As usual it's been a long time since I last posted anything here. Also as usual that's mostly because I've not done much and therefore not had a lot to report.
I did get the Smart Roadster out of the garage around the end of 2020 after charging the battery but immediately discovered that the windscreen wipers had mysteriously stopped working while the car was parked. I didn't immediately have time to investigate so the car went back in the garage.
Fast forward to March 2021 and I finally got around to looking into the problem. Of course there's never just one problem...
The wiper motor is located under plastic trim below the windscreen. These cars are known to have an issue with water getting into the motor and rusting the internal mechanism so that was my first thought however a basic electrical check seemed like a good starting point.
To get at the motor then it is first necessary to remove the plastic trim piece... and in order to do that the wiper arms have to be removed from their spindles. They were reluctant to let go. A week soaking in penetrating fluid followed by some attention from a newly purchased puller eventually got them off the car.
Then I discovered that the trim still won't come off because the front boot hinges are in the way, so the boot lid had to come off as well... and in order to do that the top of the front wings had to be loosened to provide clearance.
Fortunately since this outer panels of the Roadster are mostly ABS plastic everything unscrewed easily and nothing weighs very much.
With access finally gained to the wiper motor and linkage I was slightly surprised to see the manufacturer of the wiring connector identified clearly as neither Smart nor Mercedes.
In any case my multimeter showed that electricity was appearing in the right places at appropriate times so it was back to removing the motor. Just another three bolts and the whole motor and linkage assembly comes out in one piece.
On the bench I took the back off the motor expecting to find it seized but in fact the internals are pretty much pristine. Turning the motor by hand also proved that the gearbox was free and working correctly and the linkage similarly in excellent condition.
All of which is somewhat baffling. A replacement motor from Smart would come with all the linkage pre-attached ready to bolt on however the motor on its own can be purchased as a VW part for rather less money so I've ordered one. Now I just need to get the output shaft of the old motor so it can be swapped to the new one. This also has no intention of letting go any time soon and the cheap and nasty puller I bought for the wiper arms isn't up to the job. Time to go see if I can buy a better quality one then.
To be continued...
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