453 Electronic Controllers

No one seems to know where any of the 453 controllers are or, if they find a controller, they don’t know what it is. The main issues that causes confusion with a lot of people is four-fold.

1 – Being a Renault underneath, none of the controllers look like the old smart controllers.
2 – The Renault controllers are named something different to what smart named them.
3 – The 453 has 2 SAM units where all previous smarts had just 1.
4 – Unlike all previous smarts, the SAM unit isn’t packed with fuses.

So Far, This List Covers

Airbag controller
Climate controller
HV crash sensor
Reversing sensor controller
SAM unit middle
SAM unit left
Telematics

AirBag Controller

Bolted to the centre tunnel, just in front of the gear stick, underneath the cup holders. Also covered by a shroud in some newer models with updated centre console to protect the controller from spilled drink.

ClimBox

This is the climate control box…

…it is held vertically behind the left hand side of the dashboard. The 1 bracket holds the ClimBox on the left (arrowed below)and the driver’s side SAM (SAM-D) on the right.

It can be clipped in either way around from the factory so the cables could come out the front or the back.

High Voltage Crash Sensor Switch – EQ Only

This sensor is bolted to the centre tunnel underneath the centre of the dashboard. You’ll have to remove the centre console top and side to get to it. It’s listed as N2/1 on smart wiring diagrams and diagnostics. It communicates with the airbag controller during a crash. If the crash switch decides that the crash was severe enough to damage the battery, it sends a signal to the battery to brick itself (discharge itself until flat).

I was lucky. The battery was fine but the unit had blown. I bought a 2nd hand one and fitted it. Car worked correctly afterwards.

Reversing Sensor Controller

In the boot (trunk) behind the left hand interior panel. It takes the data from the reversing radar sensors and creates the warning beeps.

SAM-D

The Driver’s SAM unit is called a EMM by Renault (Electronics Management Module) and is labeled N10/11 on wiring diagrams and diagnostics. Smart created confusion by calling it the driver’s side SAM. That’s only the case on LHD cars. The more accurate definition would be the left hand SAM.

It’s attached to the same bracket behind the dashboard as the ClimBox. ClimBox on the left, SAM-D on the right (arrowed below).

It’s a small box with 4 connections.

It slots down onto the bracket and screws in at the top.

SAM-M

The middle SAM unit is called a BCM by Renault (Body Control Module) and is labeled N10/10 on wiring diagrams and diagnostics.

It is hidden below the heater controller in the middle of the dashboard, mainly hidden by the centre console.

Telematics

This connects to the radio. It’s under the left hand side of the dashboard, just above the ClimBox and SAM-D shown earlier.

It has a single connection. It mainly deals with location, speed and stability and it shares data to the radio unit.

With the dashboard off, you can see how it slots onto the bracket.

Radio Unit

If you have the TomTom R-link media unit, all of the radio reception, DAB reception and amplification is dealt with by this separate radio unit that’s hidden up behind the touch screen.