Hi,

Drove 230 miles yesterday in my 2006 Doblo and everything was absolutely fine.

Tried to switch on this morning, and everything was completely dead... No sound, lights, nothing. Absolutely sure I left nothing on overnight.

Tried to jumpstart it several times, but there was absolutely no sign of life.

What are the chances of it being a battery fail, or does it sound like something more complex (and expensive)?

i’ve only had the van a few weeks, but the battery looks pretty new...

Sorry if that sounds vague, but please does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Dobbydor said:

Hi,

Drove 230 miles yesterday in my 2006 Doblo and everything was absolutely fine.

Tried to switch on this morning, and everything was completely dead... No sound, lights, nothing. Absolutely sure I left nothing on overnight.

Tried to jumpstart it several times, but there was absolutely no sign of life.

What are the chances of it being a battery fail, or does it sound like something more complex (and expensive)?

i’ve only had the van a few weeks, but the battery looks pretty new...

Sorry if that sounds vague, but please does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to Fiat Forum,


Firstly if you have only had the van a few weeks yand bought it from a dealer talk to them first you have rights if you bought it personally and they should fix it (less clear if bought by a company).

When you say it's dead with no lights does that include when you were jump starting it?

How did you jump start it from another vehicle or a jump pack? Where did you connect the jump leads?


It could be a broken battery lead or engine ground strap, broken ignition switch etc. We are just guessing from the information we have.
Do you have a multimeter / voltmeter?


Robert G8RPI.

Hi Robert,

Thanks a lot for that. You raise a good point about my legal rights - I’m not really sure what they are! The van has been converted to a mini-camper, and I bought it from the conversion company - purchased in July.

Yes, it was completely dead even when I was jump starting it. Jumped it from another vehicle, attaching leads the standard way. I don’t have a multimeter I’m afraid...

Cheers again!

Dobbydor said:

Hi Robert,

Thanks a lot for that. You raise a good point about my legal rights - I’m not really sure what they are! The van has been converted to a mini-camper, and I bought it from the conversion company - purchased in July.

Yes, it was completely dead even when I was jump starting it. Jumped it from another vehicle, attaching leads the standard way. I don’t have a multimeter I’m afraid...

Cheers again!

Click to expand...

Hi, as a Camper conversion it's a consumer purchase so you have full rights. call them first thing on Monday morning and ask nicely for them to sort it out. You need to report the fault ASAP. One thing you can do today is check all the fuses including any on the batter connector.

The fault is likely to be a battery lead, isolator or ignition switch / relay.
I'd suspect igniton switch from your description how the fault appeared.
An added complication is the camper conversion may have added a domestic supply, split charge and second battery or similar changes to the wiring that may be part of the problem.


EDIT, Dobbydor
You should mention to them that the fault might be related to the conversion. If it is, the conversion is "new" so would be expected to be more reliable etc than the older base vehicle.
Bit of info on rights
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-ri...car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

https://www.theaa.com/car-buying/legal-rights

Robert G8RPI.

Hi again Robert,

Thanks so much for the info - all really helpful. Yes, the van has a split charger and leisure battery, and it did occur to me the problem could possibly be connected. The leisure battery remains fully charged.

As you’ll no doubt have realised, I’m mechanically clueless, so Green Flag are on the way. Hoping they might at least be able to give me an indication of where the fault might be.

Love my little van but I’ve had it for less than two months so my understanding is the dealer will have to repair unless he can prove the fault’s only developed since I bought the vehicle.

A week or so ago the wiper linkage went (now temporarily repaired by yours truly with duct tape!) so I’m sure I can ask them to repair this as well - the broken joint would obviously have been wearing down long before my purchase.

Thanks very much again - much appreciated!

Anne.

Try this thread
https://www.fiatforum.com/doblo/443768-wipers.html

Thanks very much, that’s really helpful, much appreciated!

Dobbydor said:

Hi again Robert,

Thanks

As you’ll no doubt have realised, I’m mechanically clueless, so Green Flag are on the way. Hoping they might at least be able to give me an indication of where the fault might be.

Anne.

Click to expand...

Hi Anne. Was a basic fault discovered? Would be good to know.

(If back at the converters.. no issue )

Charlie

Hi, yes - thought I'd posted an update, but I see it hasn't appeared! Basic fault and quick and easy fix - huge sigh of relief! The part which attaches to the negative battery terminal had become detached - a couple of minutes with a hammer and screwdriver and it was sorted.
Drove like normal this morning - BUT... The rev counter is now stuck at 5,800 when the van's at a standstill, and disappears off the scale as soon as I start driving! Could this possibly be connected, does anyone think, please? And is it likely to be the counter at fault, or could there be another underlying problem? This is the third fault in a week now... Starting to lose heart...

Dobbydor said:

Hi, yes - thought I'd posted an update, but I see it hasn't appeared! Basic fault and quick and easy fix - huge sigh of relief! The part which attaches to the negative battery terminal had become detached - a couple of minutes with a hammer and screwdriver and it was sorted.
Drove like normal this morning - BUT... The rev counter is now stuck at 5,800 when the van's at a standstill, and disappears off the scale as soon as I start driving! Could this possibly be connected, does anyone think, please? And is it likely to be the counter at fault, or could there be another underlying problem? This is the third fault in a week now... Starting to lose heart...

Click to expand...

Hard to tell exactly what is going on without some testing but it's possible the bad battery connection has caused other damage. Did you contact the dealer you bought it from? What did they say?
Where are you located? There may be a member near you with Multiecuscan (computer based diagnostics) that could help.


Robert G8RPI.

Hi Robert, I'm based in Leeds.. If there is anyonee local who might be able to give me a steer, I'd certnly be very grateful! No, I haven't contacted the dealer as the battery problem was an easy fix on Sunday. If I contact him about the rev counter, it'd be useful to be able to argue that the fault isn't completely new and was developing when I bought the vam. Many thanks again.

Leeds is a bit far for me, I'm near Cambridge. I don't know if there is anyone near you.


Robert G8RPI.

Thanks for the reply, Robert!