I genuinely don't know how your videos can hold my attention for so long. I usually get bored with a lot of videos after only a few minutes, but yours always hold my attention for the full duration. You're an excellent storyteller, man.
Well, not technically free. The solder and electricity cost money as does his time. If he didn't include his time, there was some money in materials and electricity lol.
Good luck trying to explain the odometer to a potential buyer. If I heard something like "it's got less miles on it than the odometer shows." That's my cue to run.
I tried to explain it well in the Craigslist ad. I've could've just not mentioned it, and no one would ever know. I know I would run if I saw a car had a jacked odometer.
Many states (including mine - NC) have this thing called a mileage disclosure statement, so not mentioning it would be a problem. (instrument cluster swaps aren't unknown to me.)
Guess I could have a problem with my Jeep. The odometer shows something like 288,000 miles, but it's really around twice that but I don't really know because the original odometer quit working for a couple of years.
@@jfbeam There is no need to disclose an odometer that has MORE miles than actual. The buyer would be buying a car with fewer miles than it says. Consumer protection laws are to stop the opposite from happening.
Weird design for a board. No doubt they would have to be using lead-free solder to keep up the eco cred (like most stuff now), and despite being seemingly hermetically sealed, it still flubbed a boner. Folding boards are a thing, but for those heavy traces, it looks like it'd almost be 'spring loading' the solder points. No coatings wouldn't help, either, guess that saved a buck.
I've never seen a folded board like that. Most boards I've seen, they sandwich them together, and run a ribbon cable. I'd definitely fear that board cracking over time.
Donny: Lots of modern electronics equipment contains folded pcb's. I first saw it in use before 2000. For instance, I had four once high end 4GByte SCSI hard drives (11 platters in each!) containing several circuit boards which were all interconnected by flexible ribbon cable like that. The boards were arranged in x, y and z axes, and mounted around parts of the chassis. That was about 20 years ago, and they had been sold new for over £1,300 (approx. $2,500 at the time) each. They _had_ to be reliable at that price. To add to comments from others regarding this video: One common cause of failure in modern commercial electronics is failure of solder joints; a direct result of using lead-free solder, which is both more brittle, and requires more heat to melt and use than does leaded solder. Whilst ostensibly flying the 'eco' flag, manufacturers are happy to be able to sell replacement devices more often than would have been the case if traditional electrical solder had been used. In other words, the lead-free solder is definitely not eco-friendly, because more electronics waste is generated by its use. Tin/Lead solder is actually very recyclable; no more difficult to recover than unleaded solder, so the idea that lead-free solder is better than leaded is specious, at best.
Had exactly the same problem on my Smart Roadster a few months back (uses the same SAM body controller as the ForTwo), it caused random interesting light displays on the dash and the engine would cut out. I removed all the lead free solder from the joints of both connectors and re-soldered with regular tin/lead solder and the problem was fixed.
Same problem with cold/broken solder is common on pinball machines too. This knowledge is how I fixed the circuit board which controls the boiler in my house. Also cold/broken solder joints. Reflow and wham bam all up and going again. Good fix man!
You are fantastic! Your presentation and personality make every video enjoyable even for a car I don’t particularly feel interested in - but I also admire your investigation and troubleshooting and that you are more capable than those dealership people who didn’t seem to care about you or your vehicle. Maybe that’s unfairly harsh given I didn’t experience their attitudes myself. Nice work fixing the car!
A bent PCB, well done Smart. What engineer thought it was a good idea to put a circuit board in a panini press because I have questions for them? Worked for years in a PCB fabrication unit and I've seen my fair share of bad solder joints. That one looks machine done and I can almost promise the preheating on the PCB either wasn't done or wasn't done hot enough. It's also possible they just used garbage quality solder, or it could be from the stress of, you know, *bending* the PCB followed by cyclical heating. This is why things like cars should use lead solder, it lasts so much longer.
All these electrical issues remind me of a 1990 Mercury Topaz my dad had for about a year. The electrical system would literally shut off and we would have to pull over, shut it off, and wait for a "click" from the dashboard. Then we could start it up again. We never found out the issue and my dad traded it in for a Lincoln Continental (his preferred car at the time--we went through at least three of them in the late 80s-early 90s).
Yay! I was right with the SAM being the problem. Sadly, it's an issue that will likely happen again because the SAM units in early smarts love to fall apart. Well...either it'll happen again or the car will just catch fire.
Thanks Aging Wheels for your interesting videos. I'm glad you got this one figured out. I used to have to solder lots of wiper motor boards on the early 90's GM 1/2 tons. Gm used a heavy horizontal plug connector that wiggled with road vibration and broke loose it's soldered connection. I could fix one in 5 minutes. I just bought an 08 Smart with 30,000 mi. It was totaled, hit fairly hard on the front end, but air bags never went off. Problem is I think some sort of inertia switch has tripped and the car cranks good but won't start. Now I've got to figure that one out. Any clues?
Thanks for showing the video of you fixing the SAM unit, the problem it seems was due to the use of "lead free" solder in the manufacturing. Maybe modern lead free solder is better, but 2004 lead free solder was terrible. The issue with the melted wires in the connector only seems to happen in Canada/USA cars that also seem to have very different headlights, so i guess the current is too much for the wires. UK/Euro models have their issues involving the SAM but do not seem to suffer from the molten connector issue. I have a 2004 Smart that I bought for a bit of fun, yes I know that it makes no sense but I have other cars and my daily driver is a Mercedes C Class, but I'm just oddly in love with these early Smart cars. Don't buy an early one unless you can make repairs yourself! That website you mentioned that contracted you offering help (evilution) is a fantastic resource of info and help.
Flexi-Rigid circuit boards are normal. Lack of weatherproofing is ok as this is inside the cabin, the ECU is next to the engine and that is weatherproofed!
Had the same thing in my Mercedes Ml. One connection on the SAM unit was corroded. It caused all kinds of weird things. Took it to local electric shop and they soldered jump wire there. Works now.
Reminds me of my 77 Rabbit's fuse box. It was under the steering wheel in about the same place but some moisture would get there mysteriously and you always were replacing fuses. All of the connections were crappy too.
