1.4 Hdi 16V will stall and then start up again

Hi there, i have noticed this mostly when pulling away at under 1300rpm, the car will stall (battery light comes on like when you stall) then all of a sudden it will start right up again, or will at least try too, it might just be me not being gentle enough with the clutch when pulling away, but then again i would think the car would just stall completely, which it very seldom does.

I have scanned my car with lexia a few times in the last month and i have no faults when doing the global test but i will do another scan this weekend and report back.

Do you guys have any ideas?
Thanks

samstagmoonyham wrote:Hi there, i have noticed this mostly when pulling away at under 1300rpm, the car will stall (battery light comes on like when you stall) then all of a sudden it will start right up again, or will at least try too, it might just be me not being gentle enough with the clutch when pulling away, but then again i would think the car would just stall completely, which it very seldom does.

I have scanned my car with lexia a few times in the last month and i have no faults when doing the global test but i will do another scan this weekend and report back.

Do you guys have any ideas?
Thanks

It could be symptoms of a bad battery or earth connection. When you pull away a bit quick it disconnects the power to an ecu, which doesn't have time to record a fault (its got no power) and then it get reconnected quickly and fuel is injected to a moving engine and off you go.

This can explain an engine fault like this while there are no fault codes stored.

It wouldn't do any harm to scan for codes again on the global test, but check for battery connections and earths making a good contact.

C3CAR wrote: It could be symptoms of a bad battery or earth connection. When you pull away a bit quick it disconnects the power to an ecu, which doesn't have time to record a fault (its got no power) and then it get reconnected quickly and fuel is injected to a moving engine and off you go.

This can explain an engine fault like this while there are no fault codes stored.

It wouldn't do any harm to scan for codes again on the global test, but check for battery connections and earths making a good contact.

Ah damn, im rubbish with the electrics aha, which earths and battery connections should i be looking at first, the ones connecting to the main ECU?

He means the batteries terminals, like the minus(-) and plus(+) connections on the battery it self.
The plus(+) connection is the one with the quick release handle and is the battery terminal closer to the radiator or front of the car.
The minus(-) terminal is the one closer to the firewall and is closed with a screw.

a. loosen the minus(-) terminal connector
b. look for blueish/green looking stone (corrosion) on the terminal, if there is any, clean it off thoroughly.
c. wiggle the connection back and forth around the terminal to make sure a good connection is made
d. re-tighten the terminal connection into place

do the same for the plus(+) terminal.

I experienced something similar when my alternator died.
It stopped charging the battery and when the battery ran dry, it was shutting down and coming back in a weird manner and i had to keep the pedal to the medal or else the engine would die on me..

Worth checking your alternators charge, to do this:

a. connect a multi-meter to the plus(+) and minus(-) battery terminals
b. Start the engine and check the multi-meter is reading at least 13.7 volts (I don't remember the exact voltage)

user1234 wrote:He means the batteries terminals, like the minus(-) and plus(+) connections on the battery it self.
The plus(+) connection is the one with the quick release handle and is the battery terminal closer to the radiator or front of the car.
The minus(-) terminal is the one closer to the firewall and is closed with a screw.

a. loosen the minus(-) terminal connector
b. look for blueish/green looking stone (corrosion) on the terminal, if there is any, clean it off thoroughly.
c. wiggle the connection back and forth around the terminal to make sure a good connection is made
d. re-tighten the terminal connection into place

do the same for the plus(+) terminal.

I experienced something similar when my alternator died.
It stopped charging the battery and when the battery ran dry, it was shutting down and coming back in a weird manner and i had to keep the pedal to the medal or else the engine would die on me..

Worth checking your alternators charge, to do this:

a. connect a multi-meter to the plus(+) and minus(-) battery terminals
b. check the multi-meter is reading at least 13.7 volts (I don't remember the exact voltage)

Aha, dont worry when i said im rubish with electronics, i meant more going through the looms and following complex wiring diagrams, the battery has just been changed, the old one was the wrong size (type 63) and had worn out, the problem existed with the old battery and still persists with this new one, obviously the battery posts are clean and the actual connector posts seem to be ok, (they are coated with a vaseline type substance) they are tight and there is no play on them, but i suppose as a precaution and a first step into diagnosis i could clean the them with a battery terminal cleaner. ill also check the alternator is charging the battery alright, but i would imagine lexia would have picked up on it if it wasnt.
if thats all ok, do you have any advice on what to check next?

Thanks for the advice

user1234 wrote:He means the batteries terminals, like the minus(-) and plus(+) connections on the battery it self.

Yes, thanks for the clear explanation !

samstagmoonyham wrote:if thats all ok, do you have any advice on what to check next?

There is a main live connection in the fuse box in the engine bay. Its the big bolt you can see in the fuse box, this needs to be good and tight, but just follow the fat wires from the battery to where they go and find the point at which they connect to and check that for tightness etc.



The gold bolt by the 3 of C3 in the watermark is a main live battery connection to the fuse box.

samstagmoonyham wrote: i meant more going through the looms and following complex wiring diagrams,

You won't need to do this first, you can see the fat battery wires in the engine bay, no need for a diagram.

I was wondering why it said experienced under your name... Preaching the experts..
This car has quite a bit of poor connection related electrical problems, ha?
I ended up redoing the whole ECU harness, but i suppose someone frequently disconnected it, rendering the connections loose..
Curious to see what the cause is.. Nifty little guide though, could help people troubleshoot basic battery and charge problems.

user1234 wrote: I was wondering why it said experienced under your name... Preaching the experts..
This car has quite a bit of poor connection related electrical problems, ha?
I ended up redoing the whole ECU harness, but i suppose someone frequently disconnected it, rendering the connections loose..
Curious to see what the cause is.. Nifty little guide though, could help people troubleshoot basic battery and charge problems.

Its ok, i really apppreciate any help i can get, these cars can get very complicated so you never know, yeah it says im an experienced member as im quite active on this forum and like to ask every question i can think of so anybody with problems in the future can find the answers on here and i also post any tips me and my dad have thought up in the 3 Years we have owned C3's.

C3CAR wrote:

user1234 wrote:He means the batteries terminals, like the minus(-) and plus(+) connections on the battery it self.

Yes, thanks for the clear explanation !

samstagmoonyham wrote:if thats all ok, do you have any advice on what to check next?

There is a main live connection in the fuse box in the engine bay. Its the big bolt you can see in the fuse box, this needs to be good and tight, but just follow the fat wires from the battery to where they go and find the point at which they connect to and check that for tightness etc.



The gold bolt by the 3 of C3 in the watermark is a main live battery connection to the fuse box.

samstagmoonyham wrote: i meant more going through the looms and following complex wiring diagrams,

You won't need to do this first, you can see the fat battery wires in the engine bay, no need for a diagram.

Thanks for the tip, ill be under the bonnet again either today or tomorrow weather dependent so ill give the terminals a good scrub, follow the wires all the way through and check how tight that bolt is