Help FIAt Ducato van won’t start! Sorted but now no speedo!

moonshadow

moonshadow

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Just getting van on chocks to level up to turn fridge on ready for Goosenargh - disaster engine won’t start, no idea why - possibly electrics? It makes a funny clicking noise and lots of lights come up flashing on speedo - see pic.
Can anyone help, pretty please? Ignore the pink flash its reflection from somewhere.
Plugged it into mains it only shows plugged in but not charging on the habitation panel (the panel which controls lights, shows what’s in freshwater tank and grey waste).
Got a newly installed inverter but all was working fine when we were last out.

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My first reaction to any form of non-start on Fiat is to check the earth straps, they’re a known issue on some.
 
Possibly a flat engine (cab) battery, if not try disconnecting the cab battery, leave for 15min reconnect and try again, mine did something similar last year and it has been fine since I disconnected and rebooted
 
jeffmossy said:
Possibly a flat engine (cab) battery, if not try disconnecting the cab battery, leave for 15min reconnect and try again, mine did something similar last year and it has been fine since I disconnected and rebooted
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We thought it might be that, but it's not charging when plugged into mains. Couldn't be a worse time got people coming for lunch and we're coming to Goosenargh.

Where is the battery, sounds daft but the manual doesn't say where either?!
 
Possibly a blown fuse in the cab charging system, have you got a stand alone charger you can use?, also have you put your meter across the battery and got the voltage reading?
 
trevskoda said:
Wildbus had the same issue a few days back.
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Different symptoms (apart from the 'not starting' bit) but for sure I would try the same thing as I did .... disconnect the chassis connection to the battery, leave for a time (just a minute would be enough), refit and try again.

Too many ECUs in cars and vans and they can get confused. removing power from them to 'reboot' them can fix a multitude of problems, just like when you reboot a phone or PC when it plays up.

moonshadow said:
We thought it might be that, but it's not charging when plugged into mains. Couldn't be a worse time got people coming for lunch and we're coming to Goosenargh.

Where is the battery, sounds daft but the manual doesn't say where either?!
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Battery is under passengers feet in front footwell.
Remove Mat and you see a large moulded cover - remove that. You will need a 2p piece to rotate some of the clips. they turn 90 degrees.
The you have a metal cover that is bolted down - undo the two bolts that are nearest the passenger seat. You will need a 13mm spanner or socket to do that.
It then hinges up from the front and on the right hand side is the battery -ve post with a cable that goes to the chassis floor. just pull the lever across to release the tension and you can pull the cable away from the battery.
Leave off for a minute, refit and try starting. If it didn't work, remove again and leave for 10 minutes, refit and try again.
Reverse the process to refit the covers.

Note: Advice/Information above is given with best intentions but zero guarantee or responsibility. Follow at own risk/discretion.
 
jeffmossy said:
Possibly a blown fuse in the cab charging system, have you got a stand alone charger you can use?, also have you put your meter across the battery and got the voltage reading?
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Martin doesn't know where the fuses are. Yes, we have a stand alone charger, but where is the battery? He's worried about the flashing car with a padlock, the manual says phone Fiat - sounds expensive :eek: 😭
 
wildebus said:
Different symptoms (apart from the 'not starting' bit) but for sure I would try the same thing as I did .... disconnect the chassis connection to the battery, leave for a time (just a minute would be enough), refit and try again.

Too many ECUs in cars and vans and they can get confused. removing power from them to 'reboot' them can fix a multitude of problems, just like when you reboot a phone or PC when it plays up.


Battery is under passengers feet in front footwell.
Remove Mat and you see a large moulded cover - remove that. You will need a 2p piece to rotate some of the clips. they turn 90 degrees.
The you have a metal cover that is bolted down - undo the two bolts that are nearest the passenger seat. You will need a 13mm spanner or socket to do that.
It then hinges up from the front and on the right hand side is the battery -ve post with a cable that goes to the chassis floor. just pull the lever across to release the tension and you can pull the cable away from the battery.
Leave off for a minute, refit and try starting. If it didn't work, remove again and leave for 10 minutes, refit and try again.
Reverse the process to refit the covers.

Note: Advice/Information above is given with best intentions but zero guarantee or responsibility. Follow at own risk/discretion.
Click to expand...
Thank you, any advice gratefully received!
 
moonshadow said:
Martin doesn't know where the fuses are. Yes, we have a stand alone charger, but where is the battery? He's worried about the flashing car with a padlock, the manual says phone Fiat - sounds expensive :eek: 😭
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flashing car with a padlock sounds like immobiliser problem. Are you using your normal key? have you another key you could try?
 
I have never seen that light on a dash, so I did a search and it looks like usually it seems to fix itself after a time?
Some suggestions include leaving the ignition on for 10 minutes to let the vehicle secuity system communicate with the key and reestablish a link.
And also try starting with a door open (?)

Something that is worth bearing in mind - if it is to do with overall vehicle security, make sure you don't end up getting locked out if the system resets itself and the central locking kicks in. Don't leave the only spare key inside the van and maybe open the drivers door window so you can reach in and get the key from the ignition?
 
wildebus said:
I have never seen that light on a dash, so I did a search and it looks like usually it seems to fix itself after a time?
Some suggestions include leaving the ignition on for 10 minutes to let the vehicle secuity system communicate with the key and reestablish a link.
And also try starting with a door open (?)

Something that is worth bearing in mind - if it is to do with overall vehicle security, make sure you don't end up getting locked out if the system resets itself and the central locking kicks in. Don't leave the only spare key inside the van and maybe open the drivers door window so you can reach in and get the key from the ignition?
Click to expand...
My works van will flash that if the alarm is triggered by opening the door when the alarm hasn't activated/deactivated fully .

Screenshot_20231112_124155_Chrome.jpg
 
Sue I would disconnect the battery leave for 15- 30 mins
reconnect battery then lock and unlock the central locking system and try to start if symptoms are still the same I think the immobiliser has a fault not recognising the key
out of interest have you tried using the spare key?
 
I had a flat battery and the hab batteries were low at the same time. When I put on hook up it took ages to start charging engine battery it looked like it wanted to charge the hab batteries first. So maybe give it time to charge the whole system.
 
Wully said:
I had a flat battery and the hab batteries were low at the same time. When I put on hook up it took ages to start charging engine battery it looked like it wanted to charge the hab batteries first. So maybe give it time to charge the whole system.
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It's not actually charging anything on hook up, it's all coming from the solar panels at the mo. Will leave it on over night - anything is worth a try. Our breakdown cover doesn't cover us from home, have to be a mile away - no chance we are pushing it :ROFLMAO:
When he plugs the van into hook up the indicator that says it is on hook up doesn't light up.
The control panel says hab battery 12.4 and the cab battery 9.2.
He's checked the fuse boxes, but thinks there might be a fuse for the hook up some where?
 
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The cab battery is too low and you’ll get all sorts of electrical problems. It can only get that low if there’s a drain when standing for a while or the battery is dead. I think a new battery is the way to go as it will happen time all the time, had this on two recent vehicles with daft new electronics and a new battery fixed straight away/
 
The laird said:
Sue I would disconnect the battery leave for 15- 30 mins
reconnect battery then lock and unlock the central locking system and try to start if symptoms are still the same I think the immobiliser has a fault not recognising the key
out of interest have you tried using the spare key?
Click to expand...
Didn;t work :eek:
 
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