mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I have been having a few small problems with my Ford Transit Luton van and I wondered if any body in the Accrington area can help. Firstly, when the van as been left for a while i.e 12/15 hours it wont start. I have checked the battery and that's fine, and cleaned the cables from the starter motor to the battery but to no avail. Also, the dash light has gone. I managed to buy a couple of small blubs for that, I managed to get the dash casing off but I am having problems getting the clock out to check the bulbs. Also, a couple of rear lights are out I could do with some help with that. :unsure8:

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Check you haven't left a courtesy light on in the van part. You need to check what current is being drawn when the van is switched off, put a ammeter in series with teh battery and teh positive terminal. If there is current flow something is leaking it. you need to find out what.

You say you have checked teh battery, how? teh fact that you are struggling to change teh rear lights leads me to think you aren't very mechanically minded so how do you know what to look for with a battery.


If you want to pay someone, there is an autoelectrician up west end, behind teh car sales place just past teh railway bridge.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

had a problem with the astra... warning light kept coming on... went to that place in west end... sat morning.. was there 2 hrs and had to go to blackburn myself to get a part needed... I was panicking as I only had about 40 quid on me and it had been 2 hrs :(

finally job done.. went in office... charged me 12.50 hahaha couldnt believe it ... that was within the last 18mths not 20 yrs ago or owt :) highly reccomend them.... some other garages charge 25 quid just to do the diognostic computer thingy..


my point being.. cheap as chips.. dont be put off by 60 quid an hr mechanics or whatever they charge :)



hows that lens by the way... nearly done? :)

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Yep, like it a lot, now torn between that or the Sigma 75-300 f4.5 thingy on amazon at just over £100.



I took some pictures at a charity footy match the other day (Only had that lens with me but is not much shorter than my kit lens anyway). I'd appreciate some C&C if poss. I'll shove them on teh net somewhere and email you at kipax.com

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

OK, try this

http://www.etribes.com/entwisi

there is a photos folder called Test1.

Either leave comment there or on here or email me

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Hi - the battery was tested the other day at the garage. And he said it was fine no problem. I know about the autoelectrician up west end I was just seeing if anybody here could help out. Today I have bought a good second hand starter motor but he said that it may not be the sarter motor, but like you said a current flow leaking out somewhere.



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Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Its unlikely to be the starter if it works OK if you don't leave it that long. One test is to have the headlights on when trying to start it after the 12 hours or so. If the starter is faulty the lights will stay bright, if its the battery that has 'lost' its charge they will dim whenever the starter is turning.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I know I'm only a mere women lol but could it not be your alternator??

It doesn't sound like the starter motor because you are having problems with the lights too......which ponits to the alternator !!:o

how are you getting it started when it won't start?? be careful if you are bump starting it as yes ok it will run! but if its the alternator you are doing damage to the battery and will end up forking out more money ( oh but your a man you will already know this)


Sorry also try taking the lead off the battery when the car is running ( preferably the positive) if the van dies the alternator is buggered.....in which case you will have bent the cells in the battery because you have been running it.....which yes you will need a new battery.

The battery will put out the correct output on tick over or engine off, but when running should go upto 14.8 which is then recharging.




OK shut it now slink :o

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Hi Slink - mere comes to mind many times.... The lights are a different problem altogether dear. I dont really know if the dash lights have anything to do with the starting problem but the rear lights are diffinetly another problem altogether - as some of them work others dont. When the van wont start I am getting it start via jump leads and not bumping a 3.5 ton van :rolleyes:. Mere dear heavenly knows what you'll think of next. Do you think it might have something to do with the wheels not going round properly?



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Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

What year is the Van?? does it have a brain ( I mean the Van not you) :p i know the answer to that one :D

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

now thats just plain bad - I want my membership fee back:bootyshak








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Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Well ok I tried!!! even if you don't think I know what I'm talking about :( Living in a house full of men ya kind of pick things up about the in's and out's of cars going wrong lol.


I still think it has something to do with the alternator...........but hey ho :p

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Dodgy alternators don't always knacker batteries, its when teh recitifier is knackered that they tend to take batteries out as this tends to overcharge the battery(or feed AC current to them instead of DC). If the windings on the alternator breaks down then it tends to drop the output voltage (which you rightly say is ~14.5V). However if this was the case teh van would never be starting as teh battery wouldn't be being recharged at any point.

I still reckon there is something left on that is bypassing the ignition switch, Vans often have a small light in the back so they can see what they are doing, these often get forgotten. Or some people wire stereos in incorrectly such that they are permanently live as opposed to just the memory lead being connected.

