Todays experiences...not great

[vince]

Ok, i the Xantia (96 TD) is back in business again.....im writing this incase anyone else experiences similar symptoms.

Symptoms:
- For a few days, sporadically, you open the doors with the plip and get in. Put the key in the ignition and turn to position 1. Dash lights light up. Turn to position 2 to start the car and everything goes out. the car doesnt crank. Nothing, not even a click.

- Today i come out and the car is dead. The doors wont unlock off the plip. the doors wont unlock direct off the key. The door pins rise up but the doors remain locked. The boot, the same.

Diagnosis = Car battery completely dead.

Solution:
Jack the car up, connect a live feed from a jump lead to the starter motor. The earth to the body. Hey presto the car opens again with the plip. Pop the bonnet, check the battery and replace.

Everything back to normal....

Also noticed that the negative battery terminal is knackered so i am sure was part of the problem...

It cost me £80 i didnt have though

[Tourist]

My battery died without warning once, luckily I was parked right outside a car accessory shop what are the chances? Fixed with new battery. I was told that the old one was too small for the car, not sure if that's true or not.

This was with my ZX but it sounds like the same thing, a complete loss of power. My friend who owns a 306 has also experienced similar problems, it seems something is draining the power. We checked the fuses, took it to a garage and after £120 he's no closer to getting it fixed. No hazards, indicators, central locking or radio. The scrapper waits ... unless he can find some miracle fix.

[Peter.N.]

Diesels do need a big battery, it should be very heavy to lift. They tend to appear to fail suddenly because they have such a large plate area that they will still function when a large proportion of the active material has been lost, but after starting they have very little in reserve so will flatten even with a small load. Poor connections on the battery will also give the 'dead on engaging starter' syndrome.

[vince]

My battery died without warning once, luckily I was parked right outside a car accessory shop what are the chances? Fixed with new battery. I was told that the old one was too small for the car, not sure if that's true or not.

This was with my ZX but it sounds like the same thing, a complete loss of power. My friend who owns a 306 has also experienced similar problems, it seems something is draining the power. We checked the fuses, took it to a garage and after £120 he's no closer to getting it fixed. No hazards, indicators, central locking or radio. The scrapper waits ... unless he can find some miracle fix.

Id be inclined to think back to just before it started and figure out if anything changed....ie fitted stereo, fixed something....Boot lights are common for not being noticed they are stayin on when the hatch is shut.

Good luck.....