Dead as a Dodo!

[Buckman]

Travelling merrily when car suddenly died on us for no reason. Totally dead not even hazard lights. Been waiting 2 1/2 hours although it was suppose to be a priority call..
We are near Dursley in south Gloucesterdhire and they are coming from Cardiff! They will need to take us back to the caravan which is about 15 miles away
Not happy.

 

[Jcloughie]

Can I help, could be there in 20-30 mins

John

 

[otherclive]

That’s unfortunate on a 1 year old car. Hope it’s something that they can fix there and then. Wonder if it’s anything following on from the issues when it was at the dealership. Which recovery company are you with?

 

[Buckman]

Thanks. Not sure if you could do anything..GF just called and said another 20 minutes. Not sure why it died like someone had pulled the plug on the electrics.

 

[Buckman]

That’s unfortunate on a 1 year old car. Hope it’s something that they can fix there and then. Wonder if it’s anything following on from the issues when it was at the dealership. Which recovery company are you with?

Car is almost 10 years old and we are with Mayday. Good question about dealership.

 

[otherclive]

Car is almost 10 years old and we are with Mayday. Good question about dealership.

Apologies but in your recent post on BMW subscribers you write 2021. Anyway hope that the recovery can get you going again, not much fun on a warm day either.

 

[Buckman]

Apologies but in your recent post on BMW subscribers you write 2021. Anyway hope that the recovery can get you going again, not much fun on a warm day either.

Probably a misprint by me. Tried everything using a jump start battery and lights and indicators came on, but it just clicked when trying to start it.
Battery is less than 2 years old. I am wondering if the dancing rear lights as per another thread has caused the issue? Started on way back from dealership after repair.
Just glad it did not happened on the motorway as car would have stopped in the lane and could have caused a very big issue.
Back at site now and will need to arrange for caravan to be taken to storage, car home and on Monday to dealership 25 miles away.

 

[otherclive]

Probably a misprint by me. Tried everything using a jump start battery and lights and indicators came on, but it just clicked when trying to start it.
Battery is less than 2 years old. I am wondering if the dancing rear lights as per another thread has caused the issue? Started on way back from dealership after repair.
Just glad it did not happened on the motorway as car would have stopped in the lane and could have caused a very big issue.
Back at site now and will need to arrange for caravan to be taken to storage, car home and on Monday to dealership 25 miles away.

Sorry they couldn’t fix it, but at least you can continue to enjoy your weekend on site.

 

[Jcloughie]

Are you at Arlingham?

John

 

[Buckman]

Are you at Arlingham?

John

Yep. Going to arrange for recovery on Sunday. At least it is not far for even me to walk.

 

[Jcloughie]

We could come down and visit for an hour tomorrow, what do you think? We have both been testing clear since yesterday morning, but felt clear on Wednesday, and we will be outside.

If you are happy, what time would suit?

John

 

[Buckman]

We could come down and visit for an hour tomorrow, what do you think? We have both been testing clear since yesterday morning, but felt clear on Wednesday, and we will be outside.

If you are happy, what time would suit?

John

Thanks that is very kind of you. TBH at the moment and don't know if I am Arthur or Martha! I will let you know later or tomorrow. In the meantime I need to find a way to access the rear tailgate and a few other things.
At present I cannot access the battery as that is under the driver's seat and requires power to move the seat forward.

 

[Sam Vimes]

So sorry to hear your problems. We've been there, done that and survived so I hope all goes well for you.

I hope you can forgive my sometimes irreverent sense of humour but if it's a BMW, have you paid your monthly subscription for a working battery😉

 

[Dustydog]

Is there no end to your run if bad luck😢
Did the breakdown guy get it going or will it be transported home Monday?
Bring back the good days of plugs ,contact breakers and SU carbs😉
I suggest you buy a rabbit foot 😜

 

[Buckman]

The breakdown person is not a mechanic and had very limited mechanical knowledge and the vehicle was transported back to the campsite. We have booked and paid until tomorrow, but will probably leave today if possible as we were on out way shopping when the vehicle died I also suspect his jumper battery pack was low on charge as it was late in the day which is why the engine would not turn over but everything else worked.
The first time the Engine Management light came on I was towing the caravan to Luton. It then went to the Jeep dealer and they cleared the codes and EML stayed off.
Between collecting it from the dealership and using it for our holiday it did less than 50 miles and basically stood for 2 weeks. We towed down to Somerset and EML came back on after about 45 miles. On arrival at site parked it up and the next day when we went to use it, the EML was off although the code was still there. No more issues until yesterday when it went totally dead while driving.
Taking into account the issues mentioned on my other thread, it has been suggested that the alternator may have failed leading to a flat battery? However reading up on alternator problems, the car definitely showed no signs of a failing alternator.
I am not a mechanic just going on what others have said to me.
If the alternator is shot, does anyone know if fitting a new battery will allow us to travel the 50 miles home even though the battery is not being charged? The battery is a Platinum brand and is under warranty for 2 years. The last Platinum battery that we had in our previous Jeep failed totally just under 3 years, but out of warranty. I am wondering if the battery has packed up totally, but cannot access it to see if any loose connections etc as it is under the driver's seat.
This going to an expensive 2 week break. First the two nails in the rear tyre on the caravan, then Oyster sat dish failed to lower so needed a technician to remove it from roof and send off the feature box for repair and now this!

