xsara wont start, clicking coming from fusebox and more

arcticfox · Unread post by **arcticfox** » 24 Feb 2011, 20:01

Sigh, after 6 and a half years of fault free driving, my Xsara 1.4LX is ill.

Basically, a few weeks ago the Battery warning light came on the dashboard and 3 beeps but some days it wouldn't come on at all. This went on a couple of weeks but there was no performance loss during this time.

Then, one night after work I tried to start it and it wouldn't start, which was the first time it had ever done that since I bought it. When it did start up, the engine management light came on and I drove home. The next morning I tried it and it wouldn't start, it turned over and after a while the immobiliser light came on and a beep and the light on the hazard warning button.

I read that it could be a battery problem as it's quite old so I took it out, fully charged it and put it back in. When I turned the ignition to the second stage, a fast clicking noise started from near the fuse box in the engine compartment even after taking the key out. The only way to stop the noise was to disconnect the battery. Once re-connected, the noise stops.

So, this is where I am now. Am not very technical minded and wary about getting a garage come and take it away and charge me a fortune for possibly a minor thing that I could have fixed myself. Would like to at least have some idea what is wrong with my car and what it needs to fix it before contacting someone to look at it.

Am hoping that someone will have some help for me or be able to point me to similar threads/stories but I did try searching before i joined. Many thanks for any help.

wheeler · Unread post by **wheeler** » 25 Feb 2011, 07:19

Still sounds like a battery fault to me, if the battery is knackered or has a dead cell all the charging in the world wont make any difference. Have you tried jump leads from another car ?

arcticfox · Unread post by **arcticfox** » 25 Feb 2011, 16:03

wheeler wrote:Still sounds like a battery fault to me, if the battery is knackered or has a dead cell all the charging in the world wont make any difference. Have you tried jump leads from another car ?

I'm not very techy minded so please forgive my ignorance but if I got someone to give me a jump start and got the car going, I assume that when I switch the engine off the chances are that if it's a battery problem, the car wont start next time?

If a jump start got the car started would this mean the probable cause was indeed the battery?

If it is the battery, why is my immobiliser light coming on? I'm not sure how I can even jump start the car if the immobiliser seems to be in effect.

Am sorry for sounding dumb