Hi love your video i have had mine a year 2013 model with 12,000 miles for 5,989.I have done all the maintance and changed the oil and filter myself with youtube videos so easy.Glad you did you own maintance.You look good on video by the way.😆👍
The bad connection issue is similar to what happens on some Fiat cars of the same age. The Panda (169) 1.1 is especially prone. It can be connector block, solder on the board or even a cracked wire in the bundle. Another common issue is corrosion to the reversing light circuit. Yes really. The ECU uses it to check if reverse gear is selected.
It's a typical thing of the fiat of the era of the panda 169, such as the punto 188. The ground pin of the rear lights melts and when you brake the turn indicator turns on instead. I've seen countless cases of this happening here in italy
There is some content/money left on the table. Now its fixed. 1) 10 things i like, dislike, 2) fuel economy test, 3) offroad, 4) straid pipe, coldair filter, 5) dyno, chip, dyno , 6) 25 incj mudtires, 7) v8 transfer, or electric.
Nobody, however there is not really much space else. I doubt a V8 will fit in the "trunk" Maybe a high powered motorcycle engine would be an option? (some people put Hayabusa engines in smarts)
Quintinohthree I know, but I meant that, by extending the height of the engine into the trunk, you could get a taller engine in the smart. However, I doubt that there is an existing engine with that much stroke.
Reminds me of the speedometer problem on the first gen neons. I don't know what the problem is with soldering, but manufactures need to get their crap together and sort that out or pay to have it fixed after it causes enough problems for people.
I wonder if it's something to do with the 'auto-soldering' machinery? I think they run the boards through molten baths of stuff and whatever on little carriage-type thingies to complete the shiny-jointy bits (please stop me if I'm getting too technical...), instead of having a semi-trained person with a soldering iron getting all hot and bothered over every single pesky joint. Back when a real person was responsible, there may have been a few badly-made 'lazy Friday afternoon' connections, but they'd probably have been picked up by a quality control inspection. Probably. But... with dozens of boards being soldered automatically, a bad batch of 50 or so caused by dirt or grease or not enough heat could easily slip through the quality control system, putting dozens of crappy boards out without being checked. Thst's just a theory. It's not been examined for defects... :-)
I don't remember if I commented about it or not, but this is very common with a lot of connector solder joints, amongst some heard that Volvo V70 ABS light being on can be the exact same thing with that connector, they're just exposed to too much vibration, ideally they should be spring clipped onto a through hole or crimped in place. But this adds a dollar cost to entire car so none of the car companies cannot afford this. /s
Noice job. It’s always the solder points that send fear through you, especially when you’re trying to build a controller for a homemade model submarine. I may have learned from experience...
I had the same kind of problem with mine it was turning off all the time it turned out it was a bad clutch mechanism but I was lucky enough to get it fixed without changing the whole thing
Glad you found a solution - I have a 2008 Smart ForTwo and had the exact same issue, but it seemed to only happen when taking off from a stop. The solution was different than yours, and much, much stupider. It seems that there is some weirdness with the Smart where the computer cakes it's pants if the key moves during operation. I had some heavy junk on my key chain, and apparently, when I would do a sudden acceleration, the key would shift and then the issue would happen. I took off the extra things from my keychain and it hasn't happened again (and it's been at least 2 years).
My Siberian Husky, when sleeping in the passenger seat, tends to turn the key off while I'm driving 😁 Sometimes, he isn't satisfied with that, and he pushes the shift lever to paddle shift mode. 🤣
the guy mentioned he is a smart tech he must have seen the issue come by multiple times on his job , i think his mention is a good one if you indeed found those loose solderconnections like he mentioned would've sworn it was the bdp sensor , but like you said to little info as the car did power off ocasionally while it wasnt running glad you found the problem though and didnt give up , its a pretty nice car once its reliable i got the older version myself with the almond shaped headlights bought it when it was 12 years old and its been driving me around for plus 6 years allready , in that time i replaced a rear wheelbearing oil and filters sparkplugs (all 6 of them) waterpump v belt rear tires and the injectors , only problem i have now is a wonky starter motor that doesnt want to work ocasionally (most likely a stuck starter solenoid) i know wat it is i have the spare part but the thing is a monster to remove and replace , even with the special long engine cradle bolts if you dont have a lift
I had an Audi 100 (15 years old at the time) that woould cut out randomly. Including at full speed. And then take 20+ minutes until i could restart. Was a robberdomy thing over connectros that filled with water and when the water got high enough... Driving it was a great and thrilling and nerve wrecking adventure though.
The Wave solder machine must have been set a bit low, so the heatsink quality of the Harness connector caused cold solder joints. Sometimes the connectors themselves are poorly prepared, and they lack solderability, and will not "wet" properly once they go over the wave, leaving you, the consumer with a sack full of intermittent connections, and a strong urge to use Fire to correct it.
I have the roadster. it shut off sometimes, and there was body Can faults. Finally it seemed that it shut down on warm days. The pins in the Sam module brown connector was worn and the Ecu power was cut off by bad connection. It took 0,5 years to fix and a lot of imperesing stopping.
My sister named her 2008 Smart convertible, "Smarty" before I bought if from her a few years back. It now lives in California, where it is much happier than it was in Michigan, even though my sister garaged it in the winter. Little over a month ago, my wife went to start the car after driving a few miles away, and it would not start. We had it towed to a AAA garage, and after they towed it, it started. Last week, my wife again went to start Smarty, and it would not start (fortunately, it was at home). I tried several times over the next few days and it did not start at all. A few days ago, I took out the SAM unit. I didn't find any horrible cold solder joints, but did re-solder a few that were possibly barely questionable... Reinstalled the SAM, blowing any dust out of connectors before plugging them back in. I was just about ready to call a junk yard to tow the car away, and ... Smarty started! First try! It started half-a-dozen times consistently! We went for a drive for several miles to recharge the battery, since it had been sitting for a week, and enjoyed a drive on Pacific Coast Hwy along the beach with the top down and our Siberian Husky enjoying the cool (it was about 60F) wind in his face. Got back home, tried a few more times and started each time. Tried a few times with my wife's key too (in case it was a problem with her key). Started each time. Like you, since it was an intermittent problem, still not absolutely sure if I fixed it, or the problem is simply not manifesting itself right now. But, we will test it daily over the next few weeks (not turning it off, unless we're parked at home), and see if my confidence builds. For now, though, thanks so much for this video!
