Toxophilite

It never rains but it pours. I did a reenforced fix on my shifter, let it cure a goodly while, reinstalled, tested it in situ, reinstalled seat etc. test drove. Shifter worked well. As I'm in the middle of a temp move. I filled my now passenger seatless Smart with 4 large guitars, a stereo guitar amp , a little leslie, a space echo and a suitcase of stuff. Car now will not start. Unloaded car (I have 24 stairs to go up to load! yay!) Actually it did start briefly, then stalled , then it would just turn over. Turns over quite well (though I have a charger on the battery now for due dilligence), Doesn't fire Cracked 2 injectors both got wet instantly. also has 2 bars of fuel on the dash Wonder if it's the sensor on the crankshaft Also wonder if I didn't plug the ignition switch back in firmly enough. It certainly turns on as normal, everything lights up and triess to start, but won't. Might actually remove the drivers side seat, subframe and shifter again to check Any further ideas?

I think I have a slightly leaky injector. Something to be attended to. One of them looks wet, not shiny wet, but dark

Well I think it was an airlock. I used it to do all my moving with my utility trailer back and forth from north van to Burnaby and also moved my sailboat to Burnaby, Been starting like a charm. The timeline on the checking the fuel by cracking the injectors and cracking to starting seems to indicate it was an airlock. Thanks for asking

Well It started today I tested it earlier after rechecking the shifter plugs etc. and no luck Then in the early eve it fired up I did check all the injectors for fuel by cracking them and cranking. I did 2 yesterday and did the last one today thinking I should check them all as i got more desperate. I wonder if I inadvertently bled an airlock out of the system? I had read about an airlock and was thinking about bleeding the system I was actually cranking it so I could see if there were any bubbles in the return hoses ,and vroom Started it several times after that, let it run for a bit. stopped it and started it again, etc. Going to check some of the other ideas regardless. I had planned to work on the car this summer, just need to finish the move.

Rechecked them again. there's really only 2 harness plugs at the shifter and they both are in great condition and fully plugged in. The car started, went on a test drive. Then it started and stalled, then it would turn over but no firing Battery is fully charged, turn over is string, all injectors seem to getting fuel. I am moving house and I need this car for that. i have 6 days. I can't spend forever trouble shooting it. if anyone has a list of things to check I'd really appreciate it

I did recheck the harness that plugged into the ignition(key) and it started and drove fine for a test drive.. However I will check again, again

Hello LAst night leaving my nephews wedding I found my smart didn't want to shift into 1st. Gave me the three bars but wouldn't click into 1st I goofed around with the shifter, pressed the brake etc. Got it into first and off I went. This morning intending to go to a doctors appointment and it won't go into 1st again , I'm getting the 3 bars but I can move it about and get it to register a gear too. It will start , but the shifter itself won't click into 1st. I can push it so it registers 1st and the car will move but it doesn't lock into first and has to be held there for the most part. if one lets the shifter go it goes back to the middle and registers 3 bars. If it goes into first (clicks in,) it will then not want to click back into neutral nor reverse. which is where it's at now. I have been reading things on the evilution site about the wiring harness(the car does have a water ingress problem) I also wonder about the transmission fluid level, clutch actuator etc. I am right in the middle of moving out of my 10 month lease somewhat remote house so having a non functioning vehicle is considerably less than ideal. Any ideas? please and thanks

Yes that's what i was thinking. Annoyingly it seems impossible to get the unit out the black casing, It would be super easy to fix that way, A little more challenging in situ. At least the one piece can be removed drilled etc.

Real problem. i wondering if epoxy and lock/bailing wire would do the trick

That's what I'm thinking however I don't have the fancy 5 type of torque needed to remove it and ironically can't go and get it. When I encounter fancy bolts I use a fancy tool,,,vise grips! they ame out very easily actually,,,well after I removed the seats, and the drivers side sub frame after drilling out the ali rivets on the drawer under the seat so i could get at the bolts to remove the sub frame. Luckily I have a pop rivet gun and aluminium rivets from sail boat stuff and amp building. I think the problem is the metal lock plate is askew and keeping the shifter from moving all the way to one side. Does the exact same thing even unplugged I saw this as ultimately an opportunity to vacuum my car in places it had never been vacuumed before i'm going to open this up see if I can get it working smoothly and see if that sorts my problem.

Help! Need help badly. In the middle of a summer move and have to get the car mobile in the next 2 days if possiblef. I tightened up the actuator, as well I took it off and it looked quite good actually, quite clean inside. No difference to the problem The main thing I'm noticing is right at the shifter, It doesn't seem to have the necessary movement to click in on either side (1st and neutral) You can push it to either side some, it will register neutral or 1st at the speedo and will actually move in first and disengage when in neutral but it won't lock into either position (go all the way left or right) so if you let go it quickly goes back to three bars and is unhappy It will not go far enough to the right to be able to shift into reverse. I was doing my due diligence at the battery, cleaned and tightened the terminals because I know how many things are electronically controlled, So far no dice Please, any other ideas?

Thanks! Good to have somewhere to start. It does feel like a mechanical problem. The rain is supposed to let up tomorrow for a bit so I'm going to have a lie under the car then and see. Not sure if I have the ramps here annoyingly, Might have to improvise. I have planks and cinder blocks and chocks

My 2005 smart 450 CDI became suddenly gutless coming up the big hill up to my place after work yesterday. This morn the engine light was one and it was the very weak most of the day. i thought it was in safe mode. At one point I couldn't get up enough speed on the freeway so I had to get right off. For puttering around on the flat it seems okay. Oh and in the last week the exhaust seems smellier The code reader says P0193 Fuel rail pressure Sensor A circuit high. The code seems to indicate a fuel pressure problem which can be a number of things. wiring, fuel rail, fuel pump, fuel filter, etc. there is plenty of diesel in the car but we have been having a cold snap..(cold that is , for Vancouver) Any suggestions as to the first things I should check and or most common things? Thanks and Happy Valentines day!

