Not a MH prob but a van prob - dead battery

Lorry Ball said:
If it is knacked
Sell the battery to the scrap man, they are worth a few quid in scrap value nowadays, maybe £10+
If I was to leave it out side my house overnight, It would not be there in the morning, problem solved :wacko:


Lorry :drive:

ps the nut and bolt middle left hand side of picture, joining 3 thick wires does look a bit iffy, could probably do with undoing and cleaning.
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Thanks for advice, will do. I'll ask the lads at my garage if they want to trade it in as there's a scrap yard right next to them, I'd rather they pick up any bonus, they only charge £25/hour and I don't mind paying and rewarding honesty and reliability and pride in the job.
 
if it doesnt start pull the fuse at the top of the box well it look like a fuse and the wire goes into a crimp{look like a crimp} the blue bit so might pull off the box stripp the end back shove few strand across the crimp and push end back on replace fuse having checked it not blown only do if it does not start that might have something to do with it not starting if it starts then pull the fuse and see if it still starts
 
incidentally iknow you'll like to know,the reason for that particular sequence of connecting and disconnecting the clips to the battery is because the charging process creates hydrogen which as anyone who has flown in a zeppelin knows can be a bit explosive,so this method reduces any chance of sparks from the clips and blowing up a battery full of acid,which can happen.also explains why all battery compartments should be vented at the top to allow this gas,which is lighter than air to escape into the van and dissipating.now you and anybody reading this may know all this,and i may sound patronising but i'm not,as i realise all this stuff needs learning,and not everybody was born as i was, knowing everything.of course i've forgotten a lot of it
went to see warhorse tonite,don't bother-more yank crap,£15 down the bog.the only bit i enjoyed is when my wifes phone went off
 
Just to sum up:

1. The battery is almost certainly kaput after 10 years. This is confirmed by reaching fully charged state after 4 hours. From flat, with a battery in good order using your charger, I would expect it to take at least 12 hours.

2. The battery connections are dirty and you need to clean off all the 'grot'.

3. Order a replacement battery online, and fit it yourself.

4. To dispose of the old battery, seeing that you can't get to the tip in a van, ask your friendly local garage if they'll get rid for you.

That should sort everything out :)

Regards

Chris
 
Canalsman said:
2. The battery connections are dirty and you need to clean off all the 'grot'.
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Definitely clean up those with a wire brush and then WD 40 and a cloth or aluminium oxide paper should get rid of the rest. Use some petroleum jelly on the terminals and connections after you fit your new battery, as build up like that can lead to a bad earth which will give you all kinds of strange faults.
 
n brown said:
incidentally iknow you'll like to know,the reason for that particular sequence of connecting and disconnecting the clips to the battery is because the charging process creates hydrogen which as anyone who has flown in a zeppelin knows can be a bit explosive,so this method reduces any chance of sparks from the clips and blowing up a battery full of acid,which can happen.also explains why all battery compartments should be vented at the top to allow this gas,which is lighter than air to escape into the van and dissipating.now you and anybody reading this may know all this,and i may sound patronising but i'm not,as i realise all this stuff needs learning,and not everybody was born as i was, knowing everything.of course i've forgotten a lot of it
went to see warhorse tonite,don't bother-more yank crap,£15 down the bog.the only bit i enjoyed is when my wifes phone went off
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Ty for your advice and explanations, much appreciated, not patronising at all. Maybe one day I might be able to help you out explaining how a sewing machine works, or how to make a new set of curtains / cushions etc for your van :)

I have to admit, whilst this battery business has been a pain in the proverbial over the past few days, I'd much rather this all happened at home where I can get online advice and can sort it without panicking, and not in some wild spot in the middle of nowhere, and once it's all sorted, I'll feel more confident going off alone, because now I know :
1. what tools I need to carry to remove battery (size 10 spanner)
2. how to safely remove a battery
3. how to charge a battery
4. power packs might help if battery is low but can't rely on if battery is completely flat
5. what to do to keep leads etc in good working order (eg regular checking and cleaning!)
6. that batteries need changing after about 6 -8 years...
 
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oldish hippy said:
if it doesnt start pull the fuse at the top of the box well it look like a fuse and the wire goes into a crimp{look like a crimp} the blue bit so might pull off the box stripp the end back shove few strand across the crimp and push end back on replace fuse having checked it not blown only do if it does not start that might have something to do with it not starting if it starts then pull the fuse and see if it still starts
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:lol-049: ha ha, no chance! I'm not messing around with any wires!!!

