In France - Bongo not starting

[eoptio]

Hi

the relay appears to be clicking after approx 15 mins after turning the key. Ther is fuel in the tank, engine cranks, puffs of greyish smoke come out, no start. Checked with a volt meter, 12V on the battery, no volts on the glow plug rail at all. I am assuming therefore it is the fusible linke, any suggestions how to temporarily fix this?

Thanks

K

[roofraisers]

The fuseable link is a thick fuse wire.
It is about 75mm long & extends from the battery + terminal down to an electric connector.
You squeeze together the connector & it should come apart.
You need to get a temporary live feed to that connector some how. Either a short piece of wire, (with a 30 amp fuse if possible) or try paring back the insulatation on the fuseable link, finding the break & twisting together the broken ends, & re-fitting. ( re-apply some kind of wire insulation first)
If trying to get access to the fuseable link is tricky, remove the starter battery. This will give you more space to work & enable you to see more clearly what you are dealing with.

The crucial thing is you need to get a +12 V live to the connector that is at the end of the fuseable link to make the glow plugs work.
If the vehicle starts you know what the fault is. You then need to find out why the fuse blew.... but let's take it one step at a time.
If you can't use a fuse in a short piece of wire, don't leave the wire connected to the + terminal once the Bongo is running. This may lead to an electrical fire if something is shorting out some where.

You mention black smoke. May be worth checking the air ducting for an internal blockage like a plastic bag or rag wrapped around the air cleaner. Remove air cleaner top & inspect the air cleaner, then try to start the engine with air filter top off & then reconnect once running. If the engine stops or starts losing power, you have a blockage in the air intake.

Hope this makes sence & helps you out.

Nigel.

[eoptio]

Hi

thanks. The spade connector on the fusible link appears to be broken, can't get it apart. Just after the 'eye' conecting the link to the batteray +, the wire looks melted, however as fr as I can see it is still in one piece. I will have another look again. The relay apears to be clicking is that possible if the fusible link is broken?

Thanks

[roofraisers]

I have just been out to mine.I have disconnected the fuseable link & the glow plug relay still clicks.
I think the fuse able link is busted. There appears to be a bit of slack in the fuseable link wire. I'm just wondering if the wire was chopped at the connector would it reach you + battery terminal. If so hold it on securely & this should give you that neccessary temporary +12v feed to get you started. Once running the wire can then be disconnected until you wnt to start it again. It may be a bit of a fiddle but