glowplugs and fuses

[frogmorian]

recently tried starting bongo but battery seemed flat, i tightened the connections on the positive teminal of battery and it started fine, after a few days same thing happened so tightened the connection which had come loose again but although all the pre ignition lights came on the glowplug light did not, so now the engine does not even try to turn. I have checked the glowplug fuse under the dashboard and also the ignition fuse under the bonnet but they seem ok. It does have an alarm mobiliser fitted, i just wonder by fiddling with the battery i ve messed the immobiliser up or whether its something simpler, just thought by checking here first might be able to avoid calling out auto electrician

[321Away]

sounds like the immobliser circuit as they 'cut' the starter and 'ignition' circuit, what brand do you have fitted? is the immobiliser working as it should? ie flashing lights etc? momentary contacts with battery power cause 'spikes', which some immobilisers dont like and kills them

If you hadn't said it didnt turn over, i'd have recommended a look at the glow plug relay. but try removing the battery terminals and cleaning it all up and re-fitting, just cos they're on, doesnt mean they're making a good contact, also take a close look at the earth strap, the standard Mazda ones, can develop a hairline crack, that as you put the terminal on the battery opens up and prevents decent contact.

Julian

[missfixit70]

There is a 30 amp fusible link near the positive battery terminal that may be the culprit.

[frogmorian]

the alarm is a laserline , it arms and disarms normally, however in normal use the glowplug light does nt come on til the alarm has been deactivated which leads me to thinking its to do with that. all the other ignition lights come on but they don t dim whem i try the ignition. i will check the 30a fuse as only checked the 100a fuse on the battery. thanks for your ideas so far

[francophile1947]

The 30A fusible link won't stop the engine turning over. It only stops the glowplugs working. You should be able to hear the glowplug relay click if it's working (on the driver's side under the bonnet),

[321Away]

its possible could have damaged the immobiliser circuit in the alarm, if your kinda handy with electrics then its not impossible to bypass, any auto electrician should be able to do it in 5 mins.
Is it an alarm or immobiliser? do you have a model number?(does it lock/unlock the doors?) alarms do, immobilisers dont. curious as you say glow plug light doesn't come on til disarmed which implies you have the ignition on before you disarm, which wont help the life of the unit anyway! very odd that it seems to work tho? usually power spikes take the whole unit out, but depends on the install?

[missfixit70]

The 30A fusible link won't stop the engine turning over. It only stops the glowplugs working. You should be able to hear the glowplug relay click if it's working (on the driver's side under the bonnet),

Could be 2 issues if it was having starting issues initially? tightening the battery terminals may have been a spurious fix which disturbed the fusible link, could be the starter contacts were on their way, we had a similar case recently where somoeone thought it was to do with the gear select interlock when it was starting intermittently, turned out to be the starter motor, easily sorted with a new set of contacts & plunger.
Think simple first & look back at where you've been working, quite often it solves the problem. Of course I could be talking out of my a**e

[frogmorian]

its an alarm/immobiliser and it does lock/unlock the doors. the reason i know the glowplug light comes on is because it automaticaly rearms 30 secs after ignition is turned off so in petrol stations turn the ignition and nothing happens until i remember to disarm the alarm then away i go.at the risk of sounding ignorant would the engine still turn over if the glowplugs are nt working

[missfixit70]

If the glow plugs aren't working, it won't stop the engine turning over, it just won't start from cold.

[321Away]

sounds like you've killed the immobliser side of the alarm, did you have the system fitted? give the original installer a call to see if they can do anything for you. An auto electrician could bypass the immmobiliser quite easily but still retain the alarm side of things, maybe call your local mobile security installers and get prices for an immobiliser bypass, its a simple job so shouldnt cost much. try leaning the battery disconnected for a while, in case a reset helps, make sure the alarm is disarmed tho or it'll go off as thats a function of the cat 1's lol

where abouts are you? i've got lots of fellow installers up n down the country.

Julian

[jaylee]

its an alarm/immobiliser and it does lock/unlock the doors. the reason i know the glowplug light comes on is because it automaticaly rearms 30 secs after ignition is turned off so in petrol stations turn the ignition and nothing happens until i remember to disarm the alarm then away i go.at the risk of sounding ignorant would the engine still turn over if the glowplugs are nt working

I think they call that passive arming..? & you should be able to disable that function so it only arms when you lock.?

As Julian said, try disconnecting the battery..?

Now i know very little about Lazerline alarms, but you could try disconnecting the earth on the battery for 20 minutes, then turning the ignition with the battery still disconnected? Then reconnect, see if that helps..? Don't ask, i've seen this few times on car alarm help forums & it has worked for me.. I think it re-sets it when it trips out!

[francophile1947]

i go.at the risk of sounding ignorant would the engine still turn over if the glowplugs are nt working

Yes - see my reply above

[frogmorian]

thanks for your advice, there were no prev issues with starting. I have disconnected the battery and will try reconnecting it to see if it works, failing that i have a mate who will come up and run some basic checks to see if he can pin down the prob. If that does nt work then i will have to call the guy who fitted the alarm to sort it out. If we isolate the problem i will let you know. Wishing me luck