[greenhornet]

Hello everyone. It has been awhile since my last posting. Looking for help.
My 2008 Smart ForTwo has never had any starting issues until now. The car has been sitting in the garage unused and unrun for a year. I charged the battery, turned the key and NOTHING. Plenty of voltage, lights, radio and all accessories work. When I turn the key, no battery draw at all, no starter. Is there any kind of system reset that needs to be done due to battery being dead for so long?
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[vadsoom]

Unless there are lights on the dash, I didn’t think you would need any resets. That being said, mine needed some resets after sitting without a battery for a while.

Is your Smart a 451?

When you turn the key, do you hear anything? It’s possible that as it’s been sitting, the cable to the charger has rusted out. That’s the first place I would check. It’s a heavy gauge cable that connects to the starter. You should be able to see it looking in from the left rear wheel well.

 

[greenhornet]

THANK YOU for your reply. Yes, 451. No connection between ignition switch and starter. All dash from notions appear normal, good headlights, all accessories work. Someone responded that it could be that I don't have a strong 12V or a bad brake light switch. Unsure of brake light switch location, maybe on the brake pedal?

 

[vadsoom]

THANK YOU for your reply. Yes, 451. No connection between ignition switch and starter. All dash from notions appear normal, good headlights, all accessories work. Someone responded that it could be that I don't have a strong 12V or a bad brake light switch. Unsure of brake light switch location, maybe on the brake pedal?

It’s possible that the brake switch is flaky. It’s not a great location to get to - the belly pan needs to come off, then there is a cover over the switch and that has a sticky rim that needs to come off before the switch can be accessed. Do the brake lights come on ok? The brake switch has 2 sets of contacts. I suppose one set or the other could be wonky. A continuity test on both sets of contacts would tell if the switch is ok.

I suppose the battery could be weak, but in my experience, that means a slow crank, not zero crank.

Have you tried shifting it into neutral and trying to start it?

 

[Eros227jessup1]

It’s possible that the brake switch is flaky. It’s not a great location to get to - the belly pan needs to come off, then there is a cover over the switch and that has a sticky rim that needs to come off before the switch can be accessed. Do the brake lights come on ok? The brake switch has 2 sets of contacts. I suppose one set or the other could be wonky. A continuity test on both sets of contacts would tell if the switch is ok.

I suppose the battery could be weak, but in my experience, that means a slow crank, not zero crank.

Have you tried shifting it into neutral and trying to start it?

A weak battery means no crank not slow crank. These cars are very picky on battery level. My 2014 will not turn over at all if battery weak. It doesn’t turn over more slowly like every other car in the world.

 

[vadsoom]

A weak battery means no crank not slow crank. These cars are very picky on battery level. My 2014 will not turn over at all if battery weak. It doesn’t turn over more slowly like every other car in the world.

Interesting. I replaced my battery in December for a slow crank issue. It measured 10.2 volts and was definitely bad.

 

[vadsoom]

GreenHornet, where are you located? I have a Mercedes Star Diagnostic machine and would be happy to help you troubleshoot.