Oh, I suppose I came preety close, I knew for a fact most mercs of the era are seriously notorious for their bad electrical jobs, I know a friend with a W211 Wagon, and it also has a SAM Unit, and basically it was also badly sottered, so the car did really random shit like turning off the traction control, rolling up all the windows when you hit the brakes, locking the car when you hit the AC controls, and various other things. To sum up the issue was the sotter was basically spilled over, and connecting multiple circuits, so it shorted the whole SAM out, miracle it didn't catch fire!
Jesus. That SAM unit was everything I have come to expect from early Chinese design. Those joints will probably chronically go bad. I'm only guessing. But I'm pretty sure the unit worked fine and so were the solder joints when it was new. Can you see if that puts out interference? Like with a radio? It's a PCB burrito?
I had a 1979 VW van that, after 20 years and 250,000 miles, started cutting out at 'random' times and for variable lengths. Nobody could find a cause. I suspected a problem with the ECU circuit board (failed trace or solder joint?). As I had been given a new car (father's estate) it just sat in the garage until I gave it away (a decision I regret to this day as it was otherwise in decent condition (no rust) )
hi! very impressed with your expertise!! Can you help? Have a 2010 smart fortwo car ,only one key works, been to four programers & the car will only accept one key and cancels all others out.don't know where to go !!!! Exhausted !!
I have a smart for two 2014. I was driving leaving a Walmart parking lot, and well it was in drive shifted to neutral while the drive stick was still in drive mode. I got an error code of p037F however I dont have a diesel engine that uses a glow plug. Any ideas
$3,900 US!!! That's crazy high. I sold me cabriolet for $1500cdn. It had the same "mileage" . Better get rid of it before the limp mode starts kicking in, or the transmission linkage breaks (which is what happened with ours).
Did you also let em know about your mileage changing from using a aftermarket OBD2 port reader device? I might be wrong about how I read your other comment last night (half asleep at the time) about your canadian smartcar on this channel in a different comment section, and nothing occured to your odometer though. Was it a legal requirement to mention the mileage thing in Canada, or just required in the U$A?
i had about the same problems and changing the SAM unit saved me but the ESP problems did not go away.... Still looking for a solution about the ESP fault
Were you driving your trabant in the st charles area July 21st by any chance? I saw one in St Charles today and was wondering It had a number decal on the side of it too.
now that you're familiar with a smart you should go get a first or second generation mercedes a-class. but maybe this isn't rare or fun enough for you. but it would help me with my own issues with this car. maybe.
Anyway you can do a video on a 2008 Smart Car how to replace the spring in the fuel door I would greatly appreciate it and I can't find one anywhere on the internet
AV, can you please tear down and rebuild an old VW air cooled engine? I know there are other videos already, and it is not exotic like a Trabant, but you have a way of explaining things nobody else does. Also, aging Aging Vehicle watchers ( such as I) need a refresher on air cooled. Also, I am sure some of your younger viewers would appreciate aircooled VW, since it looks like VWs are still in demand judging by the way prices are ten times what they were when I was a kid. Thanks.
The problem with the AC with smarts is that there is a part that wears out and that causes the chemical that causes it to cool, to leak away if even you had it refilled. That part has to be replaced. You probably sold the car though by now. I too have a 2005 smart cdi that remains parked in the barn, until a new or repaired SAMS unit finds its way into the car. If I remember, changing the computer means the car then has to be towed to the dealer to be reenabled with a code that the stealerships flat out refuse to just give to you for free, keeping inline with the car being designed to require extra running costs, such as paying something like 150 bux just for an oil change, because it was designed to not have a drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan, for a continuously profitable reason. Flakes wearing 3pc suits make such design decisions. You can get a aftermarket oil pan for it that has the drain plug though, or a pump system to lift the oil out of the engine fighting gravity, idiot move on part of the designers at benz who clearly modified the original design of the car with profit sustainability in mind. They piss me off. They marketed the car as being reliable with all their branding, and it became a fridge emptying money pit, 650 dollar door handles prior to them recalling those because of people such as me who called and spoke to a national safety bureau to point out its basically a guitar string of a wire used to control the door handle to the latch. That was one of those executive Benz moves to make the door latch super flaky, rather than Smart who they bought out. The smartcar should come equipped with a factory installed cellphone because they need those for the scheduled failures that are incorporated into the mix most often when your no where near a proper repair place, and theres no Hayne's manuals for the smartcar, as benz really wanted people to remain clueless about as much as possible regarding repairs. We know why that i$.
I put tracks on back and skis on front and when I test drive it the EPS light came on and it won’t rev up. How do I get rid of the traction control? I think that’s the problem. And the engine light is on too. And I took the front calipers off and plugged the line.
Hi, I was just quoted a 1k for changing the microwave sensor on my 2008 for two at the local dealership. the car runs fine but the alarm goes off all the time out of nowhere... how can I disable the alarm permanently without damaging other functions in the car - please HELP
2:10 The really funny thing is, is that when I was a much younger kid, I DID think you were actually driving and yes, I thought it looked a bit odd. It makes my younger self look very dumb, but I thought it might be funny to mention.
Hi I have just seen this and alarm bells rang. The environment rules stopped lead solder being used in all devices As it is deemed dangerous to health. However tin rich solder is brittle and hard. It will fracture very easily unlike lead which is flexible, also there is a problem with tin hair a phenomenon when the tin extrudes a very fine metallic hair across electronic boards shorting everything.. rubbing with a toothbrush moves them. Tin solder is your problem , retouch every connection you see as they will all be vulnerable to dry joint fracture. Stupid idea to legislate against all lead solder just because of drinking water pipes . But that is lawmakers for you.. hope it is fixed now.
I need to fix my 2008 Fortwo passion. It died on my last week. With a 3 bars of death on dash. I dropped the clutch actuator but didn't see anything wrong. Any advice?
The evolution website is really awesome for smart owners. Replacing a radio is much easier if you know what plastics you can en probaly will break. It helped me a lot.
I remember reading the comment that website left for this youtube channel owner, and wondered why he chose to not say what the reasoning for the electrical problem was, though expressed a knowledge of exactly how to fix it. lol Ya the website is a helpful one especially due to how mercedes made sure to keep everyone in the dark by never allowing haynes to publish any repair manuals for the smartcar. Haynes offers repair manuals for probably every other car on the road though. #GreedIsProblematic
True Tech simple, I wanted to ask him follow up questions to determine which of the 3 issues it probably was. There was no point writing out an enormous essay that he might not read containing 2/3rds of the information that he doesn’t need. I don’t believe he ever contacted me but I get and respond to about 30 emails a day so maybe he did and I just don’t remember. Remember, knowledge is power and knowledge that is badly used is dangerous. I didn’t want someone thinking they had the same fault and then ruin their car unnecessarily fixing something that wasn’t broken. I prefer the personal touch and interacting with people directly.
