very cold today

[Lingo09]

Hello, it is a unusualy cold day today here.
  -18C.
the berlingo started ok but i had to park and drop of the kids after a 10 min drive.
after 5 mins i came back to the berlingo and it didnt want to start anymore.
so i left it parked there.

it said breaking system faulty when i put in the key, the clock in the middle worked and the radio went on..
But the tach didnt seem to come on either.
No response at all from starter or tacho when i turned to start it.
completly dead there.

it just said "breaking system faulty" in the middle clock.

interior lights worked,radio went on, automatic electrical mirrors went out too.

everything went perfect on the way before it just took some extra time "preheating" when i drove away from home.


its a 2009 berlingo multispace 1.6 hdi and i live in norway,
any tips for me ?

next time i am there i will measure the battery but it seems strange to me that it would die from cold after a 10 min drive?

[Gadgetman]

Possibly condensation hit something important?

10 minute running produces just enough heat to begin thawing out stuff and produce condensation.
did you have frost on the inside of the windshield?
(This is bad. it means you have lots of humidity inside the coupe)

When I come home from work, or even when nearing my workplace, I turn the heater to cold and crank open a window. I want all the moist, hot air OUT!
No frost on the inside, and often no frost on the outside of the windshield, too...

It's been -15 where I live, and mine(1999 1.4i) has been a bit grumpy, but still starts at the first attempt. Slightly less grumpy now that I let it sleep in the garage at night, and also recharged the battery over the weekend.

It's quite possible it comes back to life if it's just allowed to thaw out.
It's also possible that you need to do a 'BSI Reset' whatever that is.
(I don't have one of those newfangled things in my car. It's too old for that, so I've never had to do this)

[Sol]

The battery sounds like the problem. If you had extra pre heating and extremely cold oil on cranking, the battery could have lost a lot of capacity when starting it, and then a 10 minute run is not enough time for the alternator to put the energy back that you used.

Low battery voltage causes weird errors to appear on the BSI equipped cars.

[Gadgetman]

Possible, but no reacton from the starter at all?
Even with a nearly flat battery, I would expect it to attempt to engage the starter.

[Sol]

Not on the B9, the smart battery controller will disconnect the starter from activating when the battery voltage goes below a certain level. It's nothing like the older vans in that way.

[Gadgetman]

I hate 'smart' functionality sometimes...

The sound of a starter barely moving is such a clear indicator of a flat battery...

[Lingo09]

Thanks for the replies guys! I have walked all the way down to the car, and poured hot water over the battery to warm it up a little..
Now it has been brought back to life.

Guess the battery needs replacement, with such loss of power at those degrees.
I also thought it was strange the starter did not respond. Thank you for explaining.
Cheers b9 is back home

[cancunia]

In 10 minutes the engine won't be warm so it might be worth driving for at least 30 mins to get everything warmed through. It will also give the battery a chance to recover.