Technical 2008 Ducato 2.3 Not starting.

[Ian68]

Hi.
My motorhome wouldn't start on site last week.
The ignition lights up, the immobiliser light goes out then it does nothing, no cranking, no sound from the starter engaging.
Site owner got his charger out and we left it on for a good while, same result.
Recovery called who tried their jump pack, same result.
Decided to tow it to start, which it did. Then drove it home, ordered new starter to fit when back.
Got home and drove it up on ramps before switching off again. Tried to restart which it did.
It hasn't started again since..!!
No faults showing on code reader either.
Haven't yet identified if there's a relay caput somewhere. All fuses intact.

Any suggestions greatfuly received..

Ian

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

The fundamentals are:

It needs fuel, air and Compression

Compression requires rotation

So..

It wasn't Just a low battery..

Do the lights DIM when you turn the key?

If they DIM.. You have a big drain..
If no DIM.. A poor.. Or Lost connection


If towing worked fine.. And it then cranked on the Starter once..

I would concentrate on the Starter circuit

Do tell us more..
Owned it long.. Any recent work carried out..?

 

[Ian68]

Hi

The fundamentals are:

It needs fuel, air and Compression

Compression requires rotation

So..

It wasn't Just a low battery..

Do the lights DIM when you turn the key?

If they DIM.. You have a big drain..
If no DIM.. A poor.. Or Lost connection


If towing worked fine.. And it then cranked on the Starter once..

I would concentrate on the Starter circuit

Do tell us more..
Owned it long.. Any recent work carried out..?

Thanks for the reply. I've had the van for a few years so nothing done that i don't know about.
Clutch changed a few months ago that's it.
Electrically everything worked fine when it drove back home, battery voltage looks good now and been plugged in since getting it back.
I even removed a secondary immobiliser just in case it was causing a problem.
Believing it was a starter issue i changed that right away....

Ian

 

[varesecrazy]

So changing the Starter had made no difference?

Have you replaced.. Or reseated and Big Earth Cables?
Battery to Chassis to Motor

They can fail internally with age

 

[Ian68]

So changing the Starter had made no difference?

Have you replaced.. Or reseated and Big Earth Cables?
Battery to Chassis to Motor

They can fail internally with age

I checked they were there. I'll get on it.

New cables now ordered... will report back.

 

[Communicator]

Since the vehicle was towed to start it, I can assume that is not an automatic which would have a starter interlock with the selector lever.

To the best of my knowledge manual Ducatos have not had a relay in the starter solenoid circuit since 2002 (x230).
I do not know of any published electrical diagrams for the x290, but I believe that the starter circuit is similar if not identical to the x250. I have attached a saved slightly cropped version of the x250 Starting & Recharging diagram which shows the essentials. The starter solenoid connection is about halfway up thre LHS of the drawing, wire colour coded MN (brown/black), and can be traced via connector D004 pin 1 to pin A3 on the ignition switch (H001).

As there does not appear to be sufficient voltage at the solenoid, may I suggest monitoring the voltage at the solenoid terminal, when the key is turned to the start position. A 12V test lamp would be a useful alternative to a multimeter and easier to observe. Take care!

 

[Ian68]

Since the vehicle was towed to start it, I can assume that is not an automatic which would have a starter interlock with the selector lever.

To the best of my knowledge manual Ducatos have not had a relay in the starter solenoid circuit since 2002 (x230).
I do not know of any published electrical diagrams for the x290, but I believe that the starter circuit is similar if not identical to the x250. I have attached a saved slightly cropped version of the x250 Starting & Recharging diagram which shows the essentials. The starter solenoid connection is about halfway up thre LHS of the drawing, wire colour coded MN (brown/black), and can be traced via connector D004 pin 1 to pin A3 on the ignition switch (H001).

As there does not appear to be sufficient voltage at the solenoid, may I suggest monitoring the voltage at the solenoid terminal, when the key is turned to the start position. A 12V test lamp would be a useful alternative to a multimeter and easier to observe. Take care!

Appreciate that. Will investigate over the weekend.

 

[Ian68]

Thanks for the pointers folks. Went to remove the earth cable this morning and found that it wasn't very tight, clearly goes back to when the clutch was changed. Anyway, I nipped it up and the van started.
I've removed it and cleaned the connections with a wire brush, back in place fires into life..... all good for now so thanks again folks..