2006 petrol Opel Zafira turns over but wont start

alibabba

The car turns over but will not fire up and start.
If i attach jump leads to battery it starts straight away.
And once you start it, it will start for the rest of the day.
So i bought a new battery and slotted it on.

It was ok for a few days but gone back to same issue now.
It turns but wont fire. I stuck on jump leads onto the new battery this morning and the car started straight away.

Any help ?

jimgoose

Check the charging voltage - that is, the voltage at the battery with the engine running and spinning at about 2,000 RPM. It should be showing about 14.6V.

alibabba

Will do.
What will I learn from this if its not 14V ?

jimgoose

alibabba wrote: »

Will do.
What will I learn from this if its not 14V ?

You'll learn that there's something wrong with the car's charging system, and that would be why batteries keep weakening in it.

FR85

I'd be more inclined to check your leads for corrosion, there is a van in work doing the same thing. It's the battery leads, if we give them a wiggle or jump it it will start, leave them alone and it won't.
Try pouring boiling water on the connections and then seeing if it will fire.

Esel

FR85 wrote: »

I'd be more inclined to check your leads for corrosion, there is a van in work doing the same thing. It's the battery leads, if we give them a wiggle or jump it it will start, leave them alone and it won't.
Try pouring boiling water on the connections and then seeing if it will fire.

I have heard about using a kettle of boiling water to convince someone to hand over their car keys, but not to get a car to start!

Certainly a battery clamp (connection) might be loose. Solution in this case would be to remove the clamps, clean the battery posts and the inside of the clamps with fine sandpaper, smear some Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on the posts and refit the clamps, ensuring they are tightened properly.

@OP: Have the alternator checked - as jimgoose said, it may not be charging the battery. There could also be an issue with the alternator belt - if it is too loose, it will not turn the alternator, which means that the battery will not be charged when the engine is running.

If the alternator is not working (rather than the belt being at fault) you can have a reconditioned one fitted much cheaper than a new one.

alibabba

Jump started car this evening with the leads. Before the Jump start , battery @ 12.4v
Car on, battery @ 13.9v
Rev to 1000 , 13.9v
Rev to 2000 , 13.9v
Rev to 3000 , 13.9v

jimgoose

alibabba wrote: »

Jump started car this evening with the leads. Before the Jump start , battery @ 12.4v
Car on, battery @ 13.9v
Rev to 1000 , 13.9v
Rev to 2000 , 13.9v
Rev to 3000 , 13.9v

Hmm. Run a fast idle for a few minutes, turn her off and immediately measure the voltage across the battery terminals - anything above or at 13.2v means the battery was just charging. Also, with the engine running, turn on the full headlamps. The voltage should stay pretty steady.

alibabba

Done.
Rev'd for a few mins then turned off ... Battery @ 12.8v
Turned on all lites ... Battery @ 13.6v

jimgoose

alibabba wrote: »

Done.
Rev'd for a few mins then turned off ... Battery @ 12.8v
Turned on all lites ... Battery @ 13.6v

I think the alternator is probably alright. Any current leakage?

FR85

The boiling water was the only way to clean the corrosion off!!!

On my old Astra tom when the alternator was on the way out the light flickered for about 1500 miles then came on, that was a resistor issue. I think if it was a charging fault you might see the same light. I think it's in the leads.....could be wrong.

alibabba

Yip, the alternator looks ok, so says a mechanic.
He is a bit baffled by it too.

2 months ago, the eng diag LED came up & hard to start. We got it scanned, Thermostat Housing showed up. We got this changed.
The car worked fine then till this trouble showed up last week.
Same symtoms but with no diag LED ?

jimgoose

alibabba wrote: »

Yip, the alternator looks ok, so says a mechanic.
He is a bit baffled by it too.

2 months ago, the eng diag LED came up & hard to start. We got it scanned, Thermostat Housing showed up. We got this changed.
The car worked fine then till this trouble showed up last week.
Same symtoms but with no diag LED ?

Next thing I'd do is check for current drain.