does the charging icon show up? If it does, there's likely nothing wrong with the car but with the charger plugged into the car. Those chargers sometimes do not output enough power to charge a modern phone properly. A modern phone will need 1.5a to charge at anything resembling a good rate, while some of those things don't even output 1.0a.

If the charging icon doesn't show up, then check to make sure the fuse in the charger is good, I think there may be a fuse for the connection itself too.

 

[OBXJackie]

Does this noise only show up when you first start the car? No it only makes that awful sound after the ac is running for a few minutes or while idling too long. Sounds like something is about to fall out of my car if I don't cut it off quick!! Nothing normal about this sound!



Had the filter replaced last September. This smells like something burning when when using the fan ac only.



I know how to adjust my ac's temperature setting



As I stated above I had just gotten a new ac belt. Never had one problem with this car before this point. Couldn't this be a like a belt adjuster thingy not keeping the belt tight enough? Someone said something to me about bearings what would that sound like?



Someone else said this:
Sounds like you have a few issues there. the biggest is the fan noise. My second smart had that problem when I turned on the AC,it wouldn't make a LOT of noise like something was in the fan blades. turns out the mount for the fan was broken and the blades were hitting the housing. The mount for the fan is behind the radiator and condenser, that piece holds everything on the front end of the car. Replacement part isn't too expensive, but the whole front has to come off

Does anyone else agree with this? Why would the mount for the fan be broken? Does anyone know of a video to show how to fix this? IM FREAKED OUT!

 

[jimvw57]

If you use the link I posted , you will find a video of the noise on my car. The fan blades were hitting the plastic surround that goes around the fan and directs the air flow. I ended up adding a fan on the front side and disconnected the stock fan, used the wiring for the stock fan to run the new one and switched polarity so it would blow air through the radiator from the front. problem solved and cost much less than replacing the stock mount.

Fan mount could be defective from the factory and took awhile to break, or someone hit one of those cement chunks they put in front of parking spots, or a curb when parking, or it got ice in there and froze on a winter morning.. lots of things could have caused it

The AC compressor is on the motor, which is in the rear of the car. not much chance of the belt making noise up front.

Does it sound like this?? (click on picture and turn up sound)

 

[OBXJackie]

Can't get that link to work properly. Shows Uploaded by jimvw but nothing/video under it....

 

[Niteshooter]

For the fan noise when turned on, possibly something has fallen into the fan motor? I've had leaves do this on other cars, the burning smell is concerning, possibly the fan motor overheating while trying to overcome whatever it is hitting?

 

[jimvw57]

try this one

http://s28.photobucket.com/user/jimvw/media/Smart/DSCN0943.mp4.html

might take a bit to load..

 

[Niteshooter]

try this one

DSCN0943.mp4 Video by jimvw | Photobucket

might take a bit to load..

Seems to load into an error, mp4 should be a supported format on most computers but not sure why it won't. Perhaps it is too large for photobucket?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

It's a Photobucket problem. They've been breaking their servers for the past month and few things are in operational condition over there. I can't link out any of my stuff either.

 

[jimvw57]

try this one, different hosting site
View My Video

 

[putlockerfit]

yes might be the photo bucket problem you can use other host...


Thanks
Putlocker