How to find and replace the brake light switch in a Roadster
Smartmods
for all your modding needs, recommended by Evilution
Info
Roadster Buying Guide
So, You’re Thinking Of Buying A Smart Roadster? There is really nothing affordable that drives and handles like a smart Roadster. They are fun, practical (for most), good on fuel and great on sunny days with the top down. On the flip side, they aren't the most...
Roadster CAN Bus PIDs
Credit All credit for this information goes to Jack Rogers. This is all well over my level of understanding. Please don't message me asking questions about it as I have no idea. Notes The tables below are laid out in binary. Each CAN message consists of up to 8...
Roadster Coolant Specifications
Coolant Colour Don't pay too much attention to the colour of the coolant, it doesn't necessarily tell you what it is made from (propylene glycol, ethylene glycol etc). It is recommended that you top up with the same type coolant but if you bought the car new, you...
Roadster ESP Water Ingress
Imagine that, water ingress in a Roadster. Strange how an exterior controller is less likely to be affected by water ingress than a controller inside of the car. ABS Unit On the Roadster, the ABS pump is easy to access. You open the bonnet and remove the front boot...
Roadster Fires
Orange Roadsters look good but only when it's paint. Fire doesn't look very good at all on a Roadster.
Roadster Fuse Layout
Fuse 32, 33, 34 and 35 are on the top of the fuse box. You have to lower the fuse box to access these. No Amp. Colour 1 Starter 25 A Neutral 2 Windscreen wipers, washer pump 20 A Yellow 3 Heater blower, seat heater 20 A Yellow 4 Power windows, l. & r. 30 A Green 5...
Roadster Handbrake Cable Removal
Look under the car where the handbrake comes through the bulkhead. Push the distributor towards the cables and move the cable tips sideways, out of the way. Release the distributor and the cable ends are free. Open the rear brake drum... ...and use your tool of choice...
Roadster High Level Brake Light
Roadster 452 For some reason, many places will tell you that the bulbs in the high level brake light cannot be removed. It could be that they have had problems getting the bulbs out. Needless to say, you can get the bulbs out and I have a nice easy way to do it. The...
Roadster Horn Fault
It is becoming increasingly common for the horn on the Roadster to stop working. This is usually due to the position allowing the terminals to become contaminated and therefore breaking the circuit.
Roadster Not Selecting Reverse
The problem selecting reverse on the Roadster was usually due to a faulty brake light switch. As you select reverse, you will get a 0 on the speedo instead of the R symbol. Remove the brake light switch and test it to ensure it's doing what it should. A new switch can...
Roadster Pod Needle Wonky
Dash Pod Needle Not At Zero If the dash pods lose power whilst the car is on, the needle on the boost gauge (or sometimes the temperature gauge) can go out of sync and not sit at zero. When the car is off, they should be like this. Remove the clip on surround by...
Roadster Roof Not Opening Or Closing
If your Roadster roof gets stuck as it closes, have a look at the folds.
Roadster Roof Repair
In 2003, a video was made by smart. It was intended for use by the smart technicians so they could change the sliders on the Roadster roof. Unfortunately the original video disappeared, not a major loss as it was informative but the resolution is shit at 320x240. I...
Roadster Self Centring Steering
Problem Some people complain about the numb steering feel and the poor self centring of the steering wheel on a smart Roadster equipped with power steering. Personally I've never experienced this. The 2 Roadsters I had felt very direct in the steering and the wheel...
Roadster Stalk In A Fortwo
The fortwo headlight stalk is silly money compared to the Roadster, lets save money.
Roadster Wheel Disassembly
Choose Your Steering Wheel Roadster non paddle steering wheel Roadster new style paddle steering wheel Brabus V6 steering wheel Non Paddle Steering Wheel The clips are located underneath the red circles. (You can't see them). Hold the steering wheel with the back...
Safe Mode
If the car senses that it is getting too much boost, it can panic and put the car into safe mode to protect the engine.
So what could cause a car to suddenly create too much boost?
Safe Mode
If your car suddenly loses power and a warning light comes on, it could be safe mode.
SAM Unit (Fuse Box)
It's a name that gets banded around especially by Roadster owners but not that many people actually know what it is, even less know what's inside.