Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all

I started the van yesterday morning and left it 5 minutes to warm up. When I walked back outside to the van after 5 mins the engine just stopped flat before I reached the van. When I tried to restart, the battery was flat. Alternator?

bigger problem than a alternator if it started ok , but was toatally flat after 5 mins of running \|??

Hmm,

You can't just say "dead battery". How do you know. Did you measure the voltage with a meter?

More like

The engine won't turn over
There's a click and the engine won't turn over
The lights on the dash go dim when I try to start it
There are no lights on the dash

Does your van normally stall when left ticking over to warm up ? If not, then after doing a battery voltage check I would try turning the engine over with a spanner. This is the worst case scenario.

It could be that the battery was on it's way out and there was enough charge that the van started but as it cut out the alternator didn't have enough time to replenish the power used. I'd get the battery tested (drop test) and also try and find out why the van cut out.

Or you have an intermittent charging problem, I'd check the earth connectionso if you haven't already done so.

I've got a really bad feeling about this. I can't really check anything until tomorrow evening.

Could it possibly be the engine has seized?

Worst case, unlikely, but possible.

Simple stuff first, measure the battery voltage. Rule out the worst by turning the engine over by hand. If you don't have tools for that take the spark plugs out and try the starter again

Not slept a wink. Things like this are always more difficult for me because my technical abilities extend to oil water and petrol (and I've got that wrong before). The van just stopped dead from a smooth run. The lights were on and heater blowing full but it still doesn't make sense that it's anything to do with the battery or alternator (that was just wishful thinking on my part).

I'll probably need someone to check the voltage as I'm not even sure how to do this properly

so if you make sure it is out of gear does it spin over when you turn the key ???

not battery , for the battery to be flat enough to stop the engine, no lights wouod be on , let lone heater fan blowing .

Mocki wrote:so if you make sure it is out of gear does it spin over when you turn the key ???

not battery , for the battery to be flat enough to stop the engine, no lights wouod be on , let lone heater fan blowing .

No it doesn't, which is why I initially thought the battery was flat.

Freddievan wrote:Not slept a wink.

Sorry about that

Freddievan wrote:The van just stopped dead from a smooth run.

That's quite different to what you said in your first post. We use all the snippets of information provided to try and help the remote diagnosis so if the story changes it causes confusion.

With the latest snippet I would suggest you check the oil level

Is there any clicking or dimming of the warning lights when you try and start the van - most likely is starter solenoid / ignition switch

937carrera wrote:

Freddievan wrote:The van just stopped dead from a smooth run.

That's quite different to what you said in your first post. We use all the snippets of information provided to try and help the remote diagnosis so if the story changes it causes confusion.

With the latest snippet I would suggest you check the oil level

Is there any clicking or dimming of the warning lights when you try and start the van - most likely is starter solenoid / ignition switch

Sorry. Help me to help you to help me. Which bit has changed? To be as clear as I can (in my current state)... I started the engine Monday morning. The van has been stood a while so it needed a couple of attempts for engine to turn over and start. I left it running for maybe a little more than 5 minutes and it sounded really smooth. As I approached the van when I returned, the engine stopped dead. I tried the engine a couple of times but it seemed/sounded like the battery didn't have enough charge to restart the van or to turn the engine. I didn't really notice if the lights were dimming because I was in a bit of a panic.

I'll check the oil level when I get home this evening. I'll also try to get a battery voltage check done. Thanks

This sounds like the problem we had a few months ago. I left the van warming up on the drive and when I got back it just cut out. It started again but kept stalling. We tired everything from the dizzy to the Sparks and it turned out it was the ecu unit. I replaced it and it works absolutely fine now.

sarahandthebear wrote:This sounds like the problem we had a few months ago. I left the van warming up on the drive and when I got back it just cut out. It started again but kept stalling. We tired everything from the dizzy to the Sparks and it turned out it was the ecu unit. I replaced it and it works absolutely fine now.

I can hope. Thanks.

It's a DG so no ECU. Start with buying a multimeter, you will know in seconds whether the battery is flat and it's voltage and the voltage at the alternator. I had a seized engine but is sounded terrible before it seized so I think it's very unlikely. Perhaps stick up a post on general chat to see if someone experienced near you could pop over. With one of these vans you have to get your hands dirty