MK 2/3/4/5) 2.5Di wont start when cold

[robbie.cee]

[quote="Screaminkiwi"]Mornin chaps :o) Isnt it strange..havent been on site since last feb or thereabouts..hhmmm coincidence..cold weather !! So nice to be back. I thought i,d cured my problem bak then.Mine was much the same ( 1995 190lwb ex ambulance) could do 200 miles, come home, next morning dead battery. Got a new heavy duty battery...same problem. Checked all leads/connections, but just couldnt work it out. Much as i love my tranny..not in the slightest mechanically minded, so had an auto electrician have a look..but being an ex ambulance, there are miles and miles of chuffin cables and wires running from one battery to the next etc etc..but he reckoned that the alternator was "energising" all the time, even when i turned off the ignition. He then went thriugh a process of elimination, and each night he,d call me and ask me to disconnect one wire then the next from the alternator, and let him know what the result was in the morning when reconnecting them and starting her. In the end, it was discovered that by disconnecting the wire from the battery to the alternator..in effect isolating the problem, cured the problem..so i then remembered my older brother back in the late 70s had a kill switch fitted to the battery of his mk 1 rally escort..so he fitted one..so all i do now is turn off the ignition, then turn the kill switch key to the off position, and jobs a goodun !! well..WAS..until over the past few days my problerms has started again !!! Starts first time with jump leads from my wifes VW caravelle...even from my daughters lil ford ka..and then yesterday i just ran my jump cables across to me second battery and she started first time...so my question is this..as it seems to be the alternator which is the problem ( pulling power from the battery) do you reckon a new alternator should do the trick ? I jst cant stand the thought of jumping in the van again with my fingers crossed every day for the next 3 months !! as someone else has said.."When youre van is going ..its your best friend"..but when it wont start..i start thinking how much scrappage allowance i,d get against a new one !! but even a new transit doesnt have a siren like mine :o) and doesnt get the looks i get in my orange and gunmetal ambulance with silver flames along the side !! So any help about the alternator would be appreciated folks :o)[/quote]

TRY NEW VOLTAGE REGULATOR M8

[robbie.cee]

I also have this problem. I park on a hill!

I've also bought a booster from machinemart which is my backup . . .

When my batteries are fully charged from the mains and brought out to the van it will start in any weather, but (even not very) depleted batteries won't start it when it's very cold.

Join the 'NON STARTERS CLUB'. I have . lol - but not very funny !!

yup im a member ;o)

second battery helped tho just a pain having to connect jump leads across the two batteries but at least it works ....

[AndyJ2506]

i joined the club today for the first time, not even my jump pack helped

[G40GES]

you can have your CSC sticker back... second battery (2@72ah's) and it starts like a rally car!


HAPPY DAYS :)

[webo283]

i live in norway and the other day it was -22 in the morning and my van wouldnt start so i got the wifes hairdrier put it under the bonnet left if for 20 mins and it started straight away,a few friends have tried it in england and it worked for them too

[AndyJ2506]

Fitted my second battery yesterday and done an oil change and it now starts on the button thankfully

[johntheplasterer]

Hi first post so go easy as my name says im not a mechanic, dont know much about it neither but i will try and have a go first just to learn something. My transit 80 SWB 1996 ive had for 2 years with no probs appart from the clutch that went which a mechanic replaced and its been fine since, last winter i had no probs starting but the last week it hasnt started. Firstly the fuse for my fan kept blowing after a driving a while then eventually would blow straight away as soon as it was replaced so i am left with no fan and it is bloody freezing, the last week the van hasnt started in the mornings but with the jump leads from the missus car it has eventually started. I got the battery tested yesterday and there was a fault so i replaced the battery with a new one then this mornin it wouldnt start :( got a jump of the father in law and it started straight away. Ive read through this post and it could be a number of things but i was wondering if the fan blowing is connected to this problem. I looked in the engine and cant see glow plugs does it have any? I went back to the shop where i bought the battery he says they have plugs for it but he couldnt see them neither but he isnt a mechanic, he mentioned a problem with the earth for the fan problem could this also be my problem for draining the battery or could something else be draining the battery?
Thanks for any suggestions.

[executivetravel]

Look on your dashboard for the glowplug (like a coil) symbol, if you have glowplugs it will light up for 10 seconds then go off

no symbol, no glowplugs

[johntheplasterer]

Thanks for your reply and yep there is no light so no glow plugs, just started it again no probs once its been run for a bit, do you think something could be draining the battery? Also once i turn the engine off it beebs three times i dont have an alarm but there was one fitted originally cos the sensors are there could this be draining any power?


cheers

[G40GES]

big blue B'LOXX... can i have my CSC sticker back!

back to the search button and try fettling in other areas.... ass!

[thebaldconvict]

Well I just joined the club :(

Had the battery drop tested three days after buying it as it seemed very sluggish on those mornings and this morning just didn't want to know it just didn't seem to turn over quickly enough to catch.

It was strange as it ended up with the battery seeming to be flat but it never got to the click click click that you get when the solenoid is powering but not the motor. Was on the phone on hold to the RAC (thats fun) and about 20 mins later went out and tried again and it fired straight up.

Had the battery tested again straight after and all drop testing perfectly.


Starts in the evenings after work fine just the morning.

Tonight I did the EGR mod, bought some easy start (although really don't want to use it) and a set up jump leads to try and bypass the earth and ignition switch.


Hopefully some of that will at least see me till the weekend. Oh and it's parked on a hill now facing downwards in reverse because the handbrake keeps freezing on! hope it doesn't roll :(

[mickh]

Ok i am now a fully fledged non starter, the van had a full service including belts 3 months ago and its been a brilliant motor, always a slow cranker but it always caught, then the cold weather came and one day it just wouldnt catch, cleaned up the terminals and it turned over great and caught straight away.....next day turned over slow and no starting and positive lead from battery to starter was smoking and insulation starting to melt! i am presuming that the starter motor is on its way out and will need changeing any other suggestions cheers

[robbie.cee]

[quote="mickh"]Ok i am now a fully fledged non starter, the van had a full service including belts 3 months ago and its been a brilliant motor, always a slow cranker but it always caught, then the cold weather came and one day it just wouldnt catch, cleaned up the terminals and it turned over great and caught straight away.....next day turned over slow and no starting and positive lead from battery to starter was smoking and insulation starting to melt! i am presuming that the starter motor is on its way out and will need changeing any other suggestions cheers[/quote]


shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit not good! new leads too then! get bosch starter- guys on here say they crank faster too, plus its german so you know itll out live rest of van...

rob

[vinny55]

if all else fails replace battery leads and check earth leads you can put a earth to the body of starter mine still starts here in poland and it was -28c last night heater plug only comes on at -15c cold like this for 4 months + 2mtrs snow abs helps but still sh*t in snow

[rockster]

Hi people
It seems that overnight I've become a member of the the cold start club.
My van is a 1999 80 SWB 2.5Di Bosch pump (not a banana and not a turbo).
Its been laid up since I got it in May last year pending some welding which is now complete.
I've been starting it regularly and it starts first or second time.
I tried to start it yesterday and it turns but wont catch even with the booster.
Ive dropped the oil and pulled out the starter so I can really clean the terminals.
Ill try again tommorrow!!

I'm puzzled by this though-
I've got a "glow plug warning light" (According to the owners manual) on the dash which lights up for a few seconds when I turn the key to "POSITION II".
This seems to imply pre heating/glow plugs but I cant see any evidence of either so what is it I have to wait for?

Any help from you guys would be really appreciated