[ennhaych]

Hi all, my first post in here and I'm desperately looking for help. But first, a brief history of the car for reference.

I purchased an '09 Peugeot 308 SW in Feb 2016 from a private seller. Immediately had the rear discs and pads changed (which ever since has caused an ABS/ESP fault to display, but that's another issue for another time). After a few weeks I noticed an error message display something along the lines of 'potential diesel particulate filter block'. No problems until the November of 2016, when the clutch broke. Car sat for around 2 months over the winter, had the new clutch and dual mass flywheel fitted in the January, and car was working again, although had lost power and was intermittently failing to start, although drove fine once going. Assumed battery, so had a new one fitted around Feb/March, car still had intermittent start, but that went after a few days. Car still had barely any power (30mph uphill at best, could reach speed if on flat ground eventually).

Fast forward to last Monday, I assume turbo fault due to excessive smoke and soot in the engine bay, take it to a local garage who rip out a large metal cylinder, advise me it's filled with soot and they can open it, clean it out and reattach, which will restore power. I've since found out this was the catalytic converter and they shouldn't have done that, but I'm the least mechanically sound person and £60 to 'resolve the issue' sounded delightful. As soon as I got in the car didn't start, just one single click in the fuse box. Turned the key again and it started, assumed just a freak occurrence. did the whole intermittent starting thing again a further 3 times throughout the week, flashed an anti pollution warning at me a few times, then on Sunday, after using it throughout the day, I went to start the car on the evening and it didn't start. Waited, tried again, waited, tried again, waited, tried again, but nothing. Left it overnight tried again, could still hear the single click in the fuse box with no starter motor clicking, then came the economy mode active warning, no longer any clicks from the fuse box and no starting. Tried today to jump start in case the alternator was broke and the battery wasn't charging, but still nothing and eco mode still active.

Looking for any suggestions/advice/help on this, as I've sunk too much money in the car to scrap it

Thanks to any and all replies,

Nick.

 

[jimmymarsbar]

Welcome to the forum Nick,

First things first, what engine - 1.6, 2.0....? And I'm assuming it's a diesel?

The anti-pollution message is the cars way of telling you there is a problem with the engine. It must be looked at as soon as possible - ideally when it first appeared. Otherwise there can be some nasty problems causing a lot of grief and expense.

It is a generic, "catch-all" message, so doesn't relate to a specific fault, there could be a number of issues.

The garage were probably only half right - the filter may have been blocked, but there could be an underlying issue causing the filter to block.

What you need to do is get the car on Diagbox - search this thread for a member local to you and contact them to help you with live data and diagnostics.

If you've had the anti-pollution for over a year, I'd suggest getting the car diagnosed ASAP!

 

[jimmymarsbar]

Regarding the starting issues, it sounds like there could be an electrical fault. Perhaps something hasn't been reconnected properly when the clutch and flywheel were removed.

Check all the earths, straps and battery terminals.

Try this test;

- Put key in ignition
- Attempt to start the car.
- Turn the key to the "off" position and leave it in the ignition.
- Open the drivers door with the key still in the ignition

The car should beep at you to tell you the door is open and the key is in the ignition. Let us know if the car beeps or not

 

[reliable406]

As jimmy says the garage WERE on the right track cleaning the DPF/CAT but there is no point doing that without fixing the REASON it got clogged in the first place

Eco mode is BECAUSE its not starting not the cause ignore that it does not matter it will g once it does start

I recon either you have a bad connection a bad battery or a bad starter.

 

[ennhaych]

Thanks for the fast replies guys, the car is a diesel, full model is 1.6 308 SW HDI 110 Sport.

Tried the test with the key Jimmy, no beeping sounds at all from the car.