@@evilutionltd Your web site is an invaluable resource for those of us who do our own work on our Smart cars. I'm just about to open the SAM on my 450 cdi for the third time to sort out a CAN bus issue and recently used your site to ensure I had everything I needed ahead of time for replacing reluctor rings as well as pads and rotors. Between your site and clubsmartcar forums I can usually find everything I need.
Hi, my smart 2012 cdi fortwo stops while im driving for about 10-15 minutes and doesent start immediatly but after about 5 minutes. Please could you tell me what could be? should i follow to fix the sam as you did?
The thing some people liked about cars like the Yugo (and Lada) was that they didn't have much electronics to break. In the UK (where tubes are called valves) there was a joke about the new 16 valve Lada. Eight in the engine, one on each tyre and three in the radio.
Hey there. Can anyone tell me where the hack is that sam unit and how does it look like? I have a 2000 fortwo cdi It does not sending power to the starter just when he wants to
There was no weatherproofing and the SAM seemed to be rather precariously held in place. Just two flimsy plastic clips. Well, two clips and a dozen wire harnesses.
@Lassi Kinnunen I've seen edge connectors dozens of years older than this car that haven't got a single problem. Guess what? You can separate the boards thousands of times before damaging anything! You know what else? You can replace them much easier and cheaper, too! Want an example? Front loader NES is a common one.
@@AiOinc1 No edge connectors are rated for "thousands" of insertions, you'd have no PCB traces left by the end of that. Connectors are always a weak point for reliability as well, both the contacts and the solder joints to attach them to the PCB.
Nice video. Really enjoyed it. Waiting for more videos on the Trabant also. Or the bus. Either way I like the humour and type of video you make. Really makes my day
Those darn intermittent electrical problems are the WORST! And anytime you have to tear into the dash is a nightmare. I had a battery light that would come on once in a while and stay on for 10 seconds to a minute and then I wouldn't see it again for several weeks. I replaced the battery, the alternator and even the computer (which did actually have an issue). Darned if that batt light didn't come back on a month later! Had the new alternator tested at the place that fixed it and it tested slightly low and they replaced it under warranty... BUT! As they were removing the alternator to replace it, the tech noticed that the wire connecting the alternator to the battery was barely hanging on. He cleaned up the wire and connector and I've not had a problem since. This whole process took about 4 months from beginning to end...all for a bad wire connector. One good thing is that I have a completely new electrical system.
This was also similar with my 1992 Toyota pickup mini truck. (I fucking love that truck) for a period of time the truck will shut off randomly even while idling. I thought it was the battery and my dad says it was the Throttle position sensor. When we sent the truck to Mexico.(im gonna bring it back because I own it ☺) my cousin found the problem........it was just a corroded wire..... Yep that was it. But it drives better now.
sorry most of us were not more help, but it was basically a matter of making an educated guess given we weren't physically poking around looking at the car .my option to replace the Sam unit with one from a salvage yard . I get the impression would've worked but would've been more expensive.still like the little car.
I genuinely don't know how your videos can hold my attention for so long. I usually get bored with a lot of videos after only a few minutes, but yours always hold my attention for the full duration. You're an excellent storyteller, man.
Free is my favorite kind of fix.
Sometimes you even get money for fixing. Like fixing seat belt buckle sensor and getting some coins stuck in the seat rail.
Yeah me too, and it's also my favorite meal.
Tibor Klein 🤮🙄😒
Working it through myself using skills acquired as part an interest or training is my kind of favourite fix but I know exactly Tibor klein meant
Well, not technically free. The solder and electricity cost money as does his time. If he didn't include his time, there was some money in materials and electricity lol.
Good luck trying to explain the odometer to a potential buyer. If I heard something like "it's got less miles on it than the odometer shows." That's my cue to run.
I tried to explain it well in the Craigslist ad. I've could've just not mentioned it, and no one would ever know. I know I would run if I saw a car had a jacked odometer.
Many states (including mine - NC) have this thing called a mileage disclosure statement, so not mentioning it would be a problem. (instrument cluster swaps aren't unknown to me.)
Guess I could have a problem with my Jeep. The odometer shows something like 288,000 miles, but it's really around twice that but I don't really know because the original odometer quit working for a couple of years.
@@agingwheels Your odometer is not jacked. It is the opposite.
@@jfbeam There is no need to disclose an odometer that has MORE miles than actual. The buyer would be buying a car with fewer miles than it says. Consumer protection laws are to stop the opposite from happening.
Wow, that SAM unit is the worst ECU design I've ever seen. Seriously wtf? A bent circuit board??
Weird design for a board. No doubt they would have to be using lead-free solder to keep up the eco cred (like most stuff now), and despite being seemingly hermetically sealed, it still flubbed a boner. Folding boards are a thing, but for those heavy traces, it looks like it'd almost be 'spring loading' the solder points. No coatings wouldn't help, either, guess that saved a buck.
I've never seen a folded board like that. Most boards I've seen, they sandwich them together, and run a ribbon cable. I'd definitely fear that board cracking over time.
or if not a ribbon at least a pin header. I've never seen a folded one either and I've seen quite a lot of electronics.
@@co880 shitty solder is RoHS compliant, because that forces companies to use lead free solder and that cracks over time.
Donny: Lots of modern electronics equipment contains folded pcb's. I first saw it in use before 2000. For instance, I had four once high end 4GByte SCSI hard drives (11 platters in each!) containing several circuit boards which were all interconnected by flexible ribbon cable like that. The boards were arranged in x, y and z axes, and mounted around parts of the chassis. That was about 20 years ago, and they had been sold new for over £1,300 (approx. $2,500 at the time) each. They _had_ to be reliable at that price.
To add to comments from others regarding this video: One common cause of failure in modern commercial electronics is failure of solder joints; a direct result of using lead-free solder, which is both more brittle, and requires more heat to melt and use than does leaded solder.
