I will never buy another doblo, good on diesel, suprisingly no rust... but...

The starter motor stopped working, so I earthed the engine with a jump lead... bingo it started... the weather was foul so I kept earthing with the lead for a few days... then the dash board lights started flickering ...just the bad earth I thought... the engine warning light came on today and stayed on ... I got to tescos to put fuel in and it cut out just before I got to the pump... I tried the jump lead but it just makes a clicking noise, the dash lights flicker on and off in resonance with the click for 30 secs then stop... if I try to bumpstart, I still get the clicking noise and dash light flicker...
There is a black box in the engine compartment in the center top of the bulkhead 2X3X2 inch ish, you are looking at it when you stand infront of the car. This is where the clicking noise is coming from...

Any idea what it is and what it is for? or any other advice.

Sounds like a relay.
Icannot download the manual on this computer.

Thanks for any advice... Great forum shame about fiat.

Sounds like the box your looking at could be the glow plug relay box

if the earth is dodgy one way then it was probably dodgy the other way and has prevented battery charging fully so its now dead:idea:

i cant see how its the cars fault if you knew there was a fault but didn't fix it, all cars can suffer earth faults i followed an AA breakdown van with a bad earth a few days ago.

dave said:

if the earth is dodgy one way then it was probably dodgy the other way and has prevented battery charging fully so its now dead:idea:

i cant see how its the cars fault if you knew there was a fault but didn't fix it, all cars can suffer earth faults i followed an AA breakdown van with a bad earth a few days ago.

Click to expand...

I would have to agree with that sentiment

After all, a faulty earth won't allow the consistent flow of current (current flows from negative to positive in a battery y'know ).

It's a bit like a gate with dodgy hinges, it can allow really thin people through one at a time, but if the pie shop opens and a bunch of fat blokes like me waddle over, we gonna be hungry

Whilst on the subject of dodgy earth straps, as a precaution and an attempt to stop the spasmatic electrical gremlin, I got a second earth strap made up my a local auto electrical company. My belief was to replace the original but the car sparky man said just bolt one on as an addition rather than a replacement.
6mm terminal for the battery end, 10mm terminal for where the strap bolts onto the gearbox. 1 metre length of earth strap professional crimped and a small amount of heat to seal the plastic strap coating onto the crimped on terminals, all in for £7.
For the record, it hasn't stopped my gremlin

It could be the battery, when they go they go.

New pie shop, where?