Flat battery = no power steering or braking...?!

[agentdagnamit]

Evening. I just had a strange experience with our Bongo.

Tried to start the engine (V6 petrol) and it wouldnt start. Sounded like a flat battery. I used a USB battery pack to get it ticking over and started driving. The engine sounded OK initially, but pretty soon everything was stuttering and I lost the power steering and braking. The accelerator was to the floor just to do 5mph up a moderate hill. Luckily I cruised home ok.

I've had plenty of flat batteries before(I probably need a new one...) but not those other symptoms.

Cant think what might have happened to cause this. I'm charging the battery now, but it looks like it was only down to 12.1v when I had the problem.

Earlier today I replaced a broken high level brake light with a working, and official, Bongo spare. No other recent changes.

Any ideas?

Thanks

[g8dhe]

What state is the belt that drives the alternator and power steering etc in? I suspect it might be lying on the floor somewhere, hence no charging thus low voltage, no power steering and no water pump!!

[agentdagnamit]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check this morning.

[agentdagnamit]

Interesting, the layout under the passenger seat of my V6 doesn't match the other diagrams I've seen or those in YouTube videos. Do the V6s have a different belt configuration?

I can't see any belt debris though and the belt I can see looks in good nick.

[agentdagnamit]

A bit of research suggests the V6s have a single alternator belt plus the AC belt - is that correct?

[g8dhe]

There is an Aircon belt which comes out on the passenger side and all the others are handled by a second belt mainly on the offside of the engine see here https://www.lushprojects.com/bongoparts ... mgno=.html

[agentdagnamit]

Thanks Geoff. Looks like both my belts are OK. As you can tell, I'm pretty much a novice where engines are concerned but should be able to spot a knackered or missing belt.

Good news is that the battery is reading 14.4v with the engine running, so the alternator seems ok. And the aircon seems normal.

If I was still worried that my waterpump wasnt being driven correctly by the belt, is there a simple way of checking that doesnt involve putting the engine at risk of overheating! ? I've been told I cant really rely on the dashboard temperature warning light.

I'm still worried about the weird issue I had yesterday and obviously want to avoid the risk of any terminal damage. If the symptoms do reoccur I'll try my local garage.

[g8dhe]

Well if the belt is driving the alternator then it must be tight around the water pump itself. Can't think of anything else belt wise that could cause the problem, unless maybe you've had a lot of rain that might have caused a problem, either with slipping belts (noise is the usual giveaway) or maybe moisture around the ignition system causing problems.

[agentdagnamit]

Thanks - that's reassuring.

We certainly had plenty of rain yesterday. Dry today, I'll take a drive and check things out.