On the very rare occasion you may need to remove the SAM, ensure that you take added care as damage of the SAM could result in a very costly bill. The SAM is the central control system and you can't run the car without it. Should your Roadster be exhibiting strange behaviour such as random operation of consumers, you may be suffering from the dreaded bulkhead leaks where water gets into the SAM. Before shelling out for a new SAM, you may consider removing it and drying it out to see if that cures the problem.
Never work on the SAM with the battery connected. As a starting point, disconnect the battery starting with the ground connection as follows:
Leave the car for at least 10 minutes to allow any residual charge to drain out of the electronics. The SAM is located within the driver footwell. Unlike the fortwo the SAM switches sides depending on where the steering wheel is. The following is for an right hand drive car but the process is the same for left hand drive.
There is a release handle located as follows. Pull this and allow the SAM to drop at the front.
Push the top of the SAM upwards. You will feel it unclip from the hinged bracket.
You can now lower the SAM to reveal the connectors on the rear.
The Roadster is known for some very poor design elements and the SAM is no exception. There is not enough slack in the wiring loom to allow the SAM to drop very far. Now that the battery is disconnected, start unplugging the connectors you can see. All of them have a little latch that needs pressing before you can pull the connector free.
As you unplug, the SAM will start to lower.
As you get to the connectors with several wires attached (at the lowest end), you need to swing up the grey arm before the connector comes free. You can see one of these connectors in the following picture (centre white connector).
Once all ten connectors are removed you need to free the main supply cable from the battery (arrowed).
Use a 10mm socket to undo the nut and the SAM will be fully disconnected. If there is a red cover strip over this nut, simply pull it off. smart chose not to install the cover on this particular car.
Remove the SAM from the car and place in an airing cupboard to dry out as appropriate. Do not separate the casing as you risk totally damaging the unit. Remember, the car keys are coded to the SAM!
