Motorhome won't start

[210ians]

As above unless u add the lesure battery is this comon on all or just certain M/H

 

[David and Sally]

NO. Your starter battery is either knackered or losing juice to something. Alarm maybe?

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

With David here....Engine starter battery at fault! Multimeter...What does it read when put across the engine battery prior to starting? What des it read when attempting start up? If it drops below 9 volts.....its buggered!


Kev

 

[Campervan_man]

If it's Ducato, under the bonnet are 2 points that you can jump start it from { POS & NEG } without having to move the large grey plastic cover by the the passenger's feet to access the engine battery in the foot well.

 

[210ians]

Yes the alarm lights flashing seconds after you turn the key and a light flashed on instralso the temperature gauge seems to be showing 1/4 instead of half as it did before may be unrelated don't know

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[210ians]

Sorry forgot to say 2004 fiat ducato based m/h

 

[Campervan_man]

When you try to start it the glow plug symbol will have a padlock symbol on it, turn the key but don't crank the engine for a few seconds until the padlock symbol disappears.
If it starts with a booster pack your engine battery may be faulty.

 

[Bill and Tracey]

Does the engine turn over? Is the engine spinning but not firing? Can you smell fuel coming from the tailpipe? When did it last run? Flat battery does sound the most obvious fault. The alarm/immobilizer won't like the sudden loss of voltage as you crank the engine. Grab the jump leads.

 

[210ians]

That's the thing as soon as I connect lesure battery van starts fine and no alarm fault also when I lay up van I disconnect cab earth to save flattening cab battery

 

[pappajohn]

That's the thing as soon as I connect lesure battery van starts fine

What exactly do you mean by connect?

Reconnect disconnected leisure battery or connect leisure to engine battery via jump leads?

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[Bill and Tracey]

Take the leisure battery out of the equation. Chuck it in the shed. Now connect the engine battery and jump start if necessary. Do you have a multimeter? What is the voltage at the starter motor main connection? Is the earth point clean?

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Take the leisure battery out of the equation. Chuck it in the shed.

Love that! My kind of answer! Like you ....I think its the engine battery being scuppered! Im guessing as soon as the jump leads go on...all will be ok.

Kev

 

[Reallyretired]

Sounds like a knackered battery. Its voltage may be OK off load but it can still fail to start the engine. I recently replaced mine with the same problem, appeared to charge fine but wouldn't start and my battery analyser showed CCA at 320A which should be 900A. New battery all fine.

 

[ryan_flea]

Vaseline... on both terminals. ?

 

[210ians]

Ok but in the fiat manual it says in thick black letters don't jump start this vechile any way you can't get cables on the + side of battery

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[Eggs]

Ok but in the fiat manual it says in thick black letters don't jump start this vechile any way you can't get cables on the + side of battery

My understanding is you shouldn't jump start them direct to the battery, using the jump start points under the bonnet is ok. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, using the jump start points absorbs some of the power from the jump pack, other vehicle which protects the electronics.

 

[MisterB]

doesnt jump starting refer to physically pushing the vehicle and 'jumping it into gear to start'. using another battery isnt doing anything other than putting a new battery on but connecting it temporarily?

 

[Richard n Ann]

With David here....Engine starter battery at fault! Multimeter...What does it read when put across the engine battery prior to starting? What des it read when attempting start up? If it drops below 9 volts.....its buggered!


Kev

Not necessarily our cranking voltage has always been low on the car, sometimes it was 7.9v ? it always whipped the engine over so I ignored it... Anyway had a new battery this week because it started to lose charge (with no drain), and guess what? The cranking voltage is too low again ?

 

[WESTY66]

doesnt jump starting refer to physically pushing the vehicle and 'jumping it into gear to start'.

No, that’s Bump starting!?

 

[GeoffnDee]

That's the thing as soon as I connect lesure battery van starts fine and no alarm fault also when I lay up van I disconnect cab earth to save flattening cab battery

It seems that your leisure battery is already linked with your starter battery somehow,this is unusual,what make of motorhome is it. It may have had a battery link switch fitted which would allow you to start the engine even if the engine start battery was faulty or flat for another reason.

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[jockaneezer]

Geoff C. If the starter battery voltage is low on our Burstner, once the ignition is switched on, you can watch on the digital display as the van battery draws current from the leisure battery to give it a boost. Not sure how the Bessacar the op has is set up as Brit vans usually isolate the van electrics once the ignition switch is activated ?

