Jump Start a Smart 451

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on August 24, 2008 at 7:54pm

interesting, yesterday, a mexi-beaner parked next to me left the lights on in his pick-up when he parked. i noticed this when i parked next to him. at break time i noticed his lights were still on. i reported this to my supervisor, she said she'd contact his supervisor, didn't happen. when i was leaving for the day, mr beaner asked me for a jump as i was leaving, i told him my battery was under the passenger floorboard and my battery was probably not strong enough to start his truck.
(he was a frikkin moron, seems he's done this before, he had jumper cables handy)

as for jumping a smart, positive to the battery, negative to a body ground, it's right next to the battery, the ground cable is less than a foot long, go there.

for charging the battery, smart recommends removing the battery from the smart. living in a condo, i'd have to do this with any car, no garage...

i felt a little better not offering the bozo a jump, having to rip up my carpet and then the floorboard to get to the battery, normally, i'd give a guy a jump with the battery under the hood, i'm not gonna rip up my car to give a clown a jump with 50+ real cars with batteries under their hoods around. if smart would have placed the battery in an accessable area, i might have tried giving him a jump.

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on August 24, 2008 at 8:15pm

I wish they would have installed a connector in a convenient place to jump start.

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on August 24, 2008 at 8:28pm

yeah, this is one inconvenient thing, rip up carpet, then remove a panel. all it would take is a few $$ more of cables and contacts under the front "hood". but smart didn't want to drive around that extra pound "nice stuff" around.

MB does a lot of weird shit, i had an190E and the sunroof had a manual "control" in the trunk, my switch failed, i hadda crank it shut, gearing was all wrong, it took forever, only "Arnold" could have cranked it shut timely manor.

MB does a lot of good stuff, but screws up a bit as well. IMHO they could have puttthe battery under the "hood" rather than the passenger footwell.

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Permalink Reply by Tony on August 24, 2008 at 11:48pm

Sounds like a very cool after market item to 'produce'. Anyone in that business ... I'm sure manufacturing it would be quite simple, once a location for the jump point is determined. My thought is more for my convenience, in the event I somehow kill my own battery. Although, being a good samaritan would be nice too.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Masters on August 25, 2008 at 12:21am

Triple A (AAA) will provide this service for free to members and even enroll non-members on the spot - so there is no excuse for a Smart owner to risk his car for a steel hauler.

I would strongly caution anyone against jumping giant cars that have giant alternators and thick wires with little cars that have little alternators and tiny wires because you can do serious damage to your Smart. Their alternator is bigger than yours and can burn out your charging system (and possibly other delicate systems) if they stupidly rev their gigantic engine when it fires. Offer to call AAA. The only thing you should ever do is turn your little Smart into a battery charger and charge up their battery with it. NEVER JUMP!!!
And if you think you will ever do this, carry the tools you will need with you, including a rubber mat.

But if you actually have a genuine emergency, like a helpless family stranded on a mountain road with a blizzard coming, this is what I would do:

1) Take the keys from the other driver and put them in your pocket. Verify that the system on the gigantic vehicle is 12 volt and determine which terminals are positive (+) and negative (-). Determine if the battery is completely dead or only partially dead by turning on the parking lights, then turn them off.
2) Disconnect the negative cable from the battery of the giant vehicle. Loosen the positive clamp on the Smart's battery slightly, so that it will come off if you work it back and forth. Leave it on.
3) Connect one side of the jumper cables to the positive terminal clamps of each vehicle.
4) Connect the negative cable to the Smart's frame near the battery.
5) Briefly touch the remaining jumper cable to the negative terminal of the giant vehicle. If you have found the gigantic vehicle to have a partially-charged battery, there should be NO spark. If there is a spark, STOP. Something is wrong. Check the cables again. If the battery on the gigantic vehicle is completely dead, touching the negative terminal with the negative jumper won't tell you anything, so be damned sure you have the cables hooked up properly. If you screw up, you will fry your charging system in a couple of steps.
6) Start the Smart car. Let it idle. Turn off all the electrical loads (headlights, radio, etc.).
7) Clamp the remaning jumper cable to the negative terminal of the gigantic vehicle.
8) Turn on the parking lights of the giant car again. When they appear bright, turn them off and go to the next step.
9) Keep the teeth of the jumper cable latched firmly on the Smart's positive cable clamp and work the clamp carefully off the Smart's battery. Don't let it touch metal! Secure the cable so it won't move and cause a short. Now your Smart thinks the battery in the giant vehicle is its battery.
10) Rev and hold the Smart at 1000 to 1200 rpm (twice idle).
11) Turn on the Smart's headlights for ten seconds, then turn them off. This sets the Smart's alternator to maximum charge.
12) Do this for AT LEAST 20 minutes.
13) Turn off the Smart.
14) Unhook the jumper from the Smarts negative side.
15) Unhook the negative, then positive jumpers from the giant vehicle's battery..
16) Reattach the negative clamp to the gigantic vehicle's battery. Shut the hood.
17) Remove the jumper from the Smart's positive clamp and reattach the clamp. Cover it up.
18) Give the keys to the driver of the gigantic vehicle.
19) If it doesn't start, offer to call AAA.

YOU ARE DONE. THAT IS ALL YOU CAN DO.
(Yes, I am a mechanic. No, I did not talk to Smart about this universal method.)

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on August 25, 2008 at 12:32am

This is good information. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on August 25, 2008 at 3:17am

too much trouble, i've been a "good sam" for over 20 years, a guy in a buick gave him a jump. the clown was prepared, had cables. i told him my battery was inside the smart, below the passenger footwell. we work 10 hour days at my new job, so that pick-up was dead with headlights on 11 hours.

it's time more drivers become "smart" in more ways than one. smart recommends removing the battery for recharging.

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