Nixazzar

ABS/ESP/BRAKE Lights on! 450 CDI

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As title says, my smart car, 2004 cdi 450 has those 3 lights turned on, and they do not disappear no matter what i do. One important thing also is that brake lights are not working when pushing brake pedal.

 

Do you guys think that this is a brake switch problem or maybe something else? Tnx :)

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Just a guess, look at the reluctor rings on the drive shafts, right up close behind the brake backing plate.....if they are rusted they split and then don't work as they are supposed to. They are easy to change if they are broken if you have some sand paper, heat gun or torches to heat the rings to install them or if loose enough I used the strongest loctite sleeve retainer goo, worked like a charm, on there solid. Once you get into it it'll take you maybe 30 minutes to get the shafts out if you have the tools, simple torx  and a long crow bar was the basic thing I used. If that is the issue that is. You tube how to do it as all modern cars have these rings now a days so it's easily explained.

 

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I will look at reluctor rings, i know they could be abs issue, but im wondering would they cause brake lights not to work also? Tnx for the tip btw :)

Edited by Nixazzar

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Cracked reluctor rings just cause pedal vibration when breaking at low speed. 

Brake light switch is more likely and perhaps you have recently replaced a rear brake light bulb and fitted it incorrectly or wrong type. 

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Check your SAM.
Connector N11-3 is notorious for having bad/loose contacts.
The brake light system is the N11-3.11 connector.

Try removal and reconnect of the N11-3 plug a couple times, and see if the symptoms go away.

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the only time ive had brake light problems was winter...

 

the switch would get some ice on it and id have no brake lights...the dash would light up warnings and it would be hard to get out of neutral

 

i would suspect the switch 

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You can open switch out and clean its contact points. 

Exercise care when removing cover. It is held on by plastic catches and mastic. Therefore heat cover using your wife’s hairdryer before attempting removal. I have been given one of my wife’s old hairdryers that I use for this and other things. I actually borrowed hers. Got grease and dirt all over it so she did not want it back. 

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So thanks for the help so far. Problem is something else than switch. I replaced new switch, still had same issue, checked fuses, fuse 26 is ok, and its the right size. There is a 11-3 connector problem. Connector is split in half on possitions 5-6 as i remember 2 wires are inserted, prolly headlight fix, a sloppy one. Pin 10 wire is snipped off, pin 11 brake light looks fine but maybe its not acc fine. Everything works normal on a car. I can shift normaly both in auto and manual, reverse, etc. Tho sometimes it goes into Limp mode for no apparent reason, and sometimes it works just fine.

 

one important notice. When i check plugs on a wiring harness that goes into the brake light switch, there is no power on any of those 4 wires...

 

any suggestions? Im taking it today to see electrician. I got one smart "specialist" but hes more expirienced in mechanics, not electronics.

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Don't overlook the obvious in your excitement.  I had all sorts of wally lights illuminated and odd symptoms when I bought mine.  Putting some brake fluid into it solved the problem.  

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I installed a seperate fuse pannel into my Smart and used a relay to switch it from the battery. I bit into any ign powered wire I could find. That slight drop in current on that wire caused my fuel seperator light to stay 1/4 lite all the time when car's running.  The system is so sensitive maybe that is all you have...? A draw on that wire to the idiot light or in that system which ever it is to trigger the idiot light to turn on?  I pulled that power from down by the passenger's feet from that big plug on the right of the tunnel. It was fine until I did that. So common sense tells me that wire is related to the fuel seperator system.......I just ingnor it now unless it goes on fully, which it has done before I changed the fuel filter, now back to 1/4 lit.

 

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Never ending story. SAM is partially damaged. Prolly water damaged, pins for brake lights are dead, guy managed to wire them directly to SAM, but dash lights stills stays on. Diagnostic says that there is steering wheel alignment problem. I dont know what code acc it is. One smart specialist told me that if my horn works, then prolly sensor is ok, just alignment issuse. Now i need to recalibrate that. Hope that will fix it. F'ing  smart. :S

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One question about Limp mode. 

 

So as far as im able to understand, i found that limp mode problems occurs like this: When car is cold, i turn it on, and glow plug light stays on for a minute or two. After that light turns off. Car is in limp mode still. After driving it for a few kilometers, just enough so temp go up car is still in limp mode, but when i shut it off for a minute or two, and then start again, car is out of limp mode, and will remain out of limp mode until you let it cool off properly, meaning not driving it for few hours. And cycle begins again. 

 

Any idea on this one? Diagnostics are not showing anything engine related.

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