Engine disabled / won't start

[Sly325]

Hi Guys ,
I need to pick your Brains . My works van is a 2016 transit custom, I hadn't driven it for a few days due to lockdown, and maybe forgot to lock it. The battery became flat reading 4 volts . Cut a long story short I recharged the battery and reinstalled it today. Everything was going good untill I turned the key in the ignition. I was first met with a warning notice stating that Hill Start Assist not available and then High Engine Temperature stop safely. This meant I was prevented from turning the vehicle over . The battery was reading 12.7 v . Is this a fault with the battery or something else ? Many thanks

[S60r]

Hi,
Impossible to tell for sure from afar but once the Ford batteries lose their charge they will never behave the same again.

Many threads on the poor battery and how many strange faults (all over the vehicle) are caused by volt drops and inconsistent battery performance.

Check if yours is the twin battery set up and if it is start/stop (Dont think yours is the latter being 2016) as it depends on the battery type required.


Once flat the Ford silver calcium battery is finished. If yours is original it has done very well to get to 4 years old so it is money well spent to replace it with a reputable make.

[Sly325]

Hi Guys,
Just a quick update .Called the RAC out to find out what was happening,and wether the battery was defective. Being an AGM it may have been possible it was being 4 years old.
It wasn't the case and was fully serviceable , so he put a booster on it to charge it up . He then plugged his OBD2 device in to see what codes came back. Variou things flashed up ,but mainly alot of loss of communication with main module . Next came slot of testing fuses and locating fuse boxes ,after 90 minutes and numerous phone calls, the guy narrowed it down to a blown fuse (11) hidden under the driver's seat adjacent to the battery. This had blown possibly my fault when trying to jump start it using the connection s under the bonnet. He obviously didn't carry any fuses that big so as a temporary fix connected it to a spare terminal, and I was up and running.Thanks for you help .

[Brisbanebret]

Hi folks,
I am having the same issues after re-routing all of the cabling at the rear of the van in preparation of camper conversion.
I am almost certain that everything is reconnected Properly however, I had the battery connected the whole time to make sure tail lights etc. started coming back during the process. The only changes I've made were deleting the interior lights to the rear which have been blanked off with no chance of shorting.
I tried testing the reversing lights by turning the ignition to on and foot on brake to get the auto gear selector into reverse.
Alarms have come on and engine won't crank. I can hear fuel pumps etc. reacting to the key position.
My other problem is my obd2 scanner cannot communicate with ECU. Obd port has power so it's not a fuse relating to obd.
I've checked all the main fuses under the seat and swapped all compatible relays around. Any ideas what to pursue next?
2019 front wheel drive 350.

[johnpietila]

Brisbane Brett, are you in Brisbane Queensland?
John Pietila
0421 240 241
Wishart 4122 Q