 

[Eccles]

Get the battery load tested too. If it's never been changed then a dieing battery will cause all sorts of weird electrical issues that are quite often resolved by simply fitting a healthy battery.
My bet is that you have a 1.6HDi. If you do then what the garage did to clean the DPF is probably correct to a point. The CAT and DPF are combined and can usually be split, with the DPF being the lower half of the cylinder, which can then be clean, reinstalled and Peugeot Diagbox can then be used to tell the ECU a clean DPF is now fitted. You then need to diagnose the cause of the blocked DPF filter, such as checking the Eolys pouch is not empty, magnets and sensor at the fuel cap end are present and working, glow plugs ok, cooling system ok.
Where are you located?

Edit: was typing this out before the last few replies were posted!

 

[jimmymarsbar]

Thanks for the fast replies guys, the car is a diesel, full model is 308 SW HDI 110 Sport.

Tried the test with the key Jimmy, no beeping sounds at all from the car.

What engine size bud?

Have you done anything to the key?

You definitely need the car on diagbox. The car isn't starting because the key isn't recognised by the car. This could be because the battery may be too low or because the battery has been disconnected incorrectly.

 

[ennhaych]

Sorry mate, forgot to add engine size is 1.6 - just added that bit into the above message. Not done anything to the key, but honestly don't recall the beep having ever been there. Tried with the spare key also with no beep. Thanks for the link to the guys with diagboxs, just messaged the fella local to me.

 

[ennhaych]

Get the battery load tested too. If it's never been changed then a dieing battery will cause all sorts of weird electrical issues that are quite often resolved by simply fitting a healthy battery.
My bet is that you have a 1.6HDi. If you do then what the garage did to clean the DPF is probably correct to a point. The CAT and DPF are combined and can usually be split, with the DPF being the lower half of the cylinder, which can then be clean, reinstalled and Peugeot Diagbox can then be used to tell the ECU a clean DPF is now fitted. You then need to diagnose the cause of the blocked DPF filter, such as checking the Eolys pouch is not empty, magnets and sensor at the fuel cap end are present and working, glow plugs ok, cooling system ok.
Where are you located?

Edit: was typing this out before the last few replies were posted!

Battery was changed a few months back at Halfords, also your guess was right, it's a 1.6 HDi. I'm located in Redditch, Worcestershire.

 

[Eccles]

Worth a BSI reset. Search for the BSI reset procedure on here. Sounds as though your need the keys relearned and then go from there (providing the battery really is charged and healthy and the earth straps are all ok).

 

[reliable406]

Your starting issue is nothing to do with the earlier issue

Check your wiring especially to the starter and battery terminals but if your not getting a warning about the key your keycodes could need redone.

You really need someone with peugeot planet to check key settings as most other diagnostics especially gucci snap on rubbish wont give accurate info.

 

[ennhaych]

Worth a BSI reset. Search for the BSI reset procedure on here. Sounds as though your need the keys relearned and then go from there (providing the battery really is charged and healthy and the earth straps are all ok).

How do you check the earth straps? I'm really bad with cars

 

[Eccles]

Everyone has to start somewhere. We were all 'bad at cars' at some point!
Earth straps are simply the cables that connect from the engine to the metal chassis to provide an earth. You need to check the condition of these for corrosion, broken cable or bad contact. The one from the gearbox is sometimes problematic. Follow all the suggestions on this thread in turn, they're all from people who definitely know their stuff. Diagnostics on Planet/Diagbox should be one of the first things together with battery connector and starter check and get the battery itself double checked (they can be faulty even if their only 2 months old ).

 

[WillNZ]

Quick way to check if your ground/earth straps are not connecting properly...

1. get a set of reasonable quality jumper cables.
2. connect BOTH clamps [red/black] on one end of the jumper cable set to the [-]negative battery terminal.
3. connect one of the clamps on the other end of the jumper cable set to a suitable ground point on the body and the other clamp to a suitable ground point on the motor.
4. try to start the engine. If it now swings over, it tells you that you definitely have a ground cable issue. You will need to remove/clean/replace all ground cables connection points, starting at the battery terminal and tracing the cables from battery->body->motor. Also, examine each cable carefully for breaks, especially at bot terminal ends of the cable.