406oc.co.uk

Hi all

I'm so frustrated right now. The car is a 406 1.8 SR from 1998. For some time I've had problems with the warning lights such as ABS, handbrake, motor oil, etc. etc. (they all turn on at ignition and usually turns off when started just as expected but I have this hunch that they do not indicate correctly. I have not been able to figure it out yet. However this is the least of my problems at the moment! Yesterday my car was running fine but I noticed that the starter(has always worked like a charm) had trouble cranking the engine, but it managed. The same thing ocurred this morning when I left for work. At work I checked the battery and alternator (12.5V and 12.8V respectively) and both seemed fine. When i wanted to go home i could not start but I got a push and drove home(bad idea in retrospect). At home I started to inspect the starter but it also looked ok. And then it happened! A terrible thought in my mind made me check the engine oil and I could not even see it on the stick! The faulty warning light did not warn me at a low level and I have not heard and squeaking or knocking from the engine. When running the temperature got to the normal level quite fast but never above 90 celcius. Idle is running normal. The only problem is that it cannot start.

What do I do now?
I've added 2 liters of engine oil to bring it to a normal level. Should I try to get a puch again and then let the engine run with normal oil level for a while or should i go straight to a mechanic?

2 litres under max would probably not set the warning light off tbh from min to max is usually about 1 litre
i doubt that the low oil level is affecting the starter it sounds more like a problem with either the starter the alternator or the battery
if the voltages are ok on the alternator (remember to check with everything electrical off and again with it all on) then get your battery tested if thats ok it's gonna be the starter
if it is the starter then you might find that a quick crack with a hammer on the starter body solves all your problems however this just means that you have re-alighned the bushes and at some point your gonna have to dig deep in the old wallet and purchase a new one

hope this helps

Thanks for the quick reply. I hope that you're right that it has not damaged the engine. A new starter would be more than ok to change. just hope that youre right that its the only problem. Anybody else got advice?

Aslong as there was some engine oil in it should be ok, but not a good idea to run it without enough oil.

I once put over 3 litres of oil in aford seria 1.8, that only took 3.5 l from empty. it still ran fine (needless to say it was already knackered hence needing over 3 litres of oil!)

Anders wrote:At work I checked the battery and alternator (12.5V and 12.8V respectively) and both seemed fine.

Huh? How did you test the alternator, with the engine running? Or with it disconnected? 12.5 volts seems reasonable to me, for a battery that's been standing a few hours, but if it had just been running then something's up I reckon.

Lack of oil would accellerate wear, there's also the possiblity of stuff getting too hot but if it still sounds ok then maybe you got away with it. Best to change the oil anyway. Oil pressure switches generally come on when the pressure's dropped to almost nothing, which generally means when you see the light the damage is done.

The battery voltage with the engine running should be about 14.7 or 15 ish and 12+ with the engine off.

Get someone to turn the key to the start position and put a meter across the starter motor to see if it's getting any juice

First of all thanks for all the help. I'm really glad to hear that the oil, and therefore entire engine, is not the problem. When I measured the battery(all off) and alternator(engine running) yesterday the I had just returned from a trip. Today the voltage of the battery was 10.5 volts and I need to measure the alternator voltage. I can hear that the starter is getting power when turning on, so this does not appear to be the problem. When i came home yesterday I could not start the car right after i stopped it. To me it seems that the alternator is not working, but I need to confirm that by getting a jump.

does anybody have a guide on how to replace the alternator for the 406? I know i need to
1) disconnect battery
2) disconnect wires from alternator
3) loosen the serpentine belt
4) remove the belt from the alternator
5) remove the bolts from the alternator
6) put in the new alternator
7) put the serpentine belt on the alternator
8) reconnect wires to battery and alternator
I'm thinking this could take 3-4 hours (its the first time i've done this)

Questions
1) Does anybody know the easiest way of loosening the serpentine belt? i've seen it done by removing right front wheel and screen behind it to use the 3/8 square drive
2) is it easier if i remove the ECU box?
3) should i get a new serpentine belt aswell just to make shure?
4) what alternator should i get(sorry descriptions are in danish) the first looks like the one I allready have but is £180 and the second one is only £80 and should fit
http://www.thansen.dk/product.asp?c=211 ... 2095626606
http://www.thansen.dk/product.asp?c=211 ... 2093611457

I hope to make a picture documentation of this for the club, so the next one doesnt have to reinvent the deep dish.

thanks in advance
Anders

1) There isn't an easy way. When i had to do it i 've had an assistant with spanner on the tensioner (top), normally very stiff to take the tension off. I've then removed the belt.

2) yes

3) yes, two reasons one new alternator might need a slightly different belt. if the belt fails it can cause a lot of damage (trust me and my wallet on this one)

Eureka!

Its alive and carging. I measured my battery before i did anything: 10.54V got a jump from a friend: 13.5V started my beautiful 406 and disconnected the jump cables: 14.49V I even had to beat my friend ;) Then i let the car idle for approximately 10 minutes turned it off and started it again: NO PROBLEMS and now the voltage 12.66V. Now i will charge it with a charger and check the voltage before i go to bed and check it again in the morning.

However this still gives me a strange feeling. Why would it not start earlier right after i drove home from work. The only thing that is different is that i've given it some oil and that the engine now has run with 1000 rpm instead of 4000 rpm for 10-20 minutes. I noticed that the car was making a little "hiss" like sound when I was increasing the throttle(almost like a turbo, which i do not have). It could be some air or something but I think that the serpentine belt is too loose and therefore not pulling the alternator correctly at higher revs. Does that sound plausible?

I'm definately getting a new battery tomorrow think i will wait with the serpentine belt.

depends on what you had running on the way home
if you had lights radio and wipers running then the alternator probably wouldn't have had enough time to charge the battery and run all the electrics
have you had a proper drop test done on the battery some battery's can have 12+volts in them but only be able to produce 90 amps which is never gonna start a big engine like the 406 small mini (the old one) maybe but never a 1.8

New battery fixed the problem and all is well. I measured the old battery after I turned off the engine. The first half hour there were no problems but after that the voltage dropped to 10.5 V so no wonder that it wasn't able to start the engine ;) thanks for alle the help

Nice one, glad it's fixed!