I bought a mistake.

GWAYGWAY

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I have bought a Smart 451 CDI 2012. It is reasonable condition but has a Killer fault. It will run in Safe mode with sudden bursts of energy. Normally it will go to 3050rpm and stop right there, So being reasonably competent with the spanners I got to work on it using information of a specialist site (evilution). I have a mercedes specific, cartune MB11, code and fault finding computor for the Sprinter MB cars and Smarts. I got various codes and checked them out one by one replacing the sensors that were faulty.. I also went to a specialist MB repair shop where thay used a MB Star system on it and gave me a read out of everything on it that was reading up. These got done as well BUT the damned thing still goes to 3050 rpm. It came down to a yaw sensor of the ESP system and I obtained another but no changes.. I must mention that SOMETIMES IT WOULD GO OK for short bursts. I enlisted a friend and we checked it out all over checking everything we could, even changed back the old yaw sensor, then started it up and IT WAS GOOD, so drove around all the next day to give it a gallop and it was fine all day. Next day it was back to 3050rpm. with sudden bursts of full power. I coupled it to the MH and went t another highly respected Smart specialist 120 miles away. He said it needed a software upgrade as the gearbox system was dragging on output torque. He did that and checked everthing on the whole system using a Star reader again. Went for a run and straight back when he redid all the test on the Star and they ALL PASSED as good readings. no faults, check diaphragm for EGV valve, relays etc but had never seen it before in 19 years of doing it for that make.
I will go over it again but does any diesel person on here have any bright ideas about the cause. It really get to me but I am persistant.
 
Sorry to hear of problems,me id dump and look for a good soda but not diesel as injectors are over a grand each.
 
Personally speaking lv had enough of modern diesel engines controlled by electricronics ,get rid .
 
Wow, that's an exhaustive list of work. Can you monitor the fault actually when it's happening?
Sadly It's more laptopping than spannering nowadays. And a first time for everything, my donkey died at the weekend, first time I've seen that [emoji47]

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We had a similar fault on a Fiat Punto Turbo.
It went to 2 different Fiat dealers, they hooked it up and changed various components, including the ECU ( which we had to wait a week for). Still no different.
Eventually, we took it to our local garage where they still had a proper mechanic complete with tubs of Swarfega.
He found the fault in minutes, a loose electrical connection.
Could be something simple like that?
 
You don't say what year it is.

Cat converters have been known to break up inside & block exhaust, DPF's are a pain in the rear

Check all your vacuum pipes, engine/body earths, temperature sensor, brake lights, oil sensor & fuel filter.

Hope you sort it soon!

Phill
 
I had a similar problem on a sprinter many years ago several main agents looked at it and changed different parts, all under warranty until many months later it did it on me coming out of Dover, I took it to the garage in Ashford and after 3 hours they found the problem,
It was the pipe going to the turbo was collapsing inside, the pipe was changed and all was good again
 
time4t said:
You don't say what year it is.

Cat converters have been known to break up inside & block exhaust, DPF's are a pain in the rear

Check all your vacuum pipes, engine/body earths, temperature sensor, brake lights, oil sensor & fuel filter.

Hope you sort it soon!

Phill
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Very first sentence in first post?
 
Trouble with modern lectronics and computer diagnostics is the computer will only find the faults that the computer geek wrote into the software. If the geek has never heard of corroded connections or collapsed pipes the computer won't find them
 
ricc said:
Trouble with modern lectronics and computer diagnostics is the computer will only find the faults that the computer geek wrote into the software. If the geek has never heard of corroded connections or collapsed pipes the computer won't find them
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As this, there is no fault code for a common problem on x250, mice in the inlet tract.
 
I can only suggest what I mentioned in your previous thread. Has the ABS/ESP system been recalibrated since the yaw sensor was replaced? Diagnostics won't see anything wrong as such if the sensors are signalling correctly, but the ECU may think the orientation of the vehicle during certain manoeuvres is different to actual and trigger accordingly.

Worth running a recalibration on lateral and longitudinal sensors and the steering angle sensor IMO. Does your diagnostic kit allow you to record data stream from the system sensors whilst driving? That might give you a clue.
 
Maybe not a mistake, I tried a bit more at it this morning took it for test run and the same left corner, pulled away and it went ok . Ah a spark in brain. If I get something when it pulls away going sharp left, what about a continuous left??? It is defintely the yaw sensor at fault.
Off I went to a large empty car park pulled left lock, and stuck my foot to the floor , and did a few doughnuts there. It must have jarred the ESP sensor as it went properly and has continuously done so for 30 miles now. If it does it again I shall invest in another sensor but as they are dear I shall wait and see. The last time it behaved was when that sensor had been out and kicked about in the garage whilst I tried another that also did not work, when refitted it went then stopped again. At least I know now what it is.
I have had said car since Jan and the person that sold it drove for the tHe test drive carefully covered the fault. Because of insurance he wouldn’t let me drive it. I would have picked it up straight away had I driven it then.l didn’t worry too much as I thought it was something simple!!!!!!!!!!!’ It was but finding it wa a lot of detective work.. You cannot see ICKIES running around bit of wire.
 
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wildebus said:
Electric Smart Cars are much much more expensive.
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They are, and you CANNOT tow them either. I got mine now to tow and it does it nicely, acts as a damper on my wayward van, stops wobbles when lorries pass me. Makes it a straight liner as well, more relaxing to drive until I went down a blind alley and had to get out. It will back up, but the front tyres go sideways and scrub, but if needs must. It went back 50 yards. OK
 
GWAYGWAY said:
They are, and you CANNOT tow them either. I got mine now to tow and it does it nicely, acts as a damper on my wayward van, stops wobbles when lorries pass me. Makes it a straight liner as well, more relaxing to drive until I went down a blind alley and had to get out. It will back up, but the front tyres go sideways and scrub, but if needs must. It went back 50 yards. OK
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Didn't know you couldn't tow the Electric ones.
Ref reversing … If you are stuck and have to like you did before, would locking the steering help? (or is the Smart Car one without a lock maybe I have a rough recollection?)
 
Interesting fact. I have been keeping an old NAD Natural Aspirated Diesel going because I like its simplicity. Its been drastically over rated for pollution as my Mot shows it is in fact fairly clean running. Euro standards only really caught up with it by Euro 5. So a lot of expensive modern not so reliable engines later its now slowly out of step. I did a bit of reasearch to find out what the standards were, then discovered that by 2040 all diesel and petrol vehicle sales will officially be stopped in UK. That is no longer supported at all, only old will remain. I think rust might eventually eat me alive which is not Smart excuse the pun. I expect new stuff may end up extremely budget despite advances as old established companies will need to maximise profits before they are ended. Inbuilt obsolescence is designed faults which most modern vehicles have, in the old days sorry good old days most items on vehicle were serviceable by owner, now they are a puzzle to be solved by ill equiped genius, a new wave of consumerism.:tongue:
 
Still going just fine, I have done a load more miles now and it hasn't happened again ,but there is a peculiar thing when going up the revs and auto changing gear at speed I gives a twitch as the gear changes,, It is a braking dab by the electronics ESP , tiny feeling through the steering so the sensor is going to be changed now. Most would not notice it but I am still a bit paranoid about it.
 
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