Of Course its Friday 13th! Major Electrical Fault V6

[New Forest Terrier]

Hi All

After much flawless service my Bongo decided to celebrate Friday 13th in appropriate style. It wont start. Starter motor runs but nothing fires.

First thought was short runs, cold and dark, low battery but charged that fully, still nothing. It was perfect last time it was used Wednesday. Parked it outside no sign of any problem. Now this. Totally dead.

Could it be a main fuse and if so why? If it is the dizzy could this happen when parked? Its blowing a gale and the rain is horizontal, but never any bad weather problems before.

Anyone got any ideas.

[mikeonb4c]

Well I did wonder about gales and heavy rain. Might possibly have upset the HT stuff? Seems a bit unlikely but maybe if some key bit of HT insulation was ready to leak volts to earth.......

[g8dhe]

Do the dashboard lights come on ? If so its not a "main fuse" i.e the 100 Amp nor the 60Amp IG KEY.
I would suspect likely the Ignition system - or out of petrol ?

[New Forest Terrier]

The dashboard lights come on no problem. All bright as usual.

Half a tank of petrol. Filled up Monday. Only other oddity leisure battery seems very low on charge.

[mister munkey]

Imobiliser fitted?

[rita]

Hi,check inside the distributor cap for dampness and clean.

When its dark try to start the engine and look out for any signs of arcing from the cap /leads /and coil etc.
If that does not help tomorrow is the 14th.

Good luck

[jaylee]

Hi NFT, just been looking at this.. & i know nothing about the mighty V6, but if the fuse box configuration is anything like the diesel..? Try fuse 9 in the cab? (15A) If it goes it'll turn but not start. ya never know..?!!

[manners]

My V6 had a similar problem last year after a few days of frost and then the weather turning damp and mild the engine, dizy,leads etc were covered in condensation, so i put a blow heater on it for about five minutes and it fired up straight away, even on the partially flattened battery from trying to start it earlier.

[Ron Miel]

Hi Mary. Sorry you're having the problem. We love our Bongos so much, it's devastating when they conk out isn't it? In southern Ireland last May, with many very wet days, ours packed in several times like that but each time while already running - usually just after driving through a bit of standing water, of which there was plenty and hard to avoid. Fortunately, it also soon re-started each time after a short stationary period, presumably after allowing engine heat to dry off the offending HT component. Kept it going for the rest of the holiday, once I bought a WD-40 aerosol - sold in every local Irish supermarket, post office or whatever, 'cos it's such a wet place! Didn't work out where the short was exactly, and after looking at the high cost of an HT leads set after getting back, just invested in a can of Damp Start. After spraying the whole of that over all ignition related cables, coil, distributor cap, etc., not a scrap of trouble since - and that's despite some pretty impressive rain here and in the south west of England. Hope yours turns out to be that simple. Cheers, David.

[apole]

Hi there,

It's most likely down to either no/weak spark on the HT side, or no fuel, maybe a blown fuse on the fuel pump.

I have just changed my HT leads. If you need to borrow my old set or the disty cap/rotor arm let me know. They are all in servicable condition and could help pin point a weakness.

Andy

[New Forest Terrier]

Friday 13th Part 2 - Saturday 14th

This morning it started perfectly! First time as usual. Ran perfectly, no misfire, nothing. Even the leisure battery had its charge back

As it was still blowing a gale and there were flooded roads everywhere I left the beast at home. It's too late dark and wet to try again now, so I will have to see what happens tomorrow.

Once things dry out the damp start route looks a good start. Is there anything on Lush projects to make sure I have found all the vulnerable parts?

This is a great relief as obviously nothing major is wrong. It reminds me of an aged Morris 1000 van I once had which needed a hair dryer dry out to start on rainy days.

[Ron Miel]

Friday 13th Part 2 - Saturday 14th

Once things dry out the damp start route looks a good start. Is there anything on Lush projects to make sure I have found all the vulnerable parts?

Basically, all cables and kit* (distributor) between coil and plugs, Mary. Glad it got going, and will now be surprised if Damp Start does not prevent early repetition.

*(Give them a good clean off first, of course - unless heavily soiled, that just means with clean dry rags, not degreasant or similar, which could cause further insulation breakdown.)

[cheffy34]

I have found in past the dizzy cap is vunrable if the gasket is missing, also you may find that the rear plug on the driver side suffers from water ingress aswell if you hit lots of standing water the dizzy cap gets it, if it dont the water will sit ontop of the rocker cover and find its way into the rear plug when you go up a steep hill really is not the best of designs, the water comes up through the scav fan if you hit a deep puddle at speed

Although it does sound more cap as it will drip out the bottom over night if left, and have no probs in the morning

Dar

[teddy]

Sorry to hear about your problem Mary but I am glad to hear things are sounding a bit better.