Hi guys, sorry to butt in here but I've a Citreon NEMO Enterprise 1.4 diesel 2014 van with the flashing milage thing and the fiat Bluetooth module under the driver's seat (completely forgot I had this as I've had the van since it was new but only ever used the radio) anyway I'm just back from a week's holiday and the battery has been drained (totally flat nothing electrical works not even the key fob) and the van won't start.
Tried a jump start but that didn't work either.
The battery was replaced last November and this morning it was reading 2.8volts so reading about it seems that the battery is now US/damaged so I'm going back to where I bought it last year as it has a five year warranty, no idea if they'll honour that so I might have to buy a new battery or will the existing battery take a charge?
Also I've unplugged the Bluetooth module but the odometer will likely still flash when I get the van sorted with a new battery/charge the existing one but I'm concerned that the (new) battery will drain too even with the Bluetooth module disconnected?
Also will the radio still work or would it be better to send the module away for a repair?
TIA
Tony
Hi Twotone, welcome to the "party". Sounds like you're in the same "boat" as my boy.
At 2.8 volts it's very likely the battery is toast. However, as it was new just under a year ago you might be able to wake it up especially if you've got a charger like my ctek which can do the "recond" thing. Probably not so likely if just allowed to charge up in the vehicle using the vehicle's alternator. If it was me I'd be putting it on my ctek, leaving it for a day or so and seeing what happens.
You should be able to jump start it but with a very flat battery in the vehicle this can present problems because it's going to be trying to "rob" a lot of the energy from the good battery even before you turn the van's key. You need a really good battery in the donor vehicle and a good heavy duty set of jump leads - cheap jump leads often don't have the capacity to pass enough current in situations like this. Last of all the connections need to be first class so give the crocodile clamps a really good wiggle to ensure good connections. I like to connect the negative jump lead to the engine block, or other suitable earth on both vehicles so that any battery monitor, usually on the negative battery clamp, is included in the circuit but getting a good electrical connection can be problematic due to corrosion etc so give them a very good wiggle too. Of course doing it this way means you're relying on a good earth connection from the batteries to the chassis too. In my experience, as long as you're jumping from a really healthy donor battery, most jump starts fail because one of the jump lead connections is poor and giving high resistance.
If you're jumping from another vehicle - which is not particularly to be recommended these days due to the possibility of damage to electronic components - it's wise to let the vehicles stand, with the jump leads connected, for a few minutes, maybe five minutes? before attempting to start the car with the flat battery. This allows the flat battery to take on a bit of a surface charge to it's plates which both helps when you do finally turn that key but also reduces the difference in battery voltage between the vehicles. It's this difference in voltage which gives the problems. Also, if you're successful in getting a start, don't just immediately disconnect the jump leads but let both cars run for a while, again 5 minutes is not unreasonable. This allows the flat battery to become partially charged which means that when you disconnect the jump leads there isn't a large voltage drop seen by the controlling ecus in either vehicle and so a dangerous voltage spike is far less likely.
If you do manage to get her started then, after she's up and running and the leads are disconnected, stick your voltmeter/multimeter on the battery terminals and see what the voltage is. Even at idle she should be showing a healthy charge but if in doubt raise the revs to about 2,000 just to be sure. Voltage should be somewhere around 13.5 to 14.5 if the charging system is working satisfactorily.
As to what to do about the module? Up to you I suppose? With the module disconnected it shouldn't drain the battery? unless something else is wrong too. With the module still connected it's likely to behave like an interior light or radio left on all the time. My boy's Punto seems to cope with this as long as it doesn't stand for more than about two days and the alternator seems to keep the battery well enough charged with his three quarter hour journey to work and then back home most days. His wife is now working full time from home and they have a newer car too (Kia Rio) which is depressingly reliable, so he is thinking they don't now really need two cars. He's thinking, because the Punto is not now worth very much, he'll probably run it until something expensive goes wrong with it and then maybe sell it as a non runner/scrap or whatever. I might actually buy it off him and fix it up myself because I like doing that sort of thing. At around £95 to get the B&M repaired I could end up with a car that's worth selling on?
