Installing Radio in NEW 451 - NO CONSTANT +12V in Harness

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Permalink Reply by Tony on September 13, 2009 at 10:44pm

Sorry I don't have the answer for you, just curious why you are hesitant to ask the service department of your smart dealer.

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Permalink Reply by Gilbert's on September 14, 2009 at 10:08pm

Did you find the neg ground to find the constant 12 volts remember this is euro the constant v+ is brown.

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Permalink Reply by billscha13 1 day ago

Thanks Tony & Gilbert:

I went to the dealer today and their mechanic never heard of this problem. I then went home and had an idea...there was one thing I didn't check because the car has only 26 miles on it...and that was the fusebox. I tested all the fuses and found fuse #15 had 0.6 volts on one side and 12 volts on the other, i.e. the fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse, and voila, +12volts where it should be. I wondered how a blown fuse got past the factory floor (the +12V was missing before I ever attempted to connect my radio). I remembered that the radio harness was tied to a metal support with tie-wraps in order to prevent a short. The tie wrap must have been put on by a 500 pound gorilla because I could barely cut it off. It was so tight it evidently pierced the constant+12V blue/red wire against the sharp edge of this grounded metal bar. Since +12V is always there, it was instantly shorted to ground and blew the fuse. How ironic, the tie wrap meant to protect actually caused the problem. Hopefully this paragraph finds its way to the Smart factory floor.

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example 1 day ago

rest assured, this may be reported, but if you sign on to "www.smartusainsider.com" (which is operated by "smart usa" and IS monitored by David Schembri, president of smart usa)

i had an "alleged shifter issue", the car locked in park below 0F, at the time rumors of defective shifter lubrication was rampant. i had 2 shifters replaced in a month. i was noting this on the "insider" website and David Schembri called me at home, conferenced me with their top smart technician, and had my brake switch replaced (hopefully this was the permanent fix, we'll see this winter). smart usa is very caring for us smarties. 3 months ago i met Dave in person at the midwest smart rally and thanked him personally for his help.

David Schembri actually CARES about all us smart owners in the USA, try finding that with ford, gm or chrysler, 7 years ago GM told me to "pound sand" for a catalytic converter that failed at 22K miles...

go to www.smartusainsider.com and comment this to david schembri, he's in constant contact with the factory in france and mercedes. he's a great guy!

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Permalink Reply by Brabus007 1 day ago

mr bad example,... GM told me to pound sand to... Guess what... They won the Battle, BUT Lost The WAR... My last two New cars I bought were not GM...!!! Do you think they drove themselves into Bankruptcy...YUP... (BAD MANAGEMENT)

~But I I did Keep the Vette~

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Permalink Reply by Tony 1 hour ago

Hey Brabus007. Nice Vette my friend. I'd keep it too. It was build in an age when workers at our factories had integrity and when those that controlled the production line cared for the people that worked them. A lot has gone wrong over the years. Lets see if a recovery of the big 3 is possible.
I've bought American and foreign and eve those early "Foreign" built in America types such as the VW Rabbits built in Westmoreland PA. Lets see how things go in the next 2 or 3 years in this wonderful country of ours. I currently own a Chevrolet, a Ford and My Smart.

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