406 HDI (90) D9 wont start when its cold

[Dix]

Hi people my first no START of 2012 This morning to be precise,
I have had this car for 2 & half years only recently getting it back on the road September this year.When I first had the car I noticed that the glowplug light never came on I checked to see if the bulb had blown but lights are LED.
To try & resolve same isuses I had in winter 2010 I checked glow plugs 1 was burnt out which I replaced .
Relay box was replaced 2 were tried at my local breakers .second-hand
I have replaced the battery & checked the alternator 14.5 Volts at tick-over. Recent service all new filters & oil.
I had also had started to go MAD by the fact my lights were always ON until I replaced the
COMMS unit for MOT & automatic lighting enabled flashed up on the MFD How can I totally DISABLE its still peeing me oFF I CANT disable it by pressing the stalk. what else can I try to get this car running. It runs fine in the warmer weather
WHAT HAVE I missed? I HAVE had countless PUG diesels over the years Never one like this
this model has BOSCH Electronics
PLEAZE HELP

[Doggy]

A few observations that may help......

The glow plug light does NOT indicate when they're energised - it does light very, very briefly in moderate temperatures and will stay on for some seconds if it's really cold.
You should interpret it as a 'don't turn the starter till this goes out indicator'.
In reality the glowplugs normally stay energised for some seconds after it fires to aid smooth running after starting.

A healthy HDi will normally start, after 2-3 seconds cranking, even if you don't give the glow plugs time to work. It won't start if it doesn't register a cranking speed of 60 rpm first. Could it be turning over slowly, or have a dodgy crank sensor?

The auto headlights function can be disabled, but only with PP2000 to re-configure the BSI settings, (did this with my old one, 100% effective).

[Dix]

OK Doggy So what your saying is glow plugs ARE-NOT used on HDI'S ?

I was hoping that a different battery battery was going to fix this problem it starts OK with a freshly charged battery. But this problem only appears when its cold Are crank sensors affected by cold? I know this morning it was not really cold & it was about 11-30 the PUG FLASHED ME an ICE warning & then didnt start .After a couple of attempts the
Battery was flat . Iam charging up the battery but this is not easy living on a 1st floor flat Cheers

[steve_earwig]

He's not saying that he's saying the light is just an "engine ready for action" indicator. The glowplugs are working, regardless of whether you're seeing the light. The ecu will turn them off after a good few seconds, sooner if the engine is revved. The light should only come on for a fraction of a second (blink and you'll miss it) unless the ambient temp is well below zero. What you really should do is measure the supply to the glowplugs - have someone else turn the "ignition" on so you can keep a eye on what the meter is saying.

Crank sensors shouldn't be affected by cold, however all bets are off if one is going faulty.

Oh yes, if you're removing the battery to charge it be careful how you disconnect & reconnect it, the BSI will sometimes take offence - viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13431&p=122217&hil ... on#p122217

Just to make your life even more interesting...

[Dix]

OK so what your saying glow plug light or not. start it normally I Have been counting to13

Also i realized their is no car alarm 1 of the 7 previous owners must have disabled it So battery changing isn't
NOISY as the might have been.
The simplest way to explain this problem is there is not enough power in the battery to start the car when its COLD
What is the minimum spec for a 406 battery.?
Cheers

[madmadmax]

Amp Hours (Ah): 60Ah
Cold Cracking Amp (CCA): 480CCA
Length: 242mm
Width: 175mm
Height: 190mm
that will start it but will run down if cranked for a 10sec or more

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Peuge ... 965&000020

this is where i got my info from

is there white smoke ? as this would be the glow plugs not working

i had my 90hp starting at -17 with no glow plugs it started fine just sum white smoke

[steve_earwig]

Is the battery getting a decent charge from the car once it is running? Is something draining the battery overnight? Does the starter spin the engine over at a decent rate after the battery has been charged?

Looks like 64Ah on Service Box (EN640?) I think mine is a 80 and even that turns it over quite slowly on cold mornings, especially with all the short runs it does.

[Dix]

Thanks for the info Guys
The car has a 60A/h Battery on their at there at the moment & its hardly freezing yet.
The PUG handbook mentioned that pressing the left stalk would bring up info SAT/NAV . nothing is mentioned about AUTOMATIC LIGHTING in the whole book
IS it meant to come when your cranking the car ? mine is

AS far as I can see the interior lights are controlled by the remote locking .Is that the case ?
I DO remember in the distant past someone leaving an interior bulb on & flattened battery the next day PUG 405 I Think

[steve_earwig]

The interior lights are meant to come on when you unlock the car, as well as when you open a door of course. My automatic lights only come on once the engine is actually running