Peugeot 206 wont start (will with jump) but all electrical items work while off

engrish?

Hi,

I bought a Peugeot 206 Spacewagon last night at an auction. It seemed fine. When I got out to the car, it didnt start. We got it jumped and it drove home great, it seems to be almost perfect.

I drove it for an hour solid. When I got back, I turned it off and then turned it on again to see if the battery had charged. The engine ticks, but it doesnt start. The radio is working, the lights are working, everything is working but it wont start by itself. When I hook it up to jumps and then it starts immediately.

I looked through a few sites today and some simialar articles had said that it could be a bad ground connection. One site, recommended that the poster take off the connection from the battery and make sure there is no rust/corrosion and then put a layer of Vaseline on it before reconnecting that. I tried that, it made no improvement. I then removed the battery and the battery casing and did the same Vaseline treatment to both of the ground connections below. That didnt work either!

I took this video of trying to start the engine - note that there is someone sawing in the background!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNAgxEGTEUg

Here is a close up photo of the rad



Would anyone know what could be causing the issue? I didnt think it was the battery as all of the lights etc work ok without the car running. I didnt think it was the altenator or the same reason. Any advice?

Also, there was no water in it when I got it. I filled it again but the connection to the radiator seems to be loose. There were a few bubbles coming out of it - should I replace that?

Atlantic Dawn

Sounds very very weak power going to the started, I'd say battery is gone, could be holding a tiny amount of power and that's it. One possibility is it's low or empty of distilled water, some of the older batteries needed to be topped up regularly but when its let run dry this usually ends the battery. If it was the starter motor it wouldn't start with the jumpstart.

engrish?

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Sounds very very weak power going to the started, I'd say battery is gone, could be holding a tiny amount of power and that's it. One possibility is it's low or empty of distilled water, some of the older batteries needed to be topped up regularly but when its let run dry this usually ends the battery. If it was the starter motor it wouldn't start with the jumpstart.

Ok thanks, I'll try and charge it overnight to see if that recharges it, otherwise I will try a new one.

Cheers.

nogoodnamesleft

Test the battery with a multimeter when the car is off to see what the voltage is across the terminals of the battery is to see if this is the problem. (From the sounds of the problem it most likely is).

To discount the alternator with the car running turn on a switch on additional loads inside the car (window heater, blower) and test the terminals to see if it is being charged by the alternator (i think it should be in the region of 14v).

engrish?

I bought a new battery for it and its working perfectly now - thanks for your help.

rubadubduba

i'd still get the alternator checked out just to be on the safe side, the new battery will work ok for a while but if the alternator is faulty the battery wont take a charge and will run flat.