dguy

I hooked up the Delphi equipment to the car this afternoon, and it's still a head-scratcher. Unless I did something wrong, live data appears to be unavailable without the engine running. No generic fault codes were available, but the engine module has "24220 - Unknown fault code" set. What this means, if anything, I have no idea. Perhaps my google-fu is lacking but I have yet to find a list of proprietary Smart DTCs and their meaning. Looks like it may be time to ship it off to someone else to look at.

Possibly. How to check is a mystery for me at the moment, one can't connect an imductive timing strobe to a coil-on-plug system. That would also suggest a cam or crank position sensor failure however either should throw an error code and there are none. Compression failure is another possibility, but on all three cylinders at once? That will be heartbreaking if it is so. OBDLink MX+ and its supporting app so far. I have one of those proprietary interfaces and the associated software (can't recall either's name ATM) somewhere, it may be time to dust it off.

Hello... I'm a bit stumped on this one and am not sure where to turn to next other than a commercial shop. The victim is a 2011 with approximately 178,000km on it. On a recent attempt to start it, it fired once or twice then immediately stalled. Attempts to re-start it have been unsuccessful ever since. There are no stored error codes. A borescope in the oil filler hole shows that cam chain tension appears to be good and both cams are rotating normally when cranking. I've verified that it has spark, fuel pressure measured at the rail is ~42psi when priming and cranking, and all three injectors will spray fuel during cranking. Any and all advice is appreciated! Cheers, -d.

If only it was that easy. I'll fire up a separate thread for the problem itself. Been there, done that, even used the screwdriver in a plug boot technique in the past. If the Smart's coils would snap in place over the plugs I would have tried as you describe, but instead they have a spring loaded pressure contact. Keeping the plug's terminal in positive contact with the coil, while grounding the plug body somewhere was too fiddly for my paws. I found a Lisle 20580 (see attached pic) which did the job. While its rigid piece which is intended to reach the spark plug on C.O.P. engines was too long to use on the Smart without lowering the engine, the straight boot on the other wire was sufficiently firm to clip on to the plug.

Hi folks, Those who have tested for spark on their Smarts or on similar coil-on-plug engines, what tester did you use? I have one of these but the end which connects to the spark plug is way too flexible to clip on to plugs which sit at the bottom of a well.

Hi everyone, I'm curious whether or not anyone has tried using KYB SB108 strut boot & bump stop kit when servicing their struts. A local shop attempted to install these while replacing our 2011's struts, but they would not fit and they re-used the originals. Both germanparts.ca and KYB list them as the appropriate unit for the car however, leaving me a bit puzzled. Any experience shared would be appreciated!

$4,000. Beckwith Township, Ontario. Shown with alloy wheels, includes a free set of 450 steel wheels for easy winter tire swaps. New starter & alternator. Recent oil change.

Hi, Quick question, is the push start procedure for the gasoline 451 the same as the diesel 450? -d.

See post #22 for my thoughts for my best guess on why the issue went away. It hasn't come back since, mind you in the fall of 2020 we suspended the insurance and parked the car so I have no idea if the issue would have come back with the re-introduction of slushy/salty roads.

Your friendly neighborhood MB dealer. Maybe the situation has changed since I last looked, but I never found an aftermarket source.

The NAPA part was not appreciably more or less durable than the CTC part. If my wife & I were still commuting I would consider for the next replacement trying a "premium" flex pipe from a dedicated muffler shop, but we have both been telecommuting since March with no end to that in sight so it'll probably be another jobber-quality pipe when the time comes 'round again.

If "chicken shit" means having limited interest in removing the belly pans and lying on my back with the car's undercarriage in my face, all the while getting dripped on by Krown & road grime, then guilty as charged.

I'm not discounting non-stock tire sizes contributing to the issue, especially as the rears on our winter set are slightly narrower than OE at the moment. The summer set are the stock sizes however, and the issue was manifesting itself regardless of which tire set was installed. In any case, it has been roughly six weeks and 2,750-3,000km since the visit to Troy's shop and the issue hasn't re-occurred. I'm suspicious that it may have been a loose or dirty harness connector which was resolved by the multiple inspections. So for now, it ain't broke and I ain't fixing it!

Yes the car was in at Troy's on Wednesday, which is where the diagnosis of a likely failing ABS module came from.