Whilst ostensibly flying the 'eco' flag, manufacturers are happy to be able to sell replacement devices more often than would have been the case if traditional electrical solder had been used. In other words, the lead-free solder is definitely not eco-friendly, because more electronics waste is generated by its use.
Tin/Lead solder is actually very recyclable; no more difficult to recover than unleaded solder, so the idea that lead-free solder is better than leaded is specious, at best.
Had exactly the same problem on my Smart Roadster a few months back (uses the same SAM body controller as the ForTwo), it caused random interesting light displays on the dash and the engine would cut out. I removed all the lead free solder from the joints of both connectors and re-soldered with regular tin/lead solder and the problem was fixed.
my smart car has just started to suffer the same symptoms, thankfully i remembered this video, i will have a crack at this over the weekend
Welcome to the joys of Smart car ownership... Usually not to hard to fix though, as long as you don't have to pay someone to do it for you.
Same problem with cold/broken solder is common on pinball machines too. This knowledge is how I fixed the circuit board which controls the boiler in my house. Also cold/broken solder joints. Reflow and wham bam all up and going again. Good fix man!
I'm always happy to see a new AW in my notifications!
you should have put the wheego drivetrain in the smart, and made a "high quality wheego"
expensive!!!!!!!!!
@@kennorcott7074 it's technically free as he owns a wheego and a smart
@@ThomasFarquhar2 installation?
but the wheego has the motor in front and the smart in the back
@@kennorcott7074 he would be doing it himself lol. bad idea anyways, but price is definitely not a factor
You are fantastic! Your presentation and personality make every video enjoyable even for a car I don’t particularly feel interested in - but I also admire your investigation and troubleshooting and that you are more capable than those dealership people who didn’t seem to care about you or your vehicle. Maybe that’s unfairly harsh given I didn’t experience their attitudes myself. Nice work fixing the car!
Had 2 Smart cars now and love them over 4 years, nothing wrong with either of them
Good job american mr.bean lookalike, keep fixing those econoboxes and one day you'll be regarded the most famous wheego driver ever.
He already is the most famous Wheego driver lol
I think he's the only famous wheego driver.
2010ngojo exactly
He looks more like former NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon than Mr. Bean
I think he is the only wheego driver in the entire world
A bent PCB, well done Smart. What engineer thought it was a good idea to put a circuit board in a panini press because I have questions for them? Worked for years in a PCB fabrication unit and I've seen my fair share of bad solder joints. That one looks machine done and I can almost promise the preheating on the PCB either wasn't done or wasn't done hot enough. It's also possible they just used garbage quality solder, or it could be from the stress of, you know, *bending* the PCB followed by cyclical heating. This is why things like cars should use lead solder, it lasts so much longer.
Well, at least some of those bad solder joints must have been ground connections, so everyone who said bad ground was right. :P
yes.. but the ground wires on Smarts disintegrate even faster than the lead-free solder... but very cheap and easy to upgrade/fix.
for the person that said "make it electric"...maybe you should direct him to the Wheego videos ;)
All these electrical issues remind me of a 1990 Mercury Topaz my dad had for about a year. The electrical system would literally shut off and we would have to pull over, shut it off, and wait for a "click" from the dashboard. Then we could start it up again. We never found out the issue and my dad traded it in for a Lincoln Continental (his preferred car at the time--we went through at least three of them in the late 80s-early 90s).
Yay! I was right with the SAM being the problem. Sadly, it's an issue that will likely happen again because the SAM units in early smarts love to fall apart. Well...either it'll happen again or the car will just catch fire.
just catch fire? How comforting ... lol
Nice
Hondas have a similar issue on the main fuel pump relay. Dang lead free solder is not very flexible and likes to crack.
I had the same issue on my 944. Faulty solder on the fuel pump relay.
Thanks Aging Wheels
for your interesting videos. I'm glad you got this one figured out.
I used to have to solder lots of wiper motor boards on the early 90's GM 1/2 tons. Gm used a heavy horizontal plug connector that wiggled with road vibration and broke loose it's soldered connection. I could fix one in 5 minutes. I just bought an 08 Smart with 30,000 mi. It was totaled, hit fairly hard on the front end, but air bags never went off. Problem is I think some sort of inertia switch has tripped and the car cranks good but won't start. Now I've got to figure that one out. Any clues?
Good video. Honest and up front. You are a humorous person
Thanks for showing the video of you fixing the SAM unit, the problem it seems was due to the use of "lead free" solder in the manufacturing. Maybe modern lead free solder is better, but 2004 lead free solder was terrible. The issue with the melted wires in the connector only seems to happen in Canada/USA cars that also seem to have very different headlights, so i guess the current is too much for the wires. UK/Euro models have their issues involving the SAM but do not seem to suffer from the molten connector issue. I have a 2004 Smart that I bought for a bit of fun, yes I know that it makes no sense but I have other cars and my daily driver is a Mercedes C Class, but I'm just oddly in love with these early Smart cars. Don't buy an early one unless you can make repairs yourself! That website you mentioned that contracted you offering help (evilution) is a fantastic resource of info and help.
Flexi-Rigid circuit boards are normal. Lack of weatherproofing is ok as this is inside the cabin, the ECU is next to the engine and that is weatherproofed!
Great fix....my chevy truck had voltage issues too...it was a rusted out star washer on ground cable...
Had the same thing in my Mercedes Ml. One connection on the SAM unit was corroded. It caused all kinds of weird things. Took it to local electric shop and they soldered jump wire there. Works now.
you sure are putting a LOT of faith in those tailgate cables.
I have had lots of experience of similar dry solder joints in relays and ECUs so I am not surprised.
Reminds me of my 77 Rabbit's fuse box. It was under the steering wheel in about the same place but some moisture would get there mysteriously and you always were replacing fuses. All of the connections were crappy too.
Thank you SO much for this!! I managed to repair my Smart displaying the dreaded three bars on the speedo
Hi love your video i have had mine a year 2013 model with 12,000 miles for 5,989.I have done all the maintance and changed the oil and filter myself with youtube videos so easy.Glad you did you own maintance.You look good on video by the way.😆👍
congrats on getting it running, robert
The bad connection issue is similar to what happens on some Fiat cars of the same age. The Panda (169) 1.1 is especially prone. It can be connector block, solder on the board or even a cracked wire in the bundle.
Another common issue is corrosion to the reversing light circuit. Yes really. The ECU uses it to check if reverse gear is selected.
