Thanks for reply! The gear lever itself is loose, not the knob. Loads of play you can wiggle it around loads. Regarding starting it's slow turning over especially as it's got colder. My mechanic was able to check two of the glow plugs but he reckoned the other two were pigs to get at. I have a spare battery so was going to change the battery but other battery says not suitable for stop/start so not sure if it will damage my van?
So re the gear lever all you can do is have someone wriggle the freeplay and locate where it is exactly and go from there. Hopefully not inside the gearbox.
On the starting, you could first try a known good battery using jump leads correctly connected of course
and see if engine turns over faster than before when trying to start.
Re Stop/Start battery, someone may correct me but I think they are more designed to handle the extra repeated loading of "stop/start" as I have heard of people using normal batteries where wrongly supplied and whilst it may work a bit they are more likely to get error codes and failure of the stop/start function so best to have what the manufacturer recommends.
Also where changing a "Stop/Start" battery it is worth checking your owners handbook to do it correctly.
Also check for any main battery leads and earthing points to see if getting hot or if corroded, as a frequent issue with Fiats in that direction.
I also use a suitable amp meter to see if starter taking high amperage to turn starter than normal.
It is quite common for a starter to be burnt out and turn very slowly if the vehicle has had other starting problem , but driver has continued turning the key in the hope it will start, causing an overload on the starter.
Basically if a modern diesel doesn't start in a few turns then something is wrong, even if you have to try repeated times always let the starter rest and cool rather than flogging it to death.
If not sure, then maybe go to a go auto electrician to check this side.
Re the heater plugs side, if the engine is turning over too slow then even good heater plugs will not start the engine.
However most modern vehicles show a warning light or message on the dashboard if heater plug issue.
One of my Doblos (2010 1.6 Maxi van) had no problem starting, but one day it flashed a message up, so I tested and found faulty a one.
It should be possible for your mechanic to test the heater plugs whilst fitted to see if they are working or not by checking the amperage going through the individual leads to them from the heater plug relay if he has a good Amp Meter, mine shows around 8 amps load when a heater plug is working.
I used to test using an Ohm meter set for continuity, but find the amps more accurate. Only then would you need to worry about getting the dodgy/suspect heater plugs out.
