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2013 ED Charging fault

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My 2013 Smart ED is no longer charging. When I plug it in to the EVSE, I hear the usual clicking of contactors in the car, the EVSE contactor closes and then opens again within a half second, and the dashboard flashes "Malfunction". This repeats as long as I have the EVSE connected. (Yes, I have tried three EVSEs, all of which used to work with the car)
I have tried to scan for error codes with an iCarsoft MBII and a Delphi DS150, but neither will scan the EV specific systems.

Any suggestions for a scan tool, or do I have to take it to a shop with a STAR tool? Anything I could check without a scan?

 

I have verified that there is no damage to the wires connecting the charge inlet to the charger module in the car.

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Yes, I have tried two level 2 chargers and the level 1 that came with the car.

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Did your 12v battery die recently?   It appears that this can sometimes cause the HV battery to be disabled.

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No, the 12v is fine.
A shop read the codes at told me that the charger module if bad and will cost $6,000 to replace! I think I need a parts car.

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I have had this happen 2 times when charging at Level 2 chargers.  I just leave it and it does start charging in a short time. I don't know how long because I am plugging it in and walking to my destination close by.  Another problem I am having is when I get back to the car and unplug it, it won't start. The instrument panel says "Drive System Engine Off"  I have had to wait 20 minutes 2 times and 40 minutes another time.  The Mercedes dealer did not know what it was. They told me I was cutting power to the charger before I was unplugging from the car. They are mistaken.

 

   I came to this forum to see if anybody knows what causes this problem. It even happened when I plugged into a evgo charging station that I didn't have a card for so it would not charge my car; but when I un plugged from the charger it wouldn't start and I got the engine off message.  That is when I had to wait 40 minutes for it to start.

 

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My 2013 ED Cabriolet with 37000km gave me a 'go to workshop' message. After a week in the shop, I was decided that the charger needs to be replaced. $4500 part plus labour which Mercedes will pickup 75% of what I don't know it's going to cost me $2500+.

My 2014 GLK250 with 95000km on it, has had the adblue heater replace and the DPF filter too. That was over $4000 but covered on warranty. I now have a new check engine light probably to do with the exhaust system but I have other things to do. In any case I'm done with Mercedes. (not to mention the $800 I'm down on Daimler shares).

I think spring will see us in Toyotas.

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Our three EV's have so far cost less than $10 total unplanned maintenance over 7+ years of combined driving.

 

I traded my 2013 Smart ED on the exact 4 year anniversary day my warranty expired.   On purpose, it was an early generation EV by Mercedes.

My newer 2017 Smart ED has also been trouble free at the 2 year point, and has 8 year warranty on battery + motor vs the 4 year on the 2013.

Our Tesla is out of warranty.

 

I have routinely followed the pattern of buying 3 year lightly used cars and driving them to 10+ years, accepting the increased cost of post-warranty maintenance.

 

My experience suggests that no particular auto maker has better maintenance long term, my parents have had issues with their Toyota's, Ford's, GM's and I've experienced same on Chevy, Mercedes and others.   If you buy new an trade before end of warranty, you avoid paying extra for maintenance, but of course, buying slightly used and paying for maintenance can absolutely work out cheaper as an alternative strategy.

 

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Trading before the car runs out of warranty is fine in normal circumstances. With an electric, my $30+k with 37k km is only worth around $8k tops retail. That's a big hit. I think my experience with e drive is over for the foreseeable future.

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I just poked around on the UK ebay site. There are some Schneider Electric A/C charging units around 1000 pounds. I think you may be able to get one out of Poland if you know the part number.

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23 hours ago, Silver said:

 my $30+k with 37k km is only worth around $8k tops retail 

 

Quebec had a $8K incentive in 2013, with a slight larger $13K rebate in Ontario, I bought my 2013 Smart ED for $17K, so $8K retail seems a reasonable deprecation for cheap driving over 7 years.

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He only drove it for 37K km in 7 years...!    I would have tripled that amount I bet in that time span....Hmmm...damn....IMHO that's not cheap driving....but to each their own....if you're happy with that kms to $$$ then great.

 

Edited by Willys

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Yeah, 60 cents per kilometer in depreciation alone.  Wow.  My first diesel smart (a loaded cabriolet) cost 8 cents per km in depreciation.

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Hmmmm...but you folks bought new, sad to say...lol.   I'm raking in the benefits of buying them after the massive loses were swallowed....lol.    I watched them when they were first introduced as well....just couldn't see them being similar to equally priced vehicles of the time...but still a fun little scoot....none the less...I needed at the time more seats I think also...lol. So it was just a toy for me and at that price back then far too much to swallow.  I still can't justify spending that sort of money on anything that loses so much after a few years or even 1/2 mile from showroom...lol.   Have i done it, certainly, but always driven them into ground or them been written off by someone else. Trading in a vehicle just to have new vehicles I could never do.  I am too cheap or....lol

But if as you say it's a city vehicle where you do not require long distances to get from A to B for your needs then maybe it's acceptable...?   That is a personal choice.....again to each their own.

 

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