It's a typical thing of the fiat of the era of the panda 169, such as the punto 188. The ground pin of the rear lights melts and when you brake the turn indicator turns on instead. I've seen countless cases of this happening here in italy
There is some content/money left on the table. Now its fixed. 1) 10 things i like, dislike, 2) fuel economy test, 3) offroad, 4) straid pipe, coldair filter, 5) dyno, chip, dyno , 6) 25 incj mudtires, 7) v8 transfer, or electric.
Bas BlasterXP there is no way to fit a V8 into a smarts engine bay. Maybe a small i4 but definitely not a V8!
Reisperbachtal Who said it needs to fit in the engine bay? 😂
Nobody, however there is not really much space else. I doubt a V8 will fit in the "trunk" Maybe a high powered motorcycle engine would be an option? (some people put Hayabusa engines in smarts)
Reisperbachtal If you hadn't realised yet, the Smart's engine bay is underneath the "trunk".
Quintinohthree I know, but I meant that, by extending the height of the engine into the trunk, you could get a taller engine in the smart. However, I doubt that there is an existing engine with that much stroke.
Happy that my comment was helpful ! It's possible to fix your mileage issue too.
1:54
Good to see that you got the help to make the electric escape. 900hp EV converted smart fortwo next?
Thats good it was a simple soldering fix!
Reminds me of the speedometer problem on the first gen neons. I don't know what the problem is with soldering, but manufactures need to get their crap together and sort that out or pay to have it fixed after it causes enough problems for people.
I wonder if it's something to do with the 'auto-soldering' machinery? I think they run the boards through molten baths of stuff and whatever on little carriage-type thingies to complete the shiny-jointy bits (please stop me if I'm getting too technical...), instead of having a semi-trained person with a soldering iron getting all hot and bothered over every single pesky joint.
Back when a real person was responsible, there may have been a few badly-made 'lazy Friday afternoon' connections, but they'd probably have been picked up by a quality control inspection. Probably.
But... with dozens of boards being soldered automatically, a bad batch of 50 or so caused by dirt or grease or not enough heat could easily slip through the quality control system, putting dozens of crappy boards out without being checked.
Thst's just a theory. It's not been examined for defects...
:-)
Good you got it fixed, enjoy your Smart...
I don't remember if I commented about it or not, but this is very common with a lot of connector solder joints, amongst some heard that Volvo V70 ABS light being on can be the exact same thing with that connector, they're just exposed to too much vibration, ideally they should be spring clipped onto a through hole or crimped in place. But this adds a dollar cost to entire car so none of the car companies cannot afford this. /s
I love how from just 1/4 of the quad i can tell it's a polaris trail boss with the ifs
I could sense your deep appreciation for me (and others) pointing you directly to the problem. You are welcome ;)
So.. the 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion Cabrio I just bought has a Surface to Air Missile system.. That's So Cool !
Noice job. It’s always the solder points that send fear through you, especially when you’re trying to build a controller for a homemade model submarine. I may have learned from experience...
I looked at this and before I started following you. I'm in Mt Vernon Illinois. Small world.
Lol that craigslist add is painfully honest and hilarious. No wonder you never get you money back selling cars.
I had the same kind of problem with mine it was turning off all the time it turned out it was a bad clutch mechanism but I was lucky enough to get it fixed without changing the whole thing
Glad you found a solution - I have a 2008 Smart ForTwo and had the exact same issue, but it seemed to only happen when taking off from a stop. The solution was different than yours, and much, much stupider.
It seems that there is some weirdness with the Smart where the computer cakes it's pants if the key moves during operation. I had some heavy junk on my key chain, and apparently, when I would do a sudden acceleration, the key would shift and then the issue would happen. I took off the extra things from my keychain and it hasn't happened again (and it's been at least 2 years).
My Siberian Husky, when sleeping in the passenger seat, tends to turn the key off while I'm driving 😁 Sometimes, he isn't satisfied with that, and he pushes the shift lever to paddle shift mode. 🤣
I really do hope that car finds a new home. Although it's a weird and maintenance heavy one, I do like it.
the guy mentioned he is a smart tech he must have seen the issue come by multiple times on his job , i think his mention is a good one if you indeed found those loose solderconnections like he mentioned
would've sworn it was the bdp sensor , but like you said to little info as the car did power off ocasionally while it wasnt running
glad you found the problem though and didnt give up , its a pretty nice car once its reliable
i got the older version myself with the almond shaped headlights bought it when it was 12 years old and its been driving me around for plus 6 years allready , in that time i replaced a rear wheelbearing oil and filters sparkplugs (all 6 of them) waterpump v belt rear tires and the injectors , only problem i have now is a wonky starter motor that doesnt want to work ocasionally (most likely a stuck starter solenoid) i know wat it is i have the spare part but the thing is a monster to remove and replace , even with the special long engine cradle bolts if you dont have a lift
I had an Audi 100 (15 years old at the time) that woould cut out randomly. Including at full speed. And then take 20+ minutes until i could restart.
Was a robberdomy thing over connectros that filled with water and when the water got high enough...
Driving it was a great and thrilling and nerve wrecking adventure though.
The Wave solder machine must have been set a bit low, so the heatsink quality of the Harness connector caused cold solder joints. Sometimes the connectors themselves are poorly prepared, and they lack solderability, and will not "wet" properly once they go over the wave, leaving you, the consumer with a sack full of intermittent connections, and a strong urge to use Fire to correct it.
I have the roadster. it shut off sometimes, and there was body Can faults. Finally it seemed that it shut down on warm days. The pins in the Sam module brown connector was worn and the Ecu power was cut off by bad connection. It took 0,5 years to fix and a lot of imperesing stopping.
My sister named her 2008 Smart convertible, "Smarty" before I bought if from her a few years back. It now lives in California, where it is much happier than it was in Michigan, even though my sister garaged it in the winter.
Little over a month ago, my wife went to start the car after driving a few miles away, and it would not start. We had it towed to a AAA garage, and after they towed it, it started.
Last week, my wife again went to start Smarty, and it would not start (fortunately, it was at home). I tried several times over the next few days and it did not start at all.
A few days ago, I took out the SAM unit. I didn't find any horrible cold solder joints, but did re-solder a few that were possibly barely questionable...
