[Physics_Dude]

I noticed this single panel-mount style diffused LED after I bought this car. I havent seen it illuminate yet. It's in the dash fabric to the right of the gauage cluster. I thought it was for the antitheft alarm, but I'm currently in a staring contest with it and it's not blinking.

 

[jwight]

It's something aftermarket for sure.

 

[smark]

Ditto aftermarket

 

[Physics_Dude]

I'll try to trace it tomorrow. Got any thoughts on what aftermarket accessories this could be?

 

[Physics_Dude]

The plot thickens. It seems to be a cruse control unit? What state is it in? Is it desirable? Dealer option? I was never a personal fan of cruse control.
smart fortwo Cruise Control - 451 Model - Coupe

 

[SMARTKAR]

But do you have this

 

[Physics_Dude]

But do you have this

Yes, I figured that stalk was factory.

 

[jwight]

Tempomat fortwo 451 ( CruiseControl ). Mister Dot Com cruise control.

 

[Physics_Dude]

I noticed the unit doesn't seem to be plugged into the throttle peddle harness. Does that negate the functionality of the entire unit, or just the "SpeedBoost" throttle response feature?

 

[jwight]

Here's a video:

My guess is it has to be plugged in for the CC to work.

 

[Woody14619]

I noticed the unit doesn't seem to be plugged into the throttle peddle harness. Does that negate the functionality of the entire unit, or just the "SpeedBoost" throttle response feature?

It would need to be plugged into the peddle and the display to work properly. If it was working properly, the LED would cycle on initial startup (red/green/yellow).

I had one of these in my 2008 ICE smart back in the day. Very handy for longer trips. It also has a speed limiter capability as well. What likely happened is someone didn't know what it was, or how to operate it, and disconnected it from the system.

Be sure to check out the documentation on it (and videos), and make sure the switches on the board are set properly for operation as well. It's a rather nice gadget to have if you have any trip that over 20 or 30 minutes on a highway.

If you can't find a manual, DM me and I'll hunt through my archives. I know I have an English version somewhere.

 

[Physics_Dude]

It would need to be plugged into the peddle and the display to work properly. If it was working properly, the LED would cycle on initial startup (red/green/yellow).

I had one of these in my 2008 ICE smart back in the day. Very handy for longer trips. It also has a speed limiter capability as well. What likely happened is someone didn't know what it was, or how to operate it, and disconnected it from the system.

Be sure to check out the documentation on it (and videos), and make sure the switches on the board are set properly for operation as well. It's a rather nice gadget to have if you have any trip that over 20 or 30 minutes on a highway.

If you can't find a manual, DM me and I'll hunt through my archives. I know I have an English version somewhere.

That sounds neat. But mine looks a bit different from other pictures I've seen and doesn't seem to have those dip-switches. I didn't check the underside of the board though. I'd also need to source a spare peddle connector since the box's one got needlessly cut before I found it.

 

[Rambo4]

Kind of sad that the 451s had a choice of EITHER paddle shifters OR cruise.

 

[MB DNA]

Kind of sad that the 451s had a choice of EITHER paddle shifters OR cruise.

For early adopters, CC was not a choice. MY08 required aftermarket MDC (smart madness) or Area 451 (SmartieParts).

Appears that OP has an aftermarket MDC CC which had an optional red grain of wheat bulb for the dash.

True that a couple years into the N.A. 451 production run Factory CC was made available.

Wiring harness limitations required that you choose from either shift paddles or CC as both could not be accommodated.

 

[yueci]

Wiring harness limitations required that you choose from either shift paddles or CC as both could not be accommodated.

Hi,

that's weird and must be a north american thing - here in Europe we always have had to opt for paddle shifting with the three spoke steering wheel - after the introduction of factory CC option, it always came with paddle shifting because the steering wheel has to be the three spoke one with paddles.

cheers
Marc

 

[Physics_Dude]

I've decided I might actually like to try the cruse control function. If it wasn't clear in the earlier pic, the throttle pedal cable that comes off the module was clipped. The connector itself is missing. In order to fix that, I need one of these connectors which I believe is part of the main wire harness. Does any one have any sources or specs on this connector in question?

 

[Physics_Dude]

I stopped my local scrap yard and pulled a throttle pedal wire from a 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. It looks similar to the 451's (pic below).

I plan to splice it into the cruise control module (since mine got clipped). But I'm curious now as to why my module was crudely put out of service. Any guesses?

 

[Physics_Dude]

Update: Coincidentally, the people I bought this car from contacted me yesterday to give me the original non-cruse-control stalk, and other parts from the aftermarket cruse control install they found. They were aware of the disabled cruse control unit. The original owner before them had a mechanic both installed it, and uninstalled it. Apparently it was causing an "intermittent issue", but they don't know anything beyond that. The original owner replaced the throttle peddle in an effort to fix said issue to no avail.

What could this "intermittent issue" be? What are the failure modes of the aftermarket unit? Hopefully not dangerous loss of throttle control. Perhaps the original owner unaware of "improved throttle response" feature?

 

[Miss Mercedes]

When the cruise control modules go bad they can cause some weird issues:

Sick Smart (aftermarket cruise control)

Posted yesterday at 11:08 AM · I am in the middle of nowhere in Middle Texas and I have a sick smart car. It is blowing codes u0073, control mod bus a, u0103 lost communication with gear shift control and p0500, vehicle speed sensor. The latter one it's only blown once, I have tested it four...

www.smartcarofamerica.com

Some time ago, someone here or on one of the Facebook groups reported an issue where the car didn't always respond to pedal input. Sometimes they hit the gas on a green light and the car didn't go anywhere. Turns out, a faulty aftermarket cruise control was occasionally killing communication from the pedal. Thankfully, it seems the failure mode of the pedal is no input rather than full throttle or something.

Edit: Found the thread

MDC Cruise control issue

I have only good things to say about the MDC CC! 2500 trouble free miles, then on Tuesday I got ESP light and then no acceleration. Stopped car and restarted, drove a little way then got warning light again but car continued to drive fine. Got to the stop light and then it would not accelerate...

www.smartcarofamerica.com

 

[jwight]

Problems with that model CC seem to crop up occasionally, where the area451 CC that some of us have has been problem free as far as I know.