Discussion
I decided to take my tuscan out for a drive yesterday and went for a drive round the fens north of cambridge - was a nice 50 ish mile tour of some half decent roads......ended up in tescos Bar hill for the mrs to pick up a few things..... I knew that was a mistake...
got back to the car - went to start it up and ..... machine gun noises from up front..... doh - wouldnt start - the battery voltage dropped from the usual 13V to about 6.5V as it tried to turn over - It had a new battery a few months ago, so I dont think that that should be the problem.
It did sound as though something electrical was shorting out as it tried to start - I could hear the fuel pump whirring as normal, but after trying to turn it over, there was a lingering buzzing noise from somewhere (sounded like the boot)
occasionally, I saw fault code K and possible L as we tried various things)
spent 2 hours waiting for the AA to turn up - couldnt get it started from the charging point, so ended up bump starting it behind the AA mans van - I'm not sure that bump starting it was the best idea - but he didnt seem very keen to get a flat bed out for me......
anyhow - got it started (managing to avoid driving up the back of the AA van in the process) and dropped it off at the dealers last night... second time I have had to leave it there in the dark posting the key through the letter box.
The very kind neighbour offered to move his car from out of the way so that I could leave mine off the road.
Hopefully, it should be back sometime soon and I can try again
Anyway this got me thiinking (and the point of the post)
What is the symptom of the fabled big fuse - does anything happen when you try and turn the key - or is it as dead as a dodo -
I did buy some of these a while ago just in case I ever needed them, but when it came to not starting, I had no idea if this might have been the issue or not - can anyone shed any light onto
a) what might be the issue? and
b) what it looks like when the big fuse need replacing?
cheers
Bob
got back to the car - went to start it up and ..... machine gun noises from up front..... doh - wouldnt start - the battery voltage dropped from the usual 13V to about 6.5V as it tried to turn over - It had a new battery a few months ago, so I dont think that that should be the problem.
It did sound as though something electrical was shorting out as it tried to start - I could hear the fuel pump whirring as normal, but after trying to turn it over, there was a lingering buzzing noise from somewhere (sounded like the boot)
occasionally, I saw fault code K and possible L as we tried various things)
spent 2 hours waiting for the AA to turn up - couldnt get it started from the charging point, so ended up bump starting it behind the AA mans van - I'm not sure that bump starting it was the best idea - but he didnt seem very keen to get a flat bed out for me......
anyhow - got it started (managing to avoid driving up the back of the AA van in the process) and dropped it off at the dealers last night... second time I have had to leave it there in the dark posting the key through the letter box.
The very kind neighbour offered to move his car from out of the way so that I could leave mine off the road.
Hopefully, it should be back sometime soon and I can try again
Anyway this got me thiinking (and the point of the post)
What is the symptom of the fabled big fuse - does anything happen when you try and turn the key - or is it as dead as a dodo -
I did buy some of these a while ago just in case I ever needed them, but when it came to not starting, I had no idea if this might have been the issue or not - can anyone shed any light onto
a) what might be the issue? and
b) what it looks like when the big fuse need replacing?
cheers
Bob
The big fuse for the alternator:
The symptoms are the battery losing or failing to hold charge as the alternator is effectively disconnected from the battery and cannot charge it correctly. Sometimes causes the ignition light to glow or come on. This can cause starting problems if the battery is not charged correctly and doens't have enough umph to turn the starter motor. Usually a jump start or charging the battery will sort this out - providing the battery hasn't developed a dead short( pretty rare). This is only a temp solution though as the battery will not get recharged.
If the fuse is cracked/dirty or connections are loose, worth replacing.
Big fuse for fuse panel.
If this goes... everything is dead. No lights, electrics, etc.
Big fuse for PAS.
If this goes, no power assist and steering becomes very heavy.
I would suspect battery/starter motor/earth connections and that the noise was a relay that was struggling to energise because of low voltages. It may well have been borderline in the summer and not noticed. With the recent cold weather, it would be enough to tip it over the edge.
I have all the fuses in stock including the uprated versions. www.tvrextras.co.uk
The symptoms are the battery losing or failing to hold charge as the alternator is effectively disconnected from the battery and cannot charge it correctly. Sometimes causes the ignition light to glow or come on. This can cause starting problems if the battery is not charged correctly and doens't have enough umph to turn the starter motor. Usually a jump start or charging the battery will sort this out - providing the battery hasn't developed a dead short( pretty rare). This is only a temp solution though as the battery will not get recharged.
If the fuse is cracked/dirty or connections are loose, worth replacing.
Big fuse for fuse panel.
If this goes... everything is dead. No lights, electrics, etc.
Big fuse for PAS.
If this goes, no power assist and steering becomes very heavy.
I would suspect battery/starter motor/earth connections and that the noise was a relay that was struggling to energise because of low voltages. It may well have been borderline in the summer and not noticed. With the recent cold weather, it would be enough to tip it over the edge.
I have all the fuses in stock including the uprated versions. www.tvrextras.co.uk
Edited by shpub on Monday 5th November 11:37
fat80b said:
in the end I needed a new starter motor - makes a massive difference to the way it starts - I think it has been on its wy out since I bought the car in Feb....
This is interesting as I've been going through the same thing.I got a new battery months ago and not much differentce to the way it started. Then it started letting me down totally and the volts would drop to about 6 volts just like yours.
I took the battery out the other day, cleaned the terminals and earth points and made sure I had little rissistance to ground. I checked the battery and all looked good and got 12 volts. Connected all back together and still starting a bit slow. Checked the charging volts over a time of about 5 mins and got a constant 14volts. My mate owns the place I got the barrtery from and he said try a new one which he's given me to try.
I started it while I was there and my mate and 1 of the guys that works for him said at the same time, lazy starter motor!!!
Does this sound the same syptoms as your car?
I don't want to go to all the hassle for me and my mate who's kindly lent me a battery changing it to find it's still the same.
Shall I just go out and get myself a new starter motor?
Where did you get it from? How much was it and was it easy to fit??
Cheers
Phil
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