Can anyone tell me what's going on with my smartie? I left it at 80%, plugged in for a couple days, and I went out to start it and suddenly the key fob won't unlock the doors and car won't start. Nothing happens when I turn the key in the ignition. The windshield wipers are strangely half way up when I know I didn't have them on when I last drove it.
won't start!
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The 12v battery drives the contactor switch which turns on the high voltage battery. So if the 12v battery dies you can't turn the car on. The 12v battery is under the passenger footwell. The good news is it doesn't take much power to jump-start it. Jumper cables or a jump-start pack work, but in a pinch I've taped together three 18650 battery cells and that was enough. Or you could get the cheapest 12v battery from Home Depot and return it when you're done.
Once you do manage to get the car started, leave it on for a few hours and the high voltage battery will recharge the 12v battery.
Make sure the lights for the car on the twist knob are set to "Off" or "Auto". One time I left it on "parking lights" and that was enough to drain the 12v overnight.
Once you do manage to get the car started, leave it on for a few hours and the high voltage battery will recharge the 12v battery.
Make sure the lights for the car on the twist knob are set to "Off" or "Auto". One time I left it on "parking lights" and that was enough to drain the 12v overnight.
Better yet - he should just buy a cheap 12V battery charger - the compact 2-3 amp type are adequate.
Get the 12 volt battery jumped or recharged ASAP. Bad things can happen (read about them here) if the car is left to sit with a dead 12V battery.
The windshield wipers apparently starting themselves is a bit worrying. Sounds like something a bad (and expensive) SAM unit might do. Were the wipers on auto-rain-detect? Make sure the waper stalk in in the "off" position - a click up from the lowermost stalk position.
Were you able to unlock the driver's side door with the key? Did you hear any electrical relay clicks when you did so?
Immediate fix is a jumpstart as others have said. But it will happen again. You need a firmware update. See this thread: 2019 Smart for two dead battery
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