[MrRhyl]

My son recently acquired an '06 plate 307 diesel estate. Has been running fine until the other day when he said he heard a "pop" from the front left glove compartment area. A "faulty circuit board" warning appeared on the dash and not long after the ABS warning light came on. The car drove fine for another 5 miles or so and then the steering went heavy for a few seconds. The ESP light came on and the STOP sign came on as well and also the warning triangle symbol with an exclamation mark in it. He managed to continue for another 100 yds and the car stopped.
Now the car won't start at all (just a clicking sound although it doesn't sound like a solenoid to me). Also, as well as the ABS and ESP warning lights being on so is the airbag warning light.
I immediately checked all the fuses including the Maxi fuses. These are all ok however when checking the Maxi fuses I noticed that one of them was missing - apparently it is for the passenger compartment fuse box! Also when I lifted the fuse box out to check the Maxi fuses there were two wires, one red and one blue, that have been wrapped up with insulating tape and are just sitting there not connected to anything and disappear into the loom
(maybe they have something to do with the missing fuse?).
Any help on where to start will be very much appreciated.

 

[storeman]

Certainly sounds like a fuse has been bypassed. Also sounds like the previous owner perhaps got rid of the car because of this issue and bodged it just to get it sold.I'd hazard a guess that the BSI has possibly died as that lives in the glovebox area. You may be lucky and it's just taken out some of the BSI fuses but it will likely need to have a PP2000 diagnostic to see if the BSI can be read.

It may well have been a faulty BSI that was taking out the missing maxi fuse anrd the previous owner just spliced an unfused live in place to give the car the appearance of being in good condition knowing all the while that in the near future something would go. Your son may have some legal rights to return the car to the seller as not being fit for purpose and for the seller witholding information about this problem

 

[MrRhyl]

Many thanks for that Storeman. I'll check out all the BSI fuses and get it diagnosed if necessary and find out what the red and blue wires are for! Does anyone know of a company called BBA Reman who repair BSI units should it need sorting?

 

[jimmymarsbar]

I'd be talking to the person who sold your son the car.

Can you take pics and share them?

Do as storeman said - get the car on PP2000 or diagbox. If the software can't communicate with the car, it's likely the BSI has been toasted. If the BSI is readable, then you should get some info about what's gone pop.

 

[MrRhyl]

Had a very quick look at his car today. Forgot to mention that he thought he saw something plastic looking on the road after he heard the popping sound. I noticed that the alternator belt was loose and lo and behold there's no pulley on the end of the shaft just something that could possibly have been a retaining ring! I know assumption is the mother of all cock ups but I'm thinking maybe the faulty circuit warning had something to do with a signal loss from the alternator. Will take a pic of the Maxi fuses and wires as suggested by jimmymarsbar - maybe someone can tell me then what's been bodged.

 

[jimmymarsbar]

I did initially think that the way you described how the car failed sounded like the battery was on the blink - normally the lights start going off left right and centre, then the power steering goes, then it's goodnight vienna.

So if the alternator pulley is missing or faulty, that all makes sense.

 

[MrRhyl]

I did initially check battery voltage jimmymarsbar and it was 11.5v. Been to motorfactors but apparently there are 4 different alternators to choose from before I can buy a pulley so it's back to the car later today and check on model and serial number. Oh - and I'll take a couple of pics. Kids eh - they leave home and still rely on good old dad!

 

[jimmymarsbar]

Battery should be 12V with the engine off, and 14V+ with the engine running. Anything less than 14V means the alternator isn't charging the battery, so it's likely this was the problem.

 

[MrRhyl]

Bloody hell! Turns out that the pulley is a "clutch" type and costs over £60! However the motor factors that I use can't tell me which pulley I need to buy because I don't have the OEM number of the original even though I gave them the number off the alternator which is 9646321880. Might be off to a car breakers then.

 

[madbadandold]

A few members can find all your build details of the car if you add the vin number to your thread and ask. It might show you what you need to know. Might be better to start a new thread with the request.

 

[MrRhyl]

Thanks for that madbadandold. I'll check it out in the morning.

 

[MrRhyl]

Well just to let those that are interested know - problem sorted. Refitted alternator WITH a pulley and car wouldn't start. Fully recharged battery and followed fitting instructions and hey presto car runs fine. Must admit though that it seems strange that a battery with just under 11.5v charge simply made many dashboard lights twitch on and off and buzzers sound! Perhaps there's a battery voltage sensor to the BSI that sends it into a fit if it's a bit low! Many thanks to those that made suggestions.

 

[storeman]

The ecu's don't tolerate low voltages very well and register phantom errors if the voltage drops low enough. If the battery charge is below par, the drain on the battery when cranking the engine can take the voltage right down to the point where some ecu's shut down.

 

[WillNZ]

As storeman says, low voltage affects the ECU's where they are unable to trigger relays. No relays, no power etc etc.... modern cars are very power hungry and a lack of it causes multiple issues, not just in Peugeots.