307 HDi ELECTRICS GO DEAD

[brianJH]

Hi all,
I have fixed a few things on my 307 but this has got me stumped so can someone help! By pointing me in the right direction please.

Peugeot 307 Rapier hdi estate, 1997cc, year 2003

I have a starting problem, the first time it happened I had just parked for 10 mins but when I went to start car, on turning the key in the ignition all electrics went dead, nothing would work, no dash lights nothing. I repeatedly tried and eventually all came back on and car started.
All was fine for a few days but has just done it again nothing would work, then all came on again but on turning the key all went dead and has remained dead, no dash lights nothing.

I did notice a very faint clock type ticking sound coming from the glove compartment fuse box area for a while when all was dead but on trying the ignition key it would stop for several seconds then start again, but this has now stopped totally.

Just went out to the car after about two hours and all was ok again.

The battery was new last year and terminals are clean, cant find any dodgy wires so don’t think it can be that, unless it’s a faulty battery ??

Please can you help as to what it might be?

Thanks

[danthevan]

Terminals may be clean, but check the clamps as they have a habit of getting a white crust on them which causes problems.
Other logical thing to check is the ignition switch.

[brianJH]

Thank for that, but terminals are like hew pins.

Will have a look at the ignition switch, but why would this affect everything in the car and then randomly come back on when not being touched?

I am not questioning your answer, just like to know why.

Thanks for the reply.

[Stubbo]

I dont know what hew pins means, i assume clean!?

My negative terminal had a habit of wigginlg loose which used to cause this

Squeezed it together a bit so it gets a nice toght clamp on the terminal, problem solved!

[sterion75]

negative terminal is OK what about the other end of the lead at body earth point

[bettyswollocks]

Usual culprit is the earth on the gearbox .

[brianJH]

Originally Posted by Stubbo

I dont know what hew pins means, i assume clean!?

My negative terminal had a habit of wigginlg loose which used to cause this

Squeezed it together a bit so it gets a nice toght clamp on the terminal, problem solved!

It’s an old saying, “as clean as a new pin” yes, like a new one. Must be an age thing!! LOL.

Did find that the clamp on the positive post was not as tight as I would like, but I have sorted that one.

Thanks to all who have posted so far and will be now looking at the other ends of the earth, chassis, gear box, etc, etc.

It is working ok again at the moment but don’t think I have solved the problem, as found nothing that obvious wrong so far, but will keep you informed if I do find something but may take a few days for it to show up again.

Just hope it does not do it in the middle of nowhere!! LOL

[sterion75]

Brian good luck with it. Yes do let us know how it goes, always helps to know the cause of the problem for future advice.

[Hysteria]

Even new batteries can have a bad cell.

See if you can pick up a battery from a junker (right amps of course) and install it for about 1 week. If the problems disappear you have your answer.

Also check your cable insulation, a temporary short circuit because of failed insulation in 1 place can be difficult to trace and will cause a ticking noise as it is grounding itself.

[zooankski]

Had a similar issue on my old 307. Just driving along and car would go dead for a second. All lights off, speedo etc to zero. First time it happened on an unlit road heading in to luton and i crapped it! Spent ages trying to find a cause and never 100% did although once i had disconnected and reconnected the BSI it never happened again.