 

[Dustydog]

Another tragic mystery 🥲.
I’d arrange for your breakdown provider to take car, caravan and the two of you home, and maybe if you wish take the car onto your dealer.
If the alternator has failed I’d expect to see the EML stay on. Buying another battery now may get you home but seems a lot of hassle . No guarantee there isn’t another issue causing the catastrophic failure which may drain the new battery.
Good luck.

 

[otherclive]

Is there no end to your run if bad luck😢
Did the breakdown guy get it going or will it be transported home Monday?
Bring back the good days of plugs ,contact breakers and SU carbs😉
I suggest you buy a rabbit foot 😜

One rabbit foot unlikely to be enough. What am I bid for all eight, and they are big ones. Only five days before family return and the auction ends.



ps there is a Syrian hamster as a bonus. I think it is still alive as I don’t see it much as it’s very nocturnal 😂

 

[Buckman]

I don't know what i have done to offend someone with all these issues. I did think that things were getting better. Really think it is time to invest in a Landcruiser which are normally bullet proof however reluctant to spend that amount even with the blessing of OH! LOL!

 

[otherclive]

I don't know what i have done to offend someone with all these issues. I did think that things were getting better. Really think it is time to invest in a Landcruiser which are normally bullet proof however reluctant to spend that amount even with the blessing of OH! LOL!

When I went off roading the club leader had one and his saying was “ if you want to go into the jungle get a Land Rover. If you want to come out then get a Land Cruiser”. I did seem that things were improving for you but I’m sure this latest is a carry over from the problems you reported earlier with flashing lights etc. Hopefully the dealership can diagnose it.

 

[Beachball]

Probably a misprint by me. Tried everything using a jump start battery and lights and indicators came on, but it just clicked when trying to start it.
Battery is less than 2 years old. I am wondering if the dancing rear lights as per another thread has caused the issue? Started on way back from dealership after repair.
Just glad it did not happened on the motorway as car would have stopped in the lane and could have caused a very big issue.
Back at site now and will need to arrange for caravan to be taken to storage, car home and on Monday to dealership 25 miles away.

I hope the dealership can diagnose it and it not a costly repair good luck

 

[Buckman]

When I went off roading the club leader had one and his saying was “ if you want to go into the jungle get a Land Rover. If you want to come out then get a Land Cruiser”. I did seem that things were improving for you but I’m sure this latest is a carry over from the problems you reported earlier with flashing lights etc. Hopefully the dealership can diagnose it.

My son had a company Landcruiser CRD that was submerged under flood waters for about 3 days a couple of years ago. They washed the down the engine and it started straight away. He recently bought a LC Amazon 2012 V8 petrol and it gets a lot of off road work and so far no issues.

 

[otherclive]

My son had a company Landcruiser CRD that was submerged under flood waters for about 3 days a couple of years ago. They washed the down the engine and it started straight away. He recently bought a LC Amazon 2012 V8 petrol and it gets a lot of off road work and so far no issues.

What are really capable and maintainable are the UN ones but rare as hens teeth.

 

[Buckman]

As a matter of interest, if the alternator stopped working and id not charge the battery and car comes to complete standstill, if you use a multimeter surely you should get some sort of reading even if it is only 2 to 3v?
When we got the car back from the dealer, wife was following me and noticed the rear lights were flashing from one side to the other, but indicatrs and brake lights worked as normal. I am wondering if there is some sort of short that caused the dancing lights and this has hut down the car. It was reported to the dealer the same day.

 

[Kevin M]

I've been thinking about this one.
Given the strange electrical behaviour plus the battery failure etc, could this be down to a corroded earth?
I do another with classic vehicles and it's quite common in older vehicles and causes all sorts of weired behaviour.

Kev

 

[Buckman]

On the Jeep you have the postive and negative terminals under the hood. The negative is a bolt to the chassis. I am now thinking that maybe when the car went to the dealer for a diagnostic and repair they may have disconnected the battery and maybe it was not reconnected properly? This could be why the battery is reading zero? I cannot check the actual terminals on the battery as battery is under the seat.