[Engine] Not starting and dash flashing

[2007berlJames]

2007 berlingo starting issues... HELP! It
Brought the van yesterday, was abit ropey on first start. 
Paid the man drove home started fine for a few times after then boom woke up this morning in the snow and van won’t start. 
Waited for glow plug sign to go out after a few seconds still no start. 
It’s trying but just ends up pulling all the juice from the battery and the the dash etc starts flashing on and off. I have got a video but I’m not sure on how to upload it. 

Help please....

[Gryffindor]

If the vid is on your phone and it also has internet access, search for a free filesharing site and upload the vid there, then post the link to it here.

Or save the vid to a PC and upload it from there if you prefer.

[Tomcat3]

It would help if you could let us know what model and engine you have.

[geoff]

It might just be a case of an old and weak battery combined with unusually cold weather.

Can you borrow a known good battery to see if it starts that way ?

Otherwise get your battery fully charged up and go from there, good luck.

edit : of course if you have a voltmeter then do check for the battery voltage before doing any work or spending money.

Just a thought does it crank over and if so it slowly or quickly ?

[my mucker]

I had same problem with my lingo about 18 months ago !! I took it to my local motor factors and he tested the battery , and it was on the way out !! he also said that it wasn't the right battery for the car ,i purchased the proper battery for the car and haven't had any trouble starting since !!! hope this helps !!

[2007berlJames]

I’ve checked the battery, it’s got a halfords 12v reading 12v.
I believe it’s a Berlingo 600D LX? 56 plate 2 seater van?

I’m a domestic Electrician so not much of a mechanic but I’m down to try haha

Cranks over very slow basically chuffing I’ll try to put the video on here somehow.

Cheers guys james

[bikerbaker]

12v won't do it in my (humble) opinion especially in the cold. The glow plugs drain the battery before you get to cranking.

I changed the battery in my 2.0Hdi in December even though the old one was about 2 years old, the car was only doing very short journeys very infrequently and struggled to start. The old one is fine for a spare though, it has recharged fine and holds 12.9v for weeks on end.

Incidentally I don't like smart chargers that reject batteries. I have an 80w solar panel on my shed roof and charge controller which has "reconditioned" a lot of, mainly motorcycle, batteries.

[2007berlJames]

So in theory if it’s the battery if I was to put leads onto a running car (ie) jump start it, if it starts straight away it’s the battery???

[geoff]

In general yes ^^^ assuming the alternator is charging

In an open circuit state - 
Batteries are fully charged at 12.6v and above up to around 12.9v
Battery at 12.4v is circa 60% charged
Battery at 12.0v is circa 25% charged which is abnormal and at risk of sulphation
Battery voltage with engine running ie supplied by the alternator will be circa 13.7 - 14.7 volts

Bear in mind also that in the current cold weather a battery will likely be delivering circa 30% less oomph than normal.

Battery terminals don't seem to oxidise like they did years ago but maybe worth a check.

[2007berlJames]

Cheers Geoff, I got my 5year old to turn it over for me as I was holding meter on the battery. It dropped from 12v to 10 before not even engaging the starter motor.
Gonna get some leads give it a jump tommorow and perhaps give the battery a full charge see what happend.

Aslo dipsticked the oil and there was no oil in the engine at all literally just a droplet on the bottom.

Hopefully I haven’t bourght a money pit!