· #1 Posted December 4, 2019 · Report post A problem that has happened twice in the last 2 months is that after parking my diesel Smart for half an hour or so, the engine won't start. The alternator and battery are good as it attempts several times to turn over the engine. After towing on a flat bed, it starts fine. Obviously the dealer is not finding problems. The bouncing on the flat bed seems to "repair" any loose connections or is this a bad area to look at? Are there special diagnostic tools that can trace the CAN history for intermittent loss of signals? After 13 years and 210,000 km I want to keep it going. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
· #2 Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) · Report post Welcome to the club. This is probably the best resource for the first generation (450) diesels. Do you hear the fuel pump when you turn the key on and it doesn’t start? I would be checking the connections at the SAM and while you are there do the headlights at the same time. If it happens again before you dive in try wiggling the SAM (fusebox) and starting again, that worked for me a couple of times. The dealer fix is expensive, like a couple of thousand dollars but there are at least 3 different work around that are superior and cheap. Here is a link to another thread recently for a similar issue. He didn’t have a glow plug issue, the fuel pump wasn’t getting voltage. Also follow the links in that thread for a complete understanding of the common issue. http://clubsmartcar.com/index.php?/topic/32305-2005-glow-plug-light-doesn’t-come-on-when-keys-turned-on/#comment-362656 Nigel Edited December 4, 2019 by Nigel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
· #3 Posted December 4, 2019 · Report post I agree with above, take your SAM down and open it up carefully, the little plastic tabs will want to snap off it you are rough with it. Then unfold it completely and look at one row of pins, there is maybe 10 -12 pins in the row and they lead to where the plug connects to...most times they have very very fine cracks in the solder, very hard to see with the naked eye, best seen under magnification I find. They need desoldering then resoldering......then check the plug that fits on that row of pins...it has been known to get burnt up from heated up connector pins etc. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
· #4 Posted December 6, 2019 · Report post My car was laid up for almost a year after being unreliable with this problem. I knew about the electrical weakness from the SAM and meant to fix it but never had the time. Eventually I bit the bullet and got her trucked to Troy Wilson's garage in Williamsburg where he bypassed the SAM and since then no repetition of the problem. It's good to be driving "Granny Smith" again. 1 person likes this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
· #5 Posted December 7, 2019 · Report post i would check for fuel pressure first my second check would be for crankshaft position sensor signal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
