Arrgh, car won't start.. electrical?

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deian
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Arrgh, car won't start.. electrical?

Post by deian »

Hi guys,

After a few days of intermittent starting o the old zx td, leaving work now (8pm) it eventually had enough. The booster pack didn't help either, so something somewhere must be killing something.

It started as a slow turn on the starter, then it started missing, then it needed help from booster packs, then it needed luck, when luck was needed the symtoms were clicking of the starter (symptom of dead battery), but last few times, on turning the key to ON (not start), the dash lights would fliker and something would somewhere. It then eventually gave up and the dim lights died completely.

The car is still at work, and I will be calling the AA tomorrow to have a look at it and tow me back home if needed.

Any of you guys got any ideas? Sounds to me like a short, a big one somewhere. It totally sucked the booster pack dry, and probably destroyed my battery. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
weety
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Re: Arrgh, car won't start.. electrical?

Post by weety »

deian wrote:Hi guys,

After a few days of intermittent starting o the old zx td, leaving work now (8pm) it eventually had enough. The booster pack didn't help either, so something somewhere must be killing something.

It started as a slow turn on the starter, then it started missing, then it needed help from booster packs, then it needed luck, when luck was needed the symtoms were clicking of the starter (symptom of dead battery), but last few times, on turning the key to ON (not start), the dash lights would fliker and something would somewhere. It then eventually gave up and the dim lights died completely.

The car is still at work, and I will be calling the AA tomorrow to have a look at it and tow me back home if needed.

Any of you guys got any ideas? Sounds to me like a short, a big one somewhere. It totally sucked the booster pack dry, and probably destroyed my battery. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
start by checking interior lights (glovebox and boot especially) if one of those is staying on it will flatten a battery near enough overnight

i had a xantia where the instrument panel illumination was staying on...no idea why i just pulled the fuse in the end

if you have got access to a multimeter you can connect that to the battery and measure the amount of power being drained (with the ignition of) there should be a stready small drain for the clock and alarm...... if its bigger than that start pulling out fuses till it stops and that should give you a good idea of whats gon wrong
M reg xantia 1.9td 266000 miles expired
R reg xantia 1.9td 186000 miles veggy power expired
L reg renault clio 1.9D 91000 miles expired at 107000 miles
x reg clio 15d veggy power bottom of the car rotted through
06 c5 2.2 TD wowser so much power and comfort 160000 miles
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Post by Stempy »

You might have a dead cell in the battery. This has just happened to my Xantia. It will just about turn over with jump leads from the van, I managed to start it and measured the charge voltage which was 14.5v so the charge circuit is working fine, but after leaving it running for 15 mins the volts dropped immediately to 10v when I turned the ignition off, so it's completely pooped.

The cheapest quote I've got so far for a replacement is from a Citroen main dealer shock horror!!!
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wrinklet1
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Post by wrinklet1 »

Hi,
Even though your car turned over slowly, The problem of starting could be that no power is going to the stop solenoid, therefore fuel isnt going to the engine. Only an idea
Oh, and if it is the battery have a look at eurocarparts.co.uk I have had a couple of batteries from them, cheap to buy and good quality too.

Paul
1xAmi,3xGS,2xBx,2xAX,2xSaxo,1xXantia mk I,2xXantia MkII,1xC1,2xC2,
thorter
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Post by thorter »

Maybe rings a bell! If it has a Lucas injection pump, it may well be the stop solenoid open circuit or intermittent. The winding is a plastic molding with a metal insert that grounds to the solenoid body, and this sometimes looses contact.

Unscrew the solenoid and take out the stop valve, replace solenoid and try to start. If ir runs, you can stop the engine for the time being by the stop lever on the pump.

Fred
deian
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Post by deian »

It's a bosch mechanical. I got a new battery after theAA man recommended, it's fine so far, he checked for drain too, seems like a dodgy switch on the interior light may have been shorting/arcing causing all sorts of weirdness. But the alternator belt has a sheared bolt on the sliding tensioner which won't help charging.

Problem is now, my dad's booster pack broke last night when trying to start it, then it didn't work at all jumping from my mate's car... (back to the booster)- when i press the 'test' button to find out how much charge it has it shows nothing, the battery doesn't show any charge on the multimeter either. But if I plug it in it's ok, shows full charge, did i blow some cells in that too? He won't be happy.
Very weird problem that one too.
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UserError
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ZX not starting

Post by UserError »

Hi,
Been through something similar recently.

Foolish garage coudn't fid anything wrong & replaced battery for good measure. Wise garage found that that the earth strap was corroded WITHIN the connector - not outwardly visible (I had wire-brushed the terminal).

I also recall there are 2 earth straps - 1 to the gearbox & another somewhere?

Hope this helps, esp as its the cheap solution!
Jonathan
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