Technical The word batt flashing on display on start up

[Roseclan]

Hello and good evening I own a 2003 2.8 ducato recently I changed the radiator and I think, I say think because I think that's when my problem started after changing the radiator I had disconnected the large positive cable and earth cable from the starter so as to gain a bit more clearance when positioning the new rad, I had disconnected the cables from the battery first. What happens now on start up I turn the key and in the display where the milage is shown the word batt flashes 5 times and then returns to the milage. The van starts with no bother and the battery seems to be in good condition, I'm a little flummoxed as to what the problem is, so can anyone of you shared some light and help me fix this problem
Thanks

 

[Crossingkeeper]

I don't think this problem has been mentioned before,I didn't know it was a feature of the van despite previously owning a 2.8......

It would be useful to connect a multimeter/voltmeter to the battery to see what the voltage drops to when cranking? If unacceptably low you can then recheck connections (including earth connection from engine to chassis if you've not already done this) or get battery tested.

 

[Roseclan]

Thanks for the reply

There was another thread where the chap had fitted a trailer board and experienced the same problem, thou the answer he got wasn’t very helpful
I’ll get round to checking it this weekend and try the voltmeter on the battery during startup

Did the ducato ever have history with electrical problems or problems with owners perhaps wiring towing electrics?

I’m a little worried as I am about to fit solar panels on the roof, although I guess this is more to do with the leisure battery side of things

Is there a battery control box? A friend suggested it could be that.....whatever that is, anyway I’m going to check the wiring to the starter and battery and see if I can resolve the problem, I’ll let the forum know.....

 

[Anthony489]

Hi Roseclan

I suggest you eliminate the obvious by checking the connections to the vehicle battery. Any small resistance here will cause the voltage downstream of the connection to drop when drawing a heavy current (i.e. cranking) even if the battery itself is OK. It's possible the vehicle electronics are detecting this momentary voltage drop.

If battery contacts have been disturbed, it's always a good idea to wire brush them back to bright metal on both the battery post and the inside of the clamp. A very thin smear of vaseline on these surfaces will then help good contact to be maintained. Although it may seem counter-intuitive to use an insulating material like vaseline, in practice the clamping pressure is so high that it squeezes it into the microscopic spaces in the metal surface, and the many microscopic metal peaks on the post and the clamp still touch each other.

I don't know if your vintage of van uses traditional bolted clamps or the quick release type. If the latter, check that they are actually tightening sufficiently.

 

[Reg 65]

I was taught to use vaseline on the battery terminals too.
But that was back in the days when battery casings were made of material that is rotted by oil and grease.
My understanding is that modern battery casings are so resistant to oil and grease so you might as well use that now.