Starter battery problem ?

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headlight

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Swift Suntor 590RL
2006 Swift Suntor on a Fiat Ducato with a 2.3jtd engine.
Started the van this morning for the first time since driving it back from Taunton 3 weeks ago to go on a trip.
Van started first flick as usual.
I drove less than 2 miles to a garage to check my tyre pressures.
After checking the pressures I turned the ignition the first click and lots of lights came up on the dash the same as every time then after a few seconds they go off as usual, I turn the key and nothing happens no click absolutely dead and the dash goes blank.
I try this several times then open the bonnet to check obvious things like battery connections.
Everything appears fine so I ring my breakdown cover.
Guy turns up I show him what's happening he says the starter battery is flat.
Puts jump leads on it and it starts fine.
Seems very weird to me as less than 2 miles ago the battery was fine, I have solar and a battery master so the starter battery is always fine and starter battery is 14 moths old.
He says drive it for half an hour and it will be fine so I drive the 90 minutes to my sisters. Get there then after 30-40 minutes go to leave and it's dead again.
Put a multimeter on the battery and it shows 12.7v, turn the key and it drops straight to 0v.
Jump start it and it shows 14.2v, and my leisure batteries are being charged by the B2B.
Turn it off and it's dead again.
Has the battery just simply failed on the 2 mile drive ?
 
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Wouldn't that still stop it starting on a jump ?
 
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Without knowing battery age I would say battery shot, as not holding charge. Modern batteries can die very quickly particularly in the colder months.

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dash300 said:
Without knowing battery age I would say battery shot, as not holding charge. Modern batteries can die very quickly particularly in the colder months.
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Battery is 14 months old maintained by a battery master.
 
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How did you check the battery voltage? If you had the probes on the terminals and it went to zero, then I suspect a dodgy battery terminal connection. Make sure you have the probes on the actual battery lead posts. If it then goes to zero, you have a dead battery, RIP.

Geoff
 
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Maybe the battery has failed - but to check the earth strap attach a single jump lead between the battery negative post and a good earth point on the engine (could use the lifting eye if its a Fiat) and see if it starts. If it does that would suggest the gearbox to chassis earth strap is high resistance. It may be securely attached each end and look ok but can corrode internally at the crimp on the eyelets - its a well known problem. I have replaced mine as a precaution.
 

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Have you checked the alternator output? If the battery is not getting charged while running it soon runs flat. You may see the charge warning light come on while driving. I had an interesting drive to the garage in the dark with a bad alternator and declining battery. Luckily all the traffic lights were green!
 
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donkey said:
How did you check the battery voltage? If you had the probes on the terminals and it went to zero, then I suspect a dodgy battery terminal connection. Make sure you have the probes on the actual battery lead posts. If it then goes to zero, you have a dead battery, RIP.

Geoff
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Agree....In this scenario, definitely the battery terminals are the first thing to check
 
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A battery can show good voltage off-load but die instantly when a load is applied if it develops an internal fault .
I stopped for fuel after a 90 mile run and the battery (which had never given any trouble) was dead when I tried to restart it for that reason.
(The chap in the kiosk wouldn't let me jump start it on the forecourt due to the danger of explosion. Luckily I was able to enlist the help of a rugby team that arrived in a minibus and pushed me off the premises to jump start it - from the leisure battery).
 
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The battery post connections are good.
The alternator is putting out 14.2v, measured on the battery posts.
So it could be a failed battery.
The earth strap appears fine but could be the problem I suppose.
The vehicle is now an hour and a half away from me.
My breakdown cover company will recover it to a garage on Monday to have a new battery fitted.
It's just that I'm not 100% sure the battery is faulty.
If it is then fine I'll obviously pay to have a new battery fitted but the "technician" they sent didn't check anything at all.

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I had the exact same symptoms on my son's car. They can suddenly fail. His battery had good voltage reading but wouldn't turn a sheet of paper over. If the battery is fairly new does it have a guarantee?
 
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IRHP said:
I had the exact same symptoms on my son's car. They can suddenly fail. His battery had good voltage reading but wouldn't turn a sheet of paper over. If the battery is fairly new does it have a guarantee?
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Yes the battery is 14 months old and is well within warranty.
 
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Although having had dealings concerning a battery that failed well within warranty once before, years ago on a car, I don't think the warranty is worth anything.
 
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I had a BMW battery develop an open circuit outside a cake shop. Pulled up , bought a sticky bun and it was completely dead on restarting . New battery required

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headlight said:
Wouldn't that still stop it starting on a jump ?
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usually when jumping the red cable goes on the battery live & the earth clamp goes directly on to the engine.
If a plate has gone inside the battery it can do what you have then another time start ok.
 
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bubble63 said:
I had a BMW battery develop an open circuit outside a cake shop. Pulled up , bought a sticky bun and it was completely dead on restarting . New battery required
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Love the detail about the cake shop. What type of sticky bun was it? Chelsea bun? Viennese whirl, pecan nut fancy? 🤣
 
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With your meter on the batt posts,(not the clamps), anything over 12.2 v should be capable of cranking the starter. If it drops below 9v when trying to crank, it’s new battery time. The starter motor is a large enough load to test this. Modern batteries frequently fail with little warning. Bad earth problems occur further ‘downstream’, usually the braid between the N/side inner wing and gearbox. You can test this with your multimeter. One probe on the wing earth bolt, other probe on the gearbox. Crank the engine. Your v reading should be zero with a good connection. The poorer the connection, the higher the reading.

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Get a chunky jump lead on negative post and the other end to engine block - lifting eye if you have one. Now try key.

This will rule out your earth straps (which were crap in older vans). The earth to starter motor can be visibly ok but corroded too.
 
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Jev88 said:
Get a chunky jump lead on negative post and the other end to engine block - lifting eye if you have one. Now try key.

This will rule out your earth straps (which were crap in older vans). The earth to starter motor can be visibly ok but corroded too.
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Following this thread with interest but don’t know where to find the earth strap and would also like to know what the lifting eye is and where I find this, please.
 
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Ingwe said:
Following this thread with interest but don’t know where to find the earth strap and would also like to know what the lifting eye is and where I find this, please.
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Some engines have an obvious metal loop on top but any big bolt or metal part will do for earth.

Earth straps were particularly bad on old vans - often not insulated from weather.

Screenshot_20230108-222834-710.pngScreenshot_20230108-222927.pngScreenshot_20230108-222951.png
 
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GeoffnDee said:
As has been suggested , make sure they check both earth straps , the battery to body one and the engine/gearbox to body one as either having a poor/ high resistance connection at an end terminal could cause a similar problem to the one you have.
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I think we've all been there on this one over the years , whatever vehicle , can be confusing , it only needs one cell to be deteriorating , batteries have improved over the years , trouble is they are so expensive like everything else when your drawing an aging pension .😊🐕
 
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