Reinstalled the SAM, blowing any dust out of connectors before plugging them back in. I was just about ready to call a junk yard to tow the car away, and ... Smarty started! First try! It started half-a-dozen times consistently! We went for a drive for several miles to recharge the battery, since it had been sitting for a week, and enjoyed a drive on Pacific Coast Hwy along the beach with the top down and our Siberian Husky enjoying the cool (it was about 60F) wind in his face. Got back home, tried a few more times and started each time. Tried a few times with my wife's key too (in case it was a problem with her key). Started each time.
Like you, since it was an intermittent problem, still not absolutely sure if I fixed it, or the problem is simply not manifesting itself right now. But, we will test it daily over the next few weeks (not turning it off, unless we're parked at home), and see if my confidence builds. For now, though, thanks so much for this video!
Glad you fixed it.
Strip the interior, fit an eBay turbo and scaffolding pipe exhaust and drill holes in your airbox. Good to go!
I had The same problem and i fixed my smart for Free thanks to your video, so thank you
Oh, I suppose I came preety close, I knew for a fact most mercs of the era are seriously notorious for their bad electrical jobs, I know a friend with a W211 Wagon, and it also has a SAM Unit, and basically it was also badly sottered, so the car did really random shit like turning off the traction control, rolling up all the windows when you hit the brakes, locking the car when you hit the AC controls, and various other things. To sum up the issue was the sotter was basically spilled over, and connecting multiple circuits, so it shorted the whole SAM out, miracle it didn't catch fire!
Jesus. That SAM unit was everything I have come to expect from early Chinese design. Those joints will probably chronically go bad. I'm only guessing. But I'm pretty sure the unit worked fine and so were the solder joints when it was new. Can you see if that puts out interference? Like with a radio? It's a PCB burrito?
I had a 1979 VW van that, after 20 years and 250,000 miles, started cutting out at 'random' times and for variable lengths. Nobody could find a cause. I suspected a problem with the ECU circuit board (failed trace or solder joint?). As I had been given a new car (father's estate) it just sat in the garage until I gave it away (a decision I regret to this day as it was otherwise in decent condition (no rust) )
Type:OFFROAD
size: FULL-SIZE
On the previous ad, he listed the smart as a bus
transmission:OTHER
vin:DIESEL
"Those pins just send power to the headlight low-beams. And apparently get too hot and melt over time." Awesome.
Jesus the ad cracked me up so much, I read the whole thing.
hi! very impressed with your expertise!! Can you help? Have a 2010 smart fortwo car ,only one key works, been to four programers & the car will only accept one key and cancels all others out.don't know where to go !!!! Exhausted !!
I have a smart for two 2014. I was driving leaving a Walmart parking lot, and well it was in drive shifted to neutral while the drive stick was still in drive mode. I got an error code of p037F however I dont have a diesel engine that uses a glow plug. Any ideas
$3,900 US!!! That's crazy high. I sold me cabriolet for $1500cdn. It had the same "mileage" . Better get rid of it before the limp mode starts kicking in, or the transmission linkage breaks (which is what happened with ours).
Did you also let em know about your mileage changing from using a aftermarket OBD2 port reader device? I might be wrong about how I read your other comment last night (half asleep at the time) about your canadian smartcar on this channel in a different comment section, and nothing occured to your odometer though. Was it a legal requirement to mention the mileage thing in Canada, or just required in the U$A?
Co.uk it's UK as in the UK 🇬🇧 😂 however I'm going to use your way from now on!
i had about the same problems and changing the SAM unit saved me but the ESP problems did not go away.... Still looking for a solution about the ESP fault
Ok i have a problem just like that but it has to do with te ac and window motors, could it be the same thing?
Bravo....well done
Were you driving your trabant in the st charles area July 21st by any chance? I saw one in St Charles today and was wondering
It had a number decal on the side of it too.
The Headlights are really Nice 🤔
Random question..what kind of wireless lavalier mic are you using? Any complaints with whatever it is?
now that you're familiar with a smart you should go get a first or second generation mercedes a-class. but maybe this isn't rare or fun enough for you. but it would help me with my own issues with this car. maybe.
Yep, there is a saying: "electronics is a science of commutation (or electrical contact)". No contact = not working. Bad contact = bad science!
Epic Winning!
I've seen bad solders in a malfunctioning PC motherboard.
I'm intrigued now.
Anyway you can do a video on a 2008 Smart Car how to replace the spring in the fuel door I would greatly appreciate it and I can't find one anywhere on the internet
"Make it electric!" *Looks at the Wheego* There. It's an electric Smart fourtwo that is probably a death trap. That was easy.
AV, can you please tear down and rebuild an old VW air cooled engine? I know there are other videos already, and it is not exotic like a Trabant, but you have a way of explaining things nobody else does. Also, aging Aging Vehicle watchers ( such as I) need a refresher on air cooled. Also, I am sure some of your younger viewers would appreciate aircooled VW, since it looks like VWs are still in demand judging by the way prices are ten times what they were when I was a kid. Thanks.
Glad you didn't have the random electric clutch solenoid failure problem.
02:06 that was the thing i said when i looked at Initial D for the first time
The problem with the AC with smarts is that there is a part that wears out and that causes the chemical that causes it to cool, to leak away if even you had it refilled. That part has to be replaced. You probably sold the car though by now. I too have a 2005 smart cdi that remains parked in the barn, until a new or repaired SAMS unit finds its way into the car. If I remember, changing the computer means the car then has to be towed to the dealer to be reenabled with a code that the stealerships flat out refuse to just give to you for free, keeping inline with the car being designed to require extra running costs, such as paying something like 150 bux just for an oil change, because it was designed to not have a drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan, for a continuously profitable reason. Flakes wearing 3pc suits make such design decisions.
You can get a aftermarket oil pan for it that has the drain plug though, or a pump system to lift the oil out of the engine fighting gravity, idiot move on part of the designers at benz who clearly modified the original design of the car with profit sustainability in mind. They piss me off.
They marketed the car as being reliable with all their branding, and it became a fridge emptying money pit, 650 dollar door handles prior to them recalling those because of people such as me who called and spoke to a national safety bureau to point out its basically a guitar string of a wire used to control the door handle to the latch. That was one of those executive Benz moves to make the door latch super flaky, rather than Smart who they bought out.
The smartcar should come equipped with a factory installed cellphone because they need those for the scheduled failures that are incorporated into the mix most often when your no where near a proper repair place, and theres no Hayne's manuals for the smartcar, as benz really wanted people to remain clueless about as much as possible regarding repairs. We know why that i$.
