"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/03/2018 at 12:46 • Filed to: Smart, wrenching
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"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/03/2018 at 12:46 • Filed to: Smart, wrenching | 3
| 8 |
So I kinda slipped a bit toward the “David Tracy” end of the collecting spectrum. As I collected bikes, I sort of shelved my smart projects. No more..
Since Madame DeLorean is busy until a little after noon, I decided to use my morning doing productive things.
First up, a daytime eval of my new scooter.
It was here I found out that the scooter was purchased new in 2012. That makes it one of the last CF Moto motorcycles sold in the US before they were caught cheating EPA regs. What was their cheat? They just didn’t bother emissions testing them before putting them on the market. I didn’t know you could even do that.
Next up is the MVP
If you recall, I bought this car in Pennsylvania then drove it about 800 miles home. I then drove it another couple hundred miles locally before the transmission stopped working. It’s been in limbo ever since.
Now that the parking lot is fully paved I can move the car back to its spot in front of my condo. Now, I could just strap the car to my other smart and pull it up the hill, however I want the car to do it under its own power . I still want to make it a daily and finish my restoration project on it, so I’m back to troubleshooting.
I’m further motivated after discovering that my neighbours probably know that the car doesn’t move on its own. The car attracts all sorts of dilapidated vehicles that park next to it. Today’s vehicle is a Jetta with an underbody so rusty it makes David Tracy’s mail Jeep look like new.
First problem I ran into was that the battery is flat. When you try to start the car, the windscreen washers turn on.
The computers in a smart are very sensitive to battery strength. Anything less than 12V and the car starts doing weird crap. You get everything from the transmission not shifting, to rough idle, to spraying your windscreen instead of starting.
So out the battery goes...
It’s charging! Whew, so it isn’t bad...
Wait...
What the?
W.W. Enterprises is a company so small that they don’t even have a website or Google listing.
And I can only assume “MONTH” “YEAR” means manufacturing date. Which means that the guy who sold me the car bought this battery right before I picked up the car. The fact that this battery drained so fast is concerning. I can let my 453 sit for months and the battery will stay strong. This thing was down for the count after a month and a half.
This may be why I’m having unexplained electrical and computer issues. If after I charge it the car moves, I’ll know a factor in my problems.
Further, I plan on buying an impact gun and actually fixing the clutch actuator before it truly gets cold.
So there we go, those are my projects for today. :)
winterlegacy, here 'till the end
> Mercedes Streeter
11/03/2018 at 12:58 |
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I am so tempted to consider buying a relatively recent smart car when I have enough money to throw in the general direction of one.
When I looked at the specs for one, though, it looks like it takes premium. Can you confirm that?
Cé hé sin
> winterlegacy, here 'till the end
11/03/2018 at 13:13 |
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Can’t say for the conventional models, but my Roadster needs a diet of 98 (RON) which it doesn’t get because not sold here. It has to make do with 95. It gives less power and uses more fuel doing so from what I can gather.
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Cé hé sin
> Mercedes Streeter
11/03/2018 at 13:17 |
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Might that not be a 2008
battery?
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Mercedes Streeter
> winterlegacy, here 'till the end
11/03/2018 at 13:19 |
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It does recommend 95 RON (Premium for us ) however running less than premium isn’t necessarily a death sentence. I wouldn’t redline every shift when running Regular, but it will run without damage on reg so long as you don’t abuse it.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Cé hé sin
11/03/2018 at 13:26 |
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The guy did claim to put in a new battery right before I bought the car. And “Mar” “8" does coincide with his claim. Although it would be weird that this battery was produced then bought all in the span of two weeks? 2008 does seem more logical.
Either way, the quality of this battery seems suspect so I’m going to treat it like it is one of those $30 batteries you can get from Walmart.
Kiltedpadre
> Mercedes Streeter
11/03/2018 at 19:00 |
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Is there an auto parts place nearby that does battery testing? Since you already have it out this would be the easiest time to give it a shot.
Alternatively, does the car use a hard to find size battery? Maybe he had to special order it? If so that would explain the short manufactured to purchased window.
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Mercedes Streeter
> Kiltedpadre
11/04/2018 at 11:07 |
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There are a handful of parts stores, I’m just too lazy to leave this weekend lol. I’ll probably do that tomorrow.
The battery size is pretty special (to the point where the official battery size can only be obtained at a MB dealership) however the battery well is large enough to accommodate a pretty wide variety of sizes.
Tohru
> Mercedes Streeter
11/04/2018 at 23:32 |
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those dots in the top are removed at the auto parts store when you sell it to keep track of warranty period. generally, like on the Interstates we stock at work, there’s a round sticker on the side with the month and year the battery was actually produced.