Recently I hit a curb rather hard pulling into a parking lit. I wasn't even drunk! So no excuse except brief poor judgement. Since then my front suspension seems to have disapeared. You can't push the front end down at all and the right wheel seems to be rubbing agains the fender on corners. Bumps on the road are quite disturbing...well more so than the usual gocart feel the car has. I love this car and will be repairing it. I generally do my own work on all cars I have ever owned. I tried to get on evilution but have had a password boondoggle which I am waiting for them to help clear up. I'm goign to go jack up the front end. Any pointers or ideas? Would it be broken springs?

So a couple days back I noticed my heater blower motor wasn't working. There seemed to be some vestiges of heat leaking out so I'm assumingit's just the blower. Sop I look things up. Most think it's the resistor thingies or the comm and brushes of the motor. -checked the fuses, looked fine and even swapped a couple of the same values to be sure -Pulled the motor and the resistor thingy. -The resistor thingy looks fine. Solder 'fuses' look solid and seem to test it . -Tested the voltage at the plug going to the motor and it reads right. - Took the motor apart... and through a little port was able to clean the commuter. -Tried it in the car, no dice -tried it with a 12V lithium iron phosphate battery. and it works! - Thought about what my brother says (it's always the ground!) The plug ground seems to be the red and blue wire, while the red and black seems to be hot? -Noticed that the switch doesn't seem to affect voltage going to the motor.. Not sure if it;s supposed to but one would think so - By way of experiment hooked up what I perceived as the ground wire straight to the battery and tried it. And it worked, however no on and off or speed control. -Took the console off to look at the switch which looks to be relatively simple but still buried in the dash and impossible to get to. Now I'm stymied Any ideas?

I was going to mount a short metal plate held on by the capped bolt with another hole for the switch.

Thanks, I'll try all those suggestions. All sound ideas. For now as it's chilly here, (I know..not Ontario but then again no 6ft of snow or Doug Ford...) and I have to go places a ways away, and I like to see, never mind being warm. I did a white trash fix. I build my own guitar amplifiers, so I have this handy 25 amp switch power switch which I wired to the ground from the battery. Works full on only. I do have some large 25+ watt resistors I could throw in the mix for other speeds but this is supposed to be a temporary setup. I know how that usually turns out! My apologies to my fellow Canadians as I couldn't find my duct tape. Any further ideas would be much appreciated

Mine was made the same way as Loose lugnuts made his. I primarily use it for towing my little boat, which generally doesn't happen in the snow or heavy rain. I have been up and down many many steep hills and in all sorts of traffic with no difficulty or feeling of being out of control. As with all towing (and most driving) I leave plenty of space and plan ahead. Braking has never been a problem as a result. Even when I use my little utility trailer to haul wood, or when I moved 2 years ago I don't do it in the ice and snow. In fact I just don't drive the smart in anything resembling snow on the road as I live at the bottom of a super steep single lane road with seriously tight switchbacks and that is after a windy road through the forest (fun when there is no snow which is most of the time here)

Heck, no help to be had other than a suggestion to use a bigger hammer (said suggestion disappeared) As I said in response to that suggestion , it's not a great time of the year to have no heat in one's car. Anybody have any useful ideas? Please.

Weeeellll, Why didn't everyone chime in with my first hitch picture? My boat weighs 180lbs and my trailer weighs 170 lbs. So about 350 lbs. It looks big and heavy but is actually pretty light for it's size. My previous boat is 100 lbs and the smart pulled it on the trailer no problem, even when loaded with camping gear for two. On hills one notices the bigger boat more, but not a lot. If my utility trailer is empty one barely notices it. I use my trailers less these days as my place has a dock.

ooops Perhaps you are right Happily not many that know me, will listen to my vehicular recommendations. Annoyingly prices for them (particularly the diesels supposedly) went up with the gas prices. I'm still miffed that BC ferries doesn't charge me the motorcylce rate. Supposedly at one point that concept was being discussed. not surprisingly they voted to NOT lose money! When I went to buy my current 12' boat on Gabriola Island. I shortened my boat trailer (it's hinged for easy launching etc.) so that my entire rig was under the 20' limit and I paid the price of a normal length vehicle. Sadly on the way back, with a few feet of boat sticking off the rear of the trailer I had to pay and extra $20

Yes yes it is all very sad that you think owning an eminently practical fuel efficient vehicle is a sign of incipient madness. I would think the people who commute solo in giant shiny never-used-for-work pickup trucks and SUVs are the ones with the loose screws. My smart has probably done more SUV work than most of those vehicles Sailing small boats is. wondrous thing, much better than large bloated guzzling powerboats or irritating jetskis Here's another reason to disparage my sanity or lack thereof. Bring it on, this is a forum after all.

It was almost too snowy and cold to go sailing!..well almost.

Well I wasn't mocking any Ontario-ianers despite there being many obvious reasons too....I don't really get into that stuff..unless you're from Alberta and want to be a sovereign state. I am sorry you're stuck in the middle away from the beautiful sea. I don't know if I've ever bought snow tires in my whole life. The Smart is probably the only car I would want them for as it's like an uncontrolled luge in any sort of snow on the road. Likes to turn little circles. Otherwise when we get snow I love driving in it as generally no-one else is on the road. No complaints. It's practically a treat here. Enjoy your months of freezing and be proud.