 

[walburga]

If it's Ducato, under the bonnet are 2 points that you can jump start it from { POS & NEG } without having to move the large grey plastic cover by the the passenger's feet to access the engine battery in the foot well.

The Fiat Ducato 2004 model doesn't have these points/fixings...you have to connect to the engine battery terminals.
The 55 reg model doesn't have them either...I've had both models.

regards
Allen

 

[GeoffnDee]

I had not spotted it was a Bessacarr,I have had one and that did not have a battery link it, was a 2007 model,, but I wonder if one has been retro-fitted and if it could be switched off to enable the engine battery to be checked.
If the leisure battery positive lead could be followed it may lead to a changeover switch or some kind of battery link system.There could also be a switch on the dash to link them.

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Not necessarily our cranking voltage has always been low on the car, sometimes it was 7.9v ? it always whipped the engine over so I ignored it... Anyway had a new battery this week because it started to lose charge (with no drain), and guess what? The cranking voltage is too low again ?

View attachment 363941

If you can get a car or a truck to fire up with 7.9 volts........You have found the Holy Grail!
It is impossible to fire up any truck with 8 volts at the battery ! Sorry but it's true. What was you reading when it was connected up ? A crank test will drawer a massive amount out of a full battery at start up. If you only have 8 volts available....its impossible honest. Im guessing a misunderstanding of a reading here ?
Check the chart below...it may help a little

Looking at your test...The initial turn of the key and the starter motor engaging with the flywheel is 8 volts ish. It then turns and increases in power yes? Indicating one of three things. 1) Starter fault 2) Battery incorrect CCA and incorrect size 3) Battery not fully charged or fault on earth

 

[pappajohn]

doesnt jump starting refer to physically pushing the vehicle and 'jumping it into gear to start'. using another battery isnt doing anything other than putting a new battery on but connecting it temporarily?

That's BUMP starting.
Strange terminology but that's how it is.

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[Richard n Ann]

If you can get a car or a truck to fire up with 7.9 volts........You have found the Holy Grail!
It is impossible to fire up any truck with 8 volts at the battery ! Sorry but it's true. What was you reading when it was connected up ? A crank test will drawer a massive amount out of a full battery at start up. If you only have 8 volts available....its impossible honest. Im guessing a misunderstanding of a reading here ?
Check the chart below...it may help a little
View attachment 364008

Looking at your test...The initial turn of the key and the starter motor engaging with the flywheel is 8 volts ish. It then turns and increases in power yes? Indicating one of three things. 1) Starter fault 2) Battery incorrect CCA and incorrect size 3) Battery not fully charged or fault on earth

It's just a 20 quid Bluetooth gadget I've got on the battery that measures voltage only. Not measured it with a multimeter, I put it on just to monitor voltage while the car is idle and I'm listening to the radio.

It's at least 12.2v usually and it's accurate enough at that task. It's when the enormous starting current is being drawn it seems to drop, it says itself it's too low but same as I say it whips the engine over so I don't really care ?

 

[Richard n Ann]

Usual voltage, guess what time the new battery was fitted ??

 

[pappajohn]

Usual cranking voltage for a poor starting engine won't drop much below 9v for a good battery.
First turn starters probably won't drop below 11v.....even less drop if the engine is already warm.

 

[PeteH]

IF the battery is more than2 or 3 years old, and FLA, You likely have a degraded battery. Once a battery has dropped below 7 or 8 volts is is damaged, probably permanently. A proper charge regiem may bring it back up but it will never be as good again. I have 2 batteries one in my car and one on charge (solar) the car often does not move for weeks on end. They have both seen better days and have been completely flattened several times. I put them on a High boost charge with the caps loose, and then finish with a "Smart Charger". They keep going but I am fully aware they are due replacement. For when I get caught out I have this:- Amazon product ASIN B07QC1TD3P .

 

[Campervan_man]

I have an early Iveco that needs a bit of umph to start it so I have fitted a 100W solar panel on the roof with a charge controller in the cab and a battery isolator key under the bonnet.
Battery now is usually 14.4V and engine starts ok.
The charge controller has a couple of USB outs so ideal for charging the phone etc
The gear box has the dog leg 1st and reverse in the opposite to usual position so I have a USB bendy light that shines on the gearstick to ease the gear selection confusion at night.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-...0001&campid=5338547443&icep_item=321942093856

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