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Engine Light ON

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We have 2003 European GAS smart that was converted by G&K. We left the smart in storage for 4 months while we were in HI for the winter. Got home Saturday and went to get the smart out of storage and it would not start. All the dash lights came on but it would not start so I jumped it and it started right up. It ran a little ruff and the engine light stayed on. It has full power and is now running better and smoother but the engine light is still on. Could the gas have gone bad in 4 months? I am going to get some injector cleaner and see if that helps. AC blowing cold and everthing seems to be working fine. Any thoughts?Dennis

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sounds like a case of weak battery an bad gas. if everything is on the check engine light should go off after 5 starts when the problem hasnt been detected.dont hurt to put a code reader on there to see what code is comming up.

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He's right, you need to read the code.

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Bad gas and clogged up oxygen sensor (lambda sensor) would be my guess - yep gas can go bad in 4 months. Give it a few more cycles and then disconnect and reconnect to see if it will reset (once the battery is up).Cheers,Cameron

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Dennis:I'm having the same problem with my check engine light on my 2005 Passion with the G&K conv. As Fordnut71 suggested you might want to have the codes read out. My problem was thought to be P0410 Secondary Air valve, so I replaced it with a new one from Germany, but the light still came on. I had my mechanic re read the codes and it came up P0450 which is the Evaporative Emissions system pressure sensor switch. This is located with the charcoal canister under the pan in the engine. This canister is used to burn off gas build up. The sensor could be bad from sitting. You got lucky with your AC, because leaving it sit that long might have damaged the seals in the AC, allowing your freon gas to escape. Anyway best bet is have your smart codes read, it should show what problem needs attention and fixing.I'm taking mine in Friday to have the canister checked for leaks and to see if the hoses are in good condition. Waiting told me that with G&K conv. the casister could be the problem, also that it sat four months, and the gas might not be helping the problem. Hope this helps. Smart450

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Dennis:Forgot you might also check the Lambda Sensors, that is also another reason you get a check engine light. Hope you find out what your problem is. I've had mine since last July, and the light has always been on. At least it won't effect the cars running, it's just a nuisence thing. If you find out your problem, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know, so I can check to see if your problem might also be my problem, OK. Thanks

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Problem solved. Took it for a nice long 50 mile drive and the light went out. I am guessing that it was a weak/low battery reading. Thanks for all the help. Going to run the smart up to Omaha this weekend which is 125 miles away so will have a chance to add some fresh gas then.Dennis

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Posted (edited) · Report post

Dennis:Nice to hear your check engine light problem was an easy fix. Wish mine was that easy, it's still on going. I'm still thinking mine is my canister lines, or maybe my Engine control box, as when I remove #27 fuse, the light goes out until I do a re-start of the engine. Narrowing the problem down though. Glad you're was easy. Have a great drive to Omaha.

Edited by smart450

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Problem solved. Took it for a nice long 50 mile drive and the light went out. I am guessing that it was a weak/low battery reading. Thanks for all the help. Going to run the smart up to Omaha this weekend which is 125 miles away so will have a chance to add some fresh gas then.Dennis

Was probably just a misfire code from the poor start, will self clear on most cars after a several drive cycles.

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My 'ITYBENZ" is in Seattle, got it May 2006, a 2005 year Passion modified by G&K in California, sold by Green Car Co, Seattle. The engine light came on about after year 2, and stayed on, dealer changed front computer, not it, then right rear computer, not it. I eventually called G&K and they said "Oh, they said, I will send you a new computer board for inside the left rear interior quarter panel, just plug it in and send me the old board. Initially quoted as $300, they finally said just send the old one back, it's free. I did, it worked, light went out. In middle 2010 the dreaded yellow light came on again. I had been taking the car to Tacoma, Rolfs Imports, knowledgable MB & BMW folks who get one every few weeks. They did some alignment work (a BIG pot hole!), got tires (38,000 miles), then took the left rear computer out and opened it up. They said a solder link between two interior circuit board had fractured. They soldered it up and the light went out. Magic. The larger problem I took to them at that point was that the transmission would not shift correctly some times, maybe every few days, maybe all day. They changed the shifter servo on the transmission, which seemed to fix it, but not for long. Seemed that the clutch was engaging only erratically. They were stumped and I took the car home and drove it to Vancouver the next week, North Vancouver Mercedes, and left it. (A very high stress trip!) They installed a new clutch servo and it was fixed. Drove home happy. One month later, there was huge clunk as I drove out of our steep driveway, and the engine vibrated badly, I shut it down. A week later I put it on a trailer and took it back to North Vancouver MB and left it. Aparantly that BIG pot hole damaged an engine mount and it finally broke. The false problem with the shift actuator cost about $500 US, the clutch actualtor about $750 CDN, the engine mount somewhere just over $500 CDN.The work by Rolf in Tacoma was very professional, and the price not what I feared. The clutch actuator at N Van. MB seemed fair as well, the engine mount by them was less than I expected. I came away with good feelings about N Van MB, and not abused. Likewise at Rolfs Tacoma, guys who knew what they were doing, but may suffer from the two weeks parts time lag and not enough Smart Cars to build up experience. It this point I still dearly love this car. But will bite my nails for some time, I expect. This site it great ! It pointed me in right direction after a lot of reading. db

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Add Fast Eddy at Flying Tiger in Richmond BC to your list of repair facilities - Eddy is really good with smarts and can source stuff out of Europe (which the dealer's can't if it is a gas engine specific part). Eddy is a member here so you can always PM him.Cheers,Cameron

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