I put tracks on back and skis on front and when I test drive it the EPS light came on and it won’t rev up. How do I get rid of the traction control? I think that’s the problem. And the engine light is on too. And I took the front calipers off and plugged the line.
Hi, I was just quoted a 1k for changing the microwave sensor on my 2008 for two at the local dealership. the car runs fine but the alarm goes off all the time out of nowhere... how can I disable the alarm permanently without damaging other functions in the car - please HELP
2:10 The really funny thing is, is that when I was a much younger kid, I DID think you were actually driving and yes, I thought it looked a bit odd. It makes my younger self look very dumb, but I thought it might be funny to mention.
Hi I have just seen this and alarm bells rang. The environment rules stopped lead solder being used in all devices As it is deemed dangerous to health. However tin rich solder is brittle and hard. It will fracture very easily unlike lead which is flexible, also there is a problem with tin hair a phenomenon when the tin extrudes a very fine metallic hair across electronic boards shorting everything.. rubbing with a toothbrush moves them. Tin solder is your problem , retouch every connection you see as they will all be vulnerable to dry joint fracture. Stupid idea to legislate against all lead solder just because of drinking water pipes . But that is lawmakers for you.. hope it is fixed now.
I need to fix my 2008 Fortwo passion. It died on my last week. With a 3 bars of death on dash. I dropped the clutch actuator but didn't see anything wrong. Any advice?
I got a used 2014 Smart for 2 ELECTRIC DRIVE for $4000. You might have better luck with one of those!
The evolution website is really awesome for smart owners. Replacing a radio is much easier if you know what plastics you can en probaly will break. It helped me a lot.
I remember reading the comment that website left for this youtube channel owner, and wondered why he chose to not say what the reasoning for the electrical problem was, though expressed a knowledge of exactly how to fix it. lol
Ya the website is a helpful one especially due to how mercedes made sure to keep everyone in the dark by never allowing haynes to publish any repair manuals for the smartcar. Haynes offers repair manuals for probably every other car on the road though. #GreedIsProblematic
True Tech simple, I wanted to ask him follow up questions to determine which of the 3 issues it probably was. There was no point writing out an enormous essay that he might not read containing 2/3rds of the information that he doesn’t need. I don’t believe he ever contacted me but I get and respond to about 30 emails a day so maybe he did and I just don’t remember. Remember, knowledge is power and knowledge that is badly used is dangerous. I didn’t want someone thinking they had the same fault and then ruin their car unnecessarily fixing something that wasn’t broken. I prefer the personal touch and interacting with people directly.
@@evilutionltd Your web site is an invaluable resource for those of us who do our own work on our Smart cars. I'm just about to open the SAM on my 450 cdi for the third time to sort out a CAN bus issue and recently used your site to ensure I had everything I needed ahead of time for replacing reluctor rings as well as pads and rotors. Between your site and clubsmartcar forums I can usually find everything I need.
Can we see more of the Trabant some time?
Also, where did you find that Yugo?
That wasn't my Yugo. I do not own a Yugo. You'll some Trabontent in a couple months
The yugo is owned by a guy named austin i think
Hi, my smart 2012 cdi fortwo stops while im driving for about 10-15 minutes and doesent start immediatly but after about 5 minutes. Please could you tell me what could be? should i follow to fix the sam as you did?
was the Sam unit built by Yugo? lol Glad you found the issue!
The thing some people liked about cars like the Yugo (and Lada) was that they didn't have much electronics to break. In the UK (where tubes are called valves) there was a joke about the new 16 valve Lada. Eight in the engine, one on each tyre and three in the radio.
Hey there. Can anyone tell me where the hack is that sam unit and how does it look like?
I have a 2000 fortwo cdi
It does not sending power to the starter just when he wants to
Bendable circuit boards? WTF?
And SAM units with no weather proofing... Let me guess, a rain drainage just happen to sit on top of it?
There was no weatherproofing and the SAM seemed to be rather precariously held in place. Just two flimsy plastic clips. Well, two clips and a dozen wire harnesses.
The carpart should be weatherproof, clean the gutter under the frunk, you are fine. The seat are also not waterproof,but do you care?
@Lassi Kinnunen I've seen edge connectors dozens of years older than this car that haven't got a single problem. Guess what? You can separate the boards thousands of times before damaging anything!
You know what else? You can replace them much easier and cheaper, too!
Want an example? Front loader NES is a common one.
@@AiOinc1 No edge connectors are rated for "thousands" of insertions, you'd have no PCB traces left by the end of that. Connectors are always a weak point for reliability as well, both the contacts and the solder joints to attach them to the PCB.
Automotive electronics that live inside the cabin are are rarely if ever weather proofed for obvious reasons.
5:20 How can you spot that those solder joints are bad?
Nice video. Really enjoyed it. Waiting for more videos on the Trabant also. Or the bus. Either way I like the humour and type of video you make. Really makes my day
Those darn intermittent electrical problems are the WORST! And anytime you have to tear into the dash is a nightmare. I had a battery light that would come on once in a while and stay on for 10 seconds to a minute and then I wouldn't see it again for several weeks. I replaced the battery, the alternator and even the computer (which did actually have an issue). Darned if that batt light didn't come back on a month later! Had the new alternator tested at the place that fixed it and it tested slightly low and they replaced it under warranty... BUT! As they were removing the alternator to replace it, the tech noticed that the wire connecting the alternator to the battery was barely hanging on. He cleaned up the wire and connector and I've not had a problem since. This whole process took about 4 months from beginning to end...all for a bad wire connector. One good thing is that I have a completely new electrical system.
This was also similar with my 1992 Toyota pickup mini truck. (I fucking love that truck) for a period of time the truck will shut off randomly even while idling. I thought it was the battery and my dad says it was the Throttle position sensor. When we sent the truck to Mexico.(im gonna bring it back because I own it ☺) my cousin found the problem........it was just a corroded wire..... Yep that was it. But it drives better now.
where did you get your tee?
sorry most of us were not more help, but it was basically a matter of making an educated guess given we weren't physically poking around looking at the car .my option to replace the Sam unit with one from a salvage yard . I get the impression would've worked but would've been more expensive.still like the little car.
thank you for this
I’m new to your page what did the car sell for?