306 2.0 Hdi 1999...Total electrical failure.

[risky1]

Just looking for advice on this one... (2.0 hdi Rhy)
The owner was driving along and the engine cut out...turned on ignition and nothing..no ignition lights at all...After a few minutes it started with
everything back to normal.
He got it home and it failed to start the following morning..Only Battery light was showing..no oil light..airbag light...etc.

I had alook at it today,The engine turned over quite fast but would'nt start...
I thightend the battery connections and while the ignition was on i moved the ecu bracket and there was a clicking noise like a loose connection...
disconnected battery removed the ecu and checked for poor connections etc....I removed the ecu from its bracket and connected it back up.

When i held the housing of the ecu on the body of the car started fine and everything was working.....
I then redone the ecu bracket to body by cleaning its contact with body but back to square one again...non start and total electrical failure.

Now for the questions.......
1)By connecting the ecu bracket to battery - terminal with a cable the car runs fine....Is this advisable or would it be better connect it onto the body instead..??
2)This seems a earth problem...is there any areas on these that the earth/body connection break down...??
3)Is the ecu bracket to body used as an earth for the ecu..??

Have it running now but not sure is it safe to leave it like this,when running scanned it with pp2000 and there were alot of intermittant faults but i guess these came up from
the engine cutting out....Recorded and cleared faults,took car for a drive rescanned and all clear.
Thanks in advance.
Ron.

[bettyswollocks]

Common on others is the gearbox earth for causing electrical failure Ron.

[john_h]

well if the brackets are what the ecu uses for an earth connection, i would clear any grime, rust or any other crap from them and where they attach themselves to. if worse comes to worse, you can put a decent wire from the ecu to the body of the car to give that earth, in the end it all goes that way anyways.

thats if it seems the ecu works on the body of the car as described but i could be wrong

[risky1]

Thanks for your replys betty & cck2k9.
Betty you were on the ball.
Well today i found my glasses... ... and found the problem.
I followed the negetive battery cable to the gearbox and noticed an earth cable thats bolted onto the body from the gearbox hiding below the battery box.
Think i should have gone to specsavers...
The negative cable from battery is bolted onto the gearbox and the same crimp also has another cable coming form the gearbox which is bolted onto the body.
cck2k9 i know it may have been o.k. but I did'nt want to leave it the way it was so i had alittle more time today to go searching.
Thanks again for your help...
Ron.

[john_h]

glad to hear you got this sorted