[Wikedscotty]

For the last few weeks I've had an issue with my smart where sometimes when I'm driving it, it will shut off and where the gear indicator is on the dash, it has a single flashing line and all the fuel and temp b l obs flash as Well. If I turn it off and try to start it, the nothing appears in the gear Indicator. Usually after a few minutes if waiting, when u turn the key it will show up whatever gear is was in when it shut off and I have to shift it into drive then back into neutral to start the car again. Tonight it did it 4 times within about 1km, but then I was able to drive the next 5kms home without any issue. It usually only happens at night and only happens some days. The closet Mercedes dealer to me is about 50kms away, so not really practical for me to get to. I decided to have a look at the SAM unit after reading that could be the problem, firstly it wasn't secured in any way, the clips are all broken and it was just put in above the clips just sitting there. Pulled it down and the picture is what I saw. Looks like it has been burnt at some point. I figure that it's probably not fixable.

 

[1stiski]

Sad to see. Why was it loose and not mounted , and that sure looks like it had a major failure with those plastic pieces missing .. was there remanent pieces nearby ? If not , I’d suspect that someone fooled with it in the past .

 

[Wikedscotty]

Not sure why it was loose. Never had a reason to look at it before. The clips the go on it look they are broken. I also noticed that the battery doesn't have a bracket holding it in place.

 

[1stiski]

I imagine you vehicle was owned previously before you got it .. too bad either the Former owner / wrench monkey was sloppy .

 

[4smartdogs]

View attachment 63356

For the last few weeks I've had an issue with my smart where sometimes when I'm driving it, it will shut off and where the gear indicator is on the dash, it has a single flashing line and all the fuel and temp b l obs flash as Well. If I turn it off and try to start it, the nothing appears in the gear Indicator. Usually after a few minutes if waiting, when u turn the key it will show up whatever gear is was in when it shut off and I have to shift it into drive then back into neutral to start the car again. Tonight it did it 4 times within about 1km, but then I was able to drive the next 5kms home without any issue. It usually only happens at night and only happens some days. The closet Mercedes dealer to me is about 50kms away, so not really practical for me to get to. I decided to have a look at the SAM unit after reading that could be the problem, firstly it wasn't secured in any way, the clips are all broken and it was just put in above the clips just sitting there. Pulled it down and the picture is what I saw. Looks like it has been burnt at some point. I figure that it's probably not fixable.

Check out this video and see if it sheds any light.

 

[steveg]

This was common as the electrical connection there was crap. A loose connection with high current draw made for trouble. And the fix wasnt easy... a new connector would not solve the problem. Vibration loosens and back to same issue again... a solid fix was straight solder. As this was done, though a bit sloppy. But to get enough heat to do the job the plastic melted.
I hope your problem is fixed.
Steveg..
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