URGENT HELP NEEDED!!! XANTIA WON'T START.

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Rothy
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URGENT HELP NEEDED!!! XANTIA WON'T START.

Post by Rothy »

Hi there, this is my first time on the forum so aplogies in advance if it sound like an obvious repair. I can do basic car maintanence. To begin with the car is the xantia 1.9 diesel on a m plate. I went on holiday for a week and came back and the xantia wont start. My son said he got it to start when he needed to get into the garage.
The only lights that light up on the dash are the battery light and the parking light, none of the others oil level, glowplug etc. Tried using easy start that wouldn't do it, tried jumping it off a pajero still nothing. Even tried something I read about connect jump lead from battery to a glow plug again no joy( if I did it correctly). Help urgentl needed supposed to be going to cornwall tomorrow.

many thanks in advance

Rothy
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Post by Peter.N. »

Is the starter turning the engine over, if so is there any smoke appearing from the exhaust?
andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Still sounds like you're not getting enough power from the battery into the starter - diesels are notoriously awkward for getting started after being left a while. To get a good whack of power on the jump leads connect the -ve direct to the engine rather than the battery post terminals. The other thing to bear in mind is just exactly how heavy duty are the jump leads - some are like shoelaces and about as useful trying to jump start a car - are they heating up?

That all said, the other culprit may be air in the diesel feed piping - pump the priming bulb near the driver's strut top a good while so that you're sure it's really firm pressure.

Andrew
Rothy
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Post by Rothy »

Peter.N. wrote:Is the starter turning the engine over, if so is there any smoke appearing from the exhaust?
engine does turn over andsmoke does come out of the exhaust
Rothy
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Post by Rothy »

andmcit wrote:Still sounds like you're not getting enough power from the battery into the starter - diesels are notoriously awkward for getting started after being left a while. To get a good whack of power on the jump leads connect the -ve direct to the engine rather than the battery post terminals. The other thing to bear in mind is just exactly how heavy duty are the jump leads - some are like shoelaces and about as useful trying to jump start a car - are they heating up?

That all said, the other culprit may be air in the diesel feed piping - pump the priming bulb near the driver's strut top a good while so that you're sure it's really firm pressure.

Andrew
Thanks very much for the advice. Did as you said, putting the -ve on the engine. few thousand revs on the pajero, bingo! dash lights came on, engine started. Will put battery on charge.
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Post by BonceChops »

Rothy wrote:few thousand revs on the pajero, bingo! dash lights came on, engine started.
Personally I prefer to have the jump car with the ignition turned off in case any surges or what ever upset the electronics etc. There should be no need to have the engine running if you are using a decent pair of jump leads. Use cable that is at least 16mm sq. My home made leads using 32mm sq welding cable have never failed. Even when thin nasty leads started to smoke :D
Neil
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andmcit
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Post by andmcit »

Great stuff!

Mind, this may be a warning that the battery is on it's way out; if it's not powerful enough to start the diesel engine after a week's innactivity. Something to keep an eye on a least.

A further thought - get a multimeter reading accross the battery when the engine's running to see if the alternator is up to muster as it may have been on the slide for a while. Should be over 14.3 or thereabouts.

That all said, the regular use of the car in Cornwall should go well, the run should give the battery a good charge up!

Andrew
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Post by deian »

something else to think about is to get one of these portable battery jump starters, they are so cool and saved me many time, £50 should get u a decent one.
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Post by Peter.N. »

Have you tried one on a diesel?
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Post by jeremy »

Yes - have used a Clarke one on my TD BX when the battery went down - worked well.

2 things to think about - is there an electrical drain? - For example I changed the radio on the BX from one with a positive on-off switch to a new one with an electronic switch - no problem till I left it for 10 days - and battery flat. BX is wired so the radio is on all the time not on the ignition (presumably so it doesn't chew tapes)

The other is air getting in the fuel - which also happens on my BX and I must look for it. No external leak will be visible but a crack or loose pipe may let air in and cause starting problems if the car is left. If you have a Bosch pump look at the leakoff pipes but with a Roto-diesel these won't make any difference.
jeremy
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Post by mezuk04 »

May be a good idea to have the battery replaced or at least checked to see if its on its way out!
Volkswagen Golf 59' 1.6TD S :(
Rothy
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Thanks for advice

Post by Rothy »

Used father-in-laws car to go cornwall in to play safe. Came back wouldn't start again so got another battery and it started. Also thinking of changing glowplugs before cold weather comes in. Also to top it off sounds if frontwheel bearing gone!! TYPICAL, it never rains but it pours.
Thanks everyone for your advice, very much appreciated

Rothy
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