306 wont start

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bm55
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306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

Car wont start, have not used it for 2 days
Not a flat battery, as some lights illuminate etc.
Car is a Peugeot 306 1.9 D (1999)
any help appreciated
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spider
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by spider »

Does starter turn ?

Check main power and earth leads from battery to starter / body etc. Undo them and examine them. Especially the earth lead on the gearbox, corrosion / loose connection here will cause a problem such as this, assuming starter does not turn as there's enough conductivity to allow the lights to work but not the starter, or very slowly at least. Derv's need to turn well to fire. Turning slowly may not be enough to start especially when its cold.

At 1999 its a DW8 although not relevant at this stage.

If it does turn on the starter OK: Does it appear to turn fast enough, not sluggish ? , if it makes a noise as though its just the starter spinning that can be a sign of a broken cambelt, thankfully very unlikely to break during starting.

Any recent work / other problems with the car ?
Andy.

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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

Thanks, not much recent work, the car has been running fine until now. Starter turns then dies out as far as I can determine. Leads look ok. It is not too cold here.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by myglaren »

Have you checked the battery or tried a substitute?
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by spider »

May well be the battery if the starter is dying and the leads are OK although you really cannot check them properly without taking them off.

If you wanted something to try in the mean time either a jump start from another vehicle (suspect battery if it starts) or borrow a battery if possible to try it with.

As another alternative, if you have another means take the battery off and have it tested (most places selling batteries will do this for free anyway) , be aware the old fashioned heavy drop test (two massive probes and a big resistor) will kill a weak battery, although to be fair if its that weak it was about ready anyway.
Andy.

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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

myglaren wrote:Have you checked the battery or tried a substitute?
No, but its been left for longer periods then this recently.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by myglaren »

bm55 wrote:
myglaren wrote:Have you checked the battery or tried a substitute?
No, but its been left for longer periods then this recently.
They can fail at any time with no warning.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

I don't think its the battery. If it was at fault there would be no life in it, but there does seem to be some.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

Would have leaving the keys in the ignition overnight have done anything?
Thanks
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

The warning lights that go on are 'Stop' and 'Battery'.
-Does 'Stop' indicate a more serious engine failure?
Should I re-charge the battery or jump start the car?
I need to have it running later tonight or worse case tomorrow morning
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by myglaren »

Can you get another battery to use while you test/charge the one fitted?
If it is cabbaged then charging won't help much but you might get a little more life out of it.
The STOP lamp can mean quite a few things but if the engine isn't firing up it may see the alternator as not supplying any current.

When my son's 306 wouldn't start it was the connector to the glow-plug relay that was insecure and slightly corroded.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by nametooshort »

Batteries can become too weak to be useful but still have enough power to run the lights etc.

Once a battery has started to become this weak, its often pointless to try to charge it.

A dead battery which is just discharged can be charged and all is well.

But a battery can also fail, which means no matter how much you charge it, it aint no good.

Often, running a battery flat (like leaving the lights on over night for example, or leaving the saloon lamp on by accident) can cause a battery to not just discharge, but fail. Car batteries don't like to be flatlined too many times.

You just need a new battery, its all. But you can try to jump start or something in the mean time. You can jump the glowplugs directly to the battery for about 10 secs before trying to start it to discount any faults with the glowplug system. You will instantly know if they glow plugs are faulty, because as you connect to the glowplug bus it will spark since they use a lot of currant. In the very unlikely event that all 4 are blown, it wouldn't spark.

If it still won't start, I would think there may be some air in the fuel system (assuming its a non-common-rail system, which I assume it is, being a 1.9d). I would check the fuel filter for corrosion (they are made of very thin metal, since they only have a short designed life), check the fuel pipes for cracks, check various seals, and then prime the system manually to make sure there are no bubbles.

The fuel cutoff valve can also become stuck with caramelized fuel, but that doesn't usually happen to cars this age, iv only seen it on engines which havnt ran for like decades. Same with stuck rings or stuck valves, that happens to relic-condition engines after they sat for decades, but should not affect your car.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by bm55 »

Many thanks for all the help. It certainly sounds like a flat battery - plan is to buy a new one asap.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by myglaren »

Do have it tested before you write it off though.

Mine was being difficult to start in a morning, very slow, so I bought a new battery and it didn't improve after the first day.
It seems there is/was a current drain that discharged the battery a bit overnight, once started it was fine.
Still have the new battery, the old one is still on the car (gone now).
Worth it's weight in gold when the kids cars fail to start.
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Re: 306 wont start

Post by citronut »

a faulty starter can give the same symptoms as a flat battery,

have/can you checked the fluid level in the battery, if its below the plates the battery will not hold a charge,

before spending any dosh firstly feel the battery leads after trying to start the car, if either are hot/warm this means there is a bad connection, ( starter brush's or bad connection ),

check the small lucar/spade terminal is making a good connection,

now whilst you have someone turn the key to the starter position bash the starter body (not the solenoid ) with a bar,
if this gets it cranking over faster the fault is worn/sticking brush's in the starter motor,
Regards, malcolm.

current ride a BX 1.7 TZD estate
1986 MK1 BX 1.9na D Auto(in Mothman Andy's stable )
layed up roppy 1.9TD XANT estate, now gone to meet her maker
purple and lilac metalic 2CV(VIOLET)registered to her in doors
1972 DS special been layed up aprox 31 years
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