Problem starting. Help please.

Can anyone advise please, I am having trouble starting my Peugeot, it is fully charged but when I turn the key it just clicks and there is a buzzer sounding from the rear of the vehicle. Also the warning light comes on to indicate that the key has not been recognised ! I have contacted Brownhills, but there is no one there to help. Any ideas welcome.

is your 12v panel off? sometimes mine wont disengage the imobiliser if it isnt, granted mines a much older girl. Just a thought

jht sheffield wrote:Can anyone advise please, I am having trouble starting my Peugeot, it is fully charged but when I turn the key it just clicks and there is a buzzer sounding from the rear of the vehicle. Also the warning light comes on to indicate that the key has not been recognised ! I have contacted Brownhills, but there is no one there to help. Any ideas welcome.

Buzzer from rear is probably the Sargent Panel telling you that it is switching off van electrics.

It sounds possible that the Starter Motor has jammed. Put the van in gear with ignition off and try to rock it back and forth. that may release the starter pinion from the flywheel gear. Then try the starter again. Alternatively call out Peugeot assistance or your normal breakdown cover, if you have it.

inspiredron wrote:........

It sounds possible that the Starter Motor has jammed. Put the van in gear with ignition off and try to rock it back and forth. that may release the starter pinion from the flywheel gear. Then try the starter again.
..............

It may also help if you tap the starter motor with a bit of 4"x2" wood. (Don't go mad at it as I really do mean a tap!)

If the motor then starts I suggest that you get a mechanic to take a look at the starter because it won't get any better!

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Ian

Dutto wrote:

inspiredron wrote:........

It sounds possible that the Starter Motor has jammed. Put the van in gear with ignition off and try to rock it back and forth. that may release the starter pinion from the flywheel gear. Then try the starter again.
..............

It may also help if you tap the starter motor with a bit of 4"x2" wood. (Don't go mad at it as I really do mean a tap!)

If the motor then starts I suggest that you get a mechanic to take a look at the starter because it won't get any better!


Best regards,

Ian

Hope this helps.

And sometimes it can be the starter solenoid that has stuck - I don't know where that is but if you see a thin wire going to the starter as well as the really thick red wire then it is a small cylinder on the side of the starter and that is the bit to tap with your wooden mallet.

It's not what you hit it with.........................................it's how you hit it!!!

PB

I dont think it is the starter motor sticking because the key recognition warning is coming on. I have a Sigma alarm fitted, could this have something to do with it ? I will call the recovery chaps, but I dont want to look a wally if it is something simple.

None of the "rocking back and forth" or hitting with lumps of wood work on pre-engaged starter motors. These old tricks were possible on inertia starters of the 1960/70s and NEVER rock a vehicle back with an inertia motor fitted, it only jams the pinion further in!

jht sheffield wrote:I dont think it is the starter motor sticking because the key recognition warning is coming on. I have a Sigma alarm fitted, could this have something to do with it ? I will call the recovery chaps, but I dont want to look a wally if it is something simple.

Sorry - missed that - it is almost certainly something to do with the Sigma alarm. I had a Cobra CAT1 (as opposed to CAT2 to CAT1 upgrade) fitted to my old van and effectively a double immobiliser. If I forgot to disarm the Cobra then I got precisely what you describe - the dashboard indication appeared to show that my key was not recognised. You may need to call the alarm installer rather than the rescue service.

My last van sometimes did that, press the remote button to 'disarm' the alarm / immobiliser then try the starting sequence. I only had a couple of minutes max between unlocking and starting up.

Thanks for all your replies. The chap at Brownhills said it was a flat battery and to use jump leads. I did this and yes, it started, but there are a few things I dont understand.
How can it, ( a newish battery ), go flat in 6 days when nothing left on.
The control panel gave a vehicle battery status as fair, not bad.
When I hook up, does this charge the VEHICLE battery or leisure battery.

Any ideas welcome.

John

jht sheffield wrote:Thanks for all your replies. The chap at Brownhills said it was a flat battery and to use jump leads. I did this and yes, it started, but there are a few things I dont understand.
How can it, ( a newish battery ), go flat in 6 days when nothing left on.
The control panel gave a vehicle battery status as fair, not bad.
When I hook up, does this charge the VEHICLE battery or leisure battery.

Any ideas welcome.

John

The answer is that the battery shouldn't go flat in that time unless you have left something on (Courtesy light?).
I guess that you have the Sargent EC 328 charger and control unit - by default the charge goes to the leisure battery but you can divert it to the vehicle battery with the press button switch on the control panel. BUT if you then switch the control panel off the charge defaults back to leisure battery. Look at the threads on Winter Charging on this forum and on the van Conversions forum
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for more details on this

Thanks Peter & Ron, it is beginning to make sense now,,I cant see any reason for the battery to loose its charge, but I have hooked up and turned the control panel on selecting vehicle battery, so see how it goes tomorrow ! So much to learn for such a small brain.

John

jht sheffield wrote:I cant see any reason for the battery to loose its charge

It's possible that you have a device passing current all the time, but all lead/acid batteries lose charge through self-discharge, and that process happens much quicker in cold weather. It's quite simple to test for current flowing when everything appears to be turned off, using an inexpensive multimeter.

It would be worth budgeting for a new battery in the near future - in my experience a vehicle battery that has been flattened never recovers its original capacity properly. When I last looked, buying online from Tayna was the best value for car batteries - far cheaper than Halfords.

-mojo- wrote:
It would be worth budgeting for a new battery in the near future - in my experience a vehicle battery that has been flattened never recovers its original capacity properly. When I last looked, buying online from Tayna was the best value for car batteries - far cheaper than Halfords.

The OP's profile shows that he has a 2012 Nuevo ES so it shouldn't need a new battery!

inspiredron wrote:
The OP's profile shows that he has a 2012 Nuevo ES so it shouldn't need a new battery!

If his battery has been fully flattened once or more than once then he may need a new battery. Though hopefully someone else will pay for it if so...

inspiredron wrote:

-mojo- wrote:
It would be worth budgeting for a new battery in the near future - in my experience a vehicle battery that has been flattened never recovers its original capacity properly. When I last looked, buying online from Tayna was the best value for car batteries - far cheaper than Halfords.

The OP's profile shows that he has a 2012 Nuevo ES so it shouldn't need a new battery!

Too right Ron !

-mojo- wrote:

inspiredron wrote:
The OP's profile shows that he has a 2012 Nuevo ES so it shouldn't need a new battery!

If his battery has been fully flattened once or more than once then he may need a new battery. Though hopefully someone else will pay for it if so...

Hope so, having it tested next week.