Am going to try the old battery today and see what happens. Even if it starts, I'm still going to put a new battery in it. It's been minus 10 degrees here overnight for past couple of nights so battery needs to be in good condition so I can rely on it. It's been a couple of years since I had new glow plugs so I'm going to get the garage to put some new ones in too just to be on safe side and they can mess around with the broken wire and fuse thing.

My newly gained knowledge about batteries does not extend (as yet!) to experimenting with loose wires to diagnose faults!! But thanks for trying to help.
 
no doubt someone would come to your aid if the need arises as we are fairly well spread over the ukjust need a phone number and get someone to post on here if it needs doing then someone might just know how to do it or how they solved the problem it wouildnt worry me going out to give help ok cant lift but can point and talk and nothing like having to many teachers once you done it then you have that lttle more knowledge to pass on to some one else in the same predicament

just read your post on broken wire ok it fairly obvious where it came from that was my only reason for say about fixing it temporalily wouldnt go pulling wires unless i knew what iwas doing and the car had major problems
 
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oldish hippy said:
no doubt someone would come to your aid if the need arises as we are fairly well spread over the ukjust need a phone number and get someone to post on here if it needs doing then someone might just know how to do it or how they solved the problem it wouildnt worry me going out to give help ok cant lift but can point and talk and nothing like having to many teachers once you done it then you have that lttle more knowledge to pass on to some one else in the same predicament

just read your post on broken wire ok it fairly obvious where it came from that was my only reason for say about fixing it temporalily wouldnt go pulling wires unless i knew what iwas doing and the car had major problems
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It's been really good to get all the advice and help from forumites over the past couple of days, so thanks to everyone. It's been good for me to have to sort this myself, to build my confidence and stop me from panicking in future. So glad I found this forum.

Why is it obvious about the broken wire? A neighbour seems to think it's not been cut but has corroded. But strange how there doesn't seem to be anything wrong as a result unless the battery prob is a result of that and not because I left the light on (although that probably didn't help).
 
lokks like a big box for a fuse so could be the fan resistor for the heater in others word the fan on the heater only goes at set speed doesnt increase or could be for cig lighter any number of thing nothing major as light work and indicators ok i take it if it diesel could be a preheat for the glow plugs any thing that if it diesel quick browse could central locking relay
 
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just had another look at your pics,looks the same as before,some previous owner had something connedted,could have been anything,but its not there now so the thing is not needed,but if the fuse is good then the cut wire should still be live-pull the fuse and forget about it.also i'd say this to any vehicle owner-get a test meter,with a continuity tester,i use mine all the time and as you learn more about electrics so will you,about 20 quid
 
n brown said:
just had another look at your pics,looks the same as before,some previous owner had something connedted,could have been anything,but its not there now so the thing is not needed,but if the fuse is good then the cut wire should still be live-pull the fuse and forget about it.also i'd say this to any vehicle owner-get a test meter,with a continuity tester,i use mine all the time and as you learn more about electrics so will you,about 20 quid
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Ok, latest update...

Battery test using a gadget thing is showing 12.5 - 13v (haven't yet put it back in van, have had to come at look at photos to check which way round it goes!!)

Have cleaned up battery connectors and wiring using toothbrush and WD40. Lots of blue corrosion has come off. Haven't got any Vaseline but I got some petroleum based grease which is industrial vaseline isn't it?

Lesson learned = to listen to an Oldish Hippy! Inspected the loose wire, and wire has definitely corroded, the dead end was full of blue stuff and the terminator end was the same. Used pliers and lots of red elec tape to open up terminal shove cleaned up end of loose wire back in, squeezed it together but v loose so wrapped up in tape to hold it together. The other wire looks like it might go any moment so have taped that up to (in a different colour tape so's I know the difference!) Thanks for the tip.

It is definitely a fuse as I pulled the yellow thing out of the terminator box, on one side it says 32v, on the other it says Max 20. Don't know how to tell if it is blown or not. Does it matter which way round the fuse goes back in. Apart from the writing, both sides exactly the same.

There is a Truckstop only a mile away so can get replacement fuses no probs. The dog needs a walk anyway.

Which lead do I put back on first, black then red or red then black? Grease battery terminals before putting leads back on or afterwards?



