# Battery Problem broke down In Spain...help requested please.



## TheFlups (Nov 9, 2012)

We are in our motorhome in Salobrena and have just been joined by some folks we know from the UK.

They have a Pilote 780FGJ explorteur. About an hour after their arrival the driver attempted to operate the locks with the key fob after he thought the vehicle had been immobilised...Cobra alarm. His reason for this was that the AES fridge was not going automatically to gas!

On inspecting the control panel the leisure batteries were 100% but the engine battery was 11.6v! When trying to start the vehicle everything was dead! No ignition lights nothing.

Relay clicking from the fridge and beneath the dash could be heard. By turning the fridge to EHU the clicking ceased!

It seems to me that there has been a catastrophic failure of the starter battery so tomorrow we will try and get it checked or and replaced.

My question is does anyone know of a local to here garage who could supply a battery..110ah for a Fiat Ducato 3.0 litre....and or...does anyone have any experience of this happening to this model before?


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

No experience but if they are safe for say 72 hours this company in the UK may be able to get a battery to that location quickly and economically;

http://www.tayna.co.uk/

we have used them and their service is excellent (47 hours from order to delivery in Southern France) so may be a good line to follow....

Dave


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

the problem with the fridge on auto change over is that it will generally settle for mains electric first. 
many people forget that when running on auto setting it will not select gas until after around 20 mins, this is normal as it will not want to spark up on gas when you stop in case you are on a petrol forecourt.
hence the time lag, I learnt this the hard way. :roll: 
As to the van battery, I would offer a guess that either the battery needs to be disconnected and re connected again, or the cobra alarm has immobilised, but have never heard this happening before.

cabby


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

I understand that the Ducato can suffer from a poor earth. I will check on the Out and About forum as I am sure there was some information on there.


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

Is this item any help?
http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/fo...tters/X250-Engine-earth-fault/21815/?posts=10


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## TheFlups (Nov 9, 2012)

Cheers so far to all...I will show our friends your posts...they don't have internet.


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

There's a great big superstore on the southern entry to Motril, just up the main road. From memory there's also a tyre etc place next to it too. Both will stock vehicle batteries.


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## TheFlups (Nov 9, 2012)

Thanks Nomad...that's helpful.

We tried to jump start it just now from one of the leisure batteries but just got a very lazy turn over.

Interestingly, after removing the neg connector on the starting battery so we could put the jump lead clips on and after that failed replacing the connection to the terminals, suddenly the fridge began working on gas!

It's dark here now and the alarm will cause grief if that's activated again so we will wait till morning and retry making some good connections and then go for a start up before setting off to Motril in our van.

Thanks again guys...always great to get help here.


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

There is a wire that will feed +ve to the fridge change-over circuit. It should only be +ve if the ignition is on (& therefore, it presumes, the engine is running). If that +ve goes off, then the changeover will look for mains and if that is not present will switch to gas (after the delay as mentioned by a previous poster).
If for some reason (like a faulty relay) the wire still holds +ve after the engine is switched off, then the fridge will continue to draw on the 12v supply and drain the battery.
The signal wire is conventionally coloured mauve.

Patrick


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

TheFlups said:


> We tried to jump start it just now from one of the leisure batteries but just got a very lazy turn over.


I don't think you'll get much joy from the leisure battery as they are not designed to produce the high power required to turn over an engine and may even be damaged by doing so. Could you not jump start from another vehicle?


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## TheFlups (Nov 9, 2012)

Thanks Patrick...we will look at that in the morning as a reason for the failure...

Wug...agreed but vans were awkwardly placed to jump this evening so we thought it might just work....we will do it properly in the morning.

I will report back here when the issue has been resolved...it's a shame for the guy as he has little knowledge and this is his first MH. It's a smashing layout and in super nick too...fancy one myself now!


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Test the battery and the van to see if it's charging. You can jump from leisure batteries no bother, if the leads are long enough. 


Spain has plenty of places selling batteries and plenty of mechanics, Alan.


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## Gretchibald (Jul 22, 2011)

If it's the same problem that I had , jump starting with the old battery still in place and connected won't work. ( short in the old battery or something ) but with the old battery taken out and the new one in ( same battery we tried to jump it with) it started. Ps Had to reset the alarm code as well.


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## palaceboy (Mar 9, 2008)

Hasn,t your friend got breakdown cover ? Seems sensible if they have little tech knowledge


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## seanoo (Mar 31, 2007)

http://www.bateriamegastore.es/

same as uk based company .these people speak english and will deliver vehicle or leisure batteries all over spain the next day. great prices too , only slightly dearer than buying them in the uk. they also have battery megastores in france and holland too. all the best sean


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## TheFlups (Nov 9, 2012)

Update on Pilote battery problem...

This morning our friends called Comfort to take advantage of their European Breakdown cover as suggested by palaceboy and within an hour a truck arrived with a chap who started the Pilote with a power pack. There were some language issues but everything went well.

Comfort followed this up by phone calls and the same chap returned in the afternoon offering help to source a new battery.

Roger (pilote owner) and I travelled about 6km to Motrill and found the Fiat dealer who said he could get one in 3 days but after directed us to a firm called Francisco Salas e Hijos just round the corner. They checked the battery and confirmed a dud cell and then provided a replacement exactly to specification for €154.84 inc tax.

Now the people at Francisco Salas e Hijos were most helpful...they even brought out the tools with the new Bosche Battery and did the changeover for nowt...I was there and can thoroughly recommend them...how good was that? 

Their address If this helps anyone else is... C/ .Sto. Domingo. s/n Motrill tel 958 609 393

Thanks again to everyone who responded to the help plea.


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