I think you were also linking to not jump starting modern vehicles as the ECUs can be damaged when you do this and they often cost ££££s to replace.

One other point, you should always remove the earth (-ve) lead first when disconnecting a battery.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Thanks for all the advise and I apologise for any sarcastic remarks. Since I have had the van I have not noticed a light in the back but I see your point - thanks for that. Also, the radio has never worked and to my knowledge is not plugged in either. Oh well if at first you don't suceed, try doing it the way your wife told you and then it may never work. :rolleyes:

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

If the battery is in the wrong way around then it will start with jump start and then die later... + towards the engine ...

Although given the choice I would go with slinks..

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Thanks Kipax!! :D see maybe I did make a bit of sense out of it all!!!! even if that's not the problem. ( I wish I was there when the mechanic tells him it's his alternator..........I would poke him in the eye) :D

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

If the battery is in the wrong way I will give you the money myself. Its hardly likely seeing as I have had the van since Feb and its only just started doing this within the last month :cool:

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Battery in wrong way would have blown most circuits and it wouldn't run at all in modern cars/vans.

One other Q to mantrabooks, is it a petrol or diesel van? Diesels do tend to need a good battery to turn them over and you need towait for teh glow plugs (which may be on their way out)

When you say it doesn't start can you give us more detail, does it turn over or not? Does it even attempt to start or is it totally dead. do all teh other electrics work (Try the lights thing I mentioned earlier)

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I hope your right about the alternator - hopefully they are cheaper to buy than a starter motor. Although, second thoughts, it may cost me more for a patch. :cool:

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Its a diesel. I am aware most diesel have heat plugs and you need to wait before they heat up before you start the motor. But the van dosent have any lights to indicate this so from the begining I have just started it from strach. This maybe the problem. The van is going in the garage in the morning so I will let all know how I get on.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

All depends if you are buying from a dealer, a shop, or a scrap yard and whether you are fitting it yourself or getting a mechanic to do it.

I know Ginger has just had to get a alternator for his Renault because he was having same problems as you. But he fitted his himself cos he knows a thing or 2 about cars.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I thought about fitting the starter motor myself - being a large motor its easier to get under. But the guy at the garage said he'd look at the electrics too.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Yeah he will.......he needs to make a living!! :(

I would have done the starter motor first and seen if it made a difference. If not then nothing lost!! let the guy have a butchers, but if it's fine you saved yourself money!

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I ahve seen people with batteries in the wrong way,.. never seen anything blown.. but thats years ago... you say it would blow modern stuff.. van doesnt sound modern...

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Are you sure it was the 'wrong way' . In the old days a lot of cars were +ve Earth, now they tend to be -ve earth. I've had a couple of pos earth cars, makes it interesting fitting a modern radio to them :D

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Wow, Tony broke mantras van, thats a pretty amazing claim mal, care to back it up?

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

it,s the global warming thingy they want you to pay out more mony the van dosent like the price of diese lol
l

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

I have read/heard that before I can only think of one reason for it, if you touch the body with the spanner then you won't create a short, if you undid the +ve first and shorted to the body with the spanner you would. I can't think of any other reason for it.

If you think you might be drawing current while the engine is off overnight, an easy way to check if you don't have an ammeter is to disconnect the -ve terminal overnight, then reconnect in the morning and see if it still starts.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

They used to do a fitting that had a screw on it so you could undo it when you parked up and it effectively disconnected the battery (They had a small 'fuse' that would handle an amp or two so that radio memories etc were OK but it would blow if anyone tried starting the car) It was marketed as an anti theft device for classic cars.

Unfortunately this problem seems to be a small leak over a period of time so its quite hard to diagnose.

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Hey MB.........did you ever find out what was wrong with your passion wagon?? :D:D

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Hi Slink - its now seems it probably wasnt anything to do with the starter motor as we still have the same problem. I have taken the passion dump to the west end garage and expect to hear from them today - hopefully. Thank you for your concern and all your help comments.



..:Banane20:

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Just had a call form the garage it seems the battery that was in it was too samll. With the weather becoming more servre it needed more power and the battery that was in just wasnt up to the job. Unbelivable

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

when i get a different car the first thing i do is put a heavy duty battery on them ....always sure of battery then .

Re: mechanic needed need some help with van
 

Hi Mez - as you can probably understand I have no real knowleadge of vans or cars, so I wouldnt know one heavy duty battery from a lite one, or what size is supposed to be in the van or a car for that matter. I have only been driving just over a year - im only a beginner. Thanks for the advice though im sure I'll watch out for that kind of complication in the future.




:Banane57:

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