Edit - it's definitely not an old no longer needed elec connection from previous owner as I'm second owner and I bought it at 12 months from Peugeot Dealer who had used it as a run around / demo.
 
in the middle of fuse is a flat window you look and should see an "s" shape,if its theres fuse is ok.doensn't matter which way round it goes. . vaseline terminals before putting connectors on.don't like the sound of your repair,a bad connection is not good as can cause sparks or at least more corrosion.just had another look and you're right,with my glasses on i can now see i was wrong and you can see where the wire came out,and unless you can crimp it back nicely reccommend a new inline fuseholder which you can put on using terminal [chocolate] block,sorry about that mistake
 
n brown said:
in the middle of fuse is a flat window you look and should see an "s" shape,if its theres fuse is ok.doensn't matter which way round it goes. . vaseline terminals before putting connectors on.don't like the sound of your repair,a bad connection is not good as can cause sparks or at least more corrosion.just had another look and you're right,with my glasses on i can now see i was wrong and you can see where the wire came out,and unless you can crimp it back nicely reccommend a new inline fuseholder which you can put on using terminal [chocolate] block,sorry about that mistake
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Yep, I wasn't 100% happy with my repair, am hoping that I can get a new inline fuseholder (I'm getting good, I even know all the right names now!) at truckstop too.

Fuse seems ok, I can see the wire, looks intact - I even put my specs on too, to make sure!

I'm hoping that if I can get it running, I'll nip down to Truck stop in it later on for new inline fuseholder, and it's usually pretty busy on Sun eve with truckers and if I put my "helpless female" act on, some nice trucker might offer to do it for me there and then... ;)
but if not, no probs, feeling pretty confident to tackle it myself with my pink pliers (pink to stop builders, ex boyfriends, helpful male friends etc from walking off with them!")

Am putting the battery back in now, stand by... :danger:
 
right,there's 2 common types of inline wotsit for bayonet fuses,one like yours has to have crimped connections,the other has 2 wire tails coming out and a waterproof cover,i reckon get this one and a bit of terminal block,cut the wire going into the old fuseholder and strip using pliers or a lighter,reason i suggest lighter is it doesnt need such a pull to strip,just heat till it starts to go black and pull off[then suck fingers till pain stops],put fuse in last
 
Hooraaaaayyyyyyyyyyy!!! Thank you to everyone

I put my wellies and marigolds on just to be on safe side, greased terminals, secured battery housing etc, tightened screws etc, and then sat and with butterflies in tummy, I turned the key....

And she started first time :D :D :D

She's now ticking over nicely outside to defrost the windscreen, has been below zero all day today and warm up before I nip down to Truckstop for inline fuseholder, milk and fags. The dog can have a run round up the fell afterwards.

A VERY big THANK YOU to everyone for all your help, advice, comments etc. I was planning to sit down and do some reading about 12v electrics but hadn't planned on doing anything practical just yet. :cheers:

Chuffed to bits because :

1. van is working & I don't feel stranded anymore
2. I know I need a new battery but don't have to stress about getting one tomorrow which is going to be difficult, got a busy 2 days ahead, no free time till Wed
3. I did it myself and if it happens again, I won't stress cos I know I can sort it
4. the loose wire isn't the big problem I thought it might be
5. I've learned loads of stuff about batteries etc
 
whitevanwoman said:
Yep, I wasn't 100% happy with my repair, am hoping that I can get a new inline fuseholder (I'm getting good, I even know all the right names now!) at truckstop too.

Fuse seems ok, I can see the wire, looks intact - I even put my specs on too, to make sure!

I'm hoping that if I can get it running, I'll nip down to Truck stop in it later on for new inline fuseholder, and it's usually pretty busy on Sun eve with truckers and if I put my "helpless female" act on, some nice trucker might offer to do it for me there and then... ;)
but if not, no probs, feeling pretty confident to tackle it myself with my pink pliers (pink to stop builders, ex boyfriends, helpful male friends etc from walking off with them!")

Am putting the battery back in now, stand by... :danger:
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hey your doing really well, been following this post and i'm pleased that so many people on hear are so willing to help.
good on you,keep it up and we'll be coming to you for advice/help.

tranivanman
 
Well done WVM the sense of satisfaction and empowerment is great isnt it ?

An old friend once gave me some good advice, and I think this thread reflects both that and the calibre of membership of the people we have here.

the advice was

You dont have to know all the answers, You just need to know where to find them.


regards

Channa
 
This is a hundred times better than Facebook..............:dance:


Lorry :drive:
 
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