Thread: Maybe spider / immobiliser D1 tdi @#$%

No, the spider controls the starter motor. Since it turned over (however slow), then the alarm is working.

Time to do a bit of backtracking on the electrics - take the traxide and 2nd battery off, clean up chassis and starter earths, alternator connections (all 3) and re-measure. Then swap the 1st for the 2nd battery and see what happens.

And, is the red charging light coming on when it should on startup? If fuse 14 blows because of something else, the red light won't work (and neither will the alternator) - no tacho is also a sign that this is occurring.

Other than those things, it may be that the No1 battery is on it's last legs.

Not the spider/immobiliser. Sounds like there is something draining the battery at rest (since it charged up OK driving home), or your main battery is dying. I pretty much agree with Langy on troubleshooting.

You can't really use battery voltage to troubleshoot, except to find a failed cell. For a car battery, 12V indicates about 25% capacity left. It's how long (and at what current) it takes to get to 12V that is important. Mine measures about 12.5 also, but it's on its last legs.

Edit (again) - I found a discharge curve here: Battery monitoring multiply everything by 6 for a car battery.

/Damien

..repost..

It failed to start again this morning, swmbo took the V8 to work.
I measured 12.3. This evening I had her turn the key so I could measure at the solenoid, then she yelled smoke!
It was a decent cloud wafting out of the console at the window switches. I've started stripping out the interior to see where I need to put the smoke back in but it gets dark fast at home for me...
Thanks for suggestions fellas, I'll be going thru it top to bottom this weekend, I'll bring some gear home and test the battery(ies) properly.

Well the smoke would indicate the source of the short that is draining your battery.
Good luck with that let us know how you get on.

I found I was getting the same symptoms as the spider issue, no crank, but since this had been bypassed wasn't sure. I then found out that I had only 8v reaching the solenoid, and using a Jumberlead straight off the Batt + would get her to crank. Only ever had this happen once in 4 years, on a hot day with the camper on. I was always going to wire in a relay, to switch batt + off the starter signal, but it has never given any more trouble, so haven't done it.

As for the smoke ?????

Stu

Update.
Found the smoke. When I saw the handbrake cable today in good sunlight I noticed the plastic sheath is melted a bit, so there was an earthing problem all along. I removed and cleaned them all up at the weekend but they actually looked ok, no corrosion and bright clean bare metal at the chassis. Am now going to fab an extra -ve from the block.
Starter is in with the autoelec, got a call back this afternoon that, yes, it has an intermittent solenoid fault. Sometimes fails and also sometimes sticks.
I had stripped it down but of course it wouldn't fault for me on the bench!! (same as when it started no problem the evening I got it home).
It had a lot of carbon but otherwise seemed good.

There was no charging problem, it was only that on the day I didn't have the toolbox in the car with the multi in it, so I had nothing to go on, only that it started fine when it got home.

Stripped out the console and dismantled the dash too to search for the short/meltdown & to check the spider out and found it has already been bypassed with LR plug in loop, not to worry, as it was something that was on the to-do list anyway so happy it is done.

Another spanner in the works, today the remote doesn't work.

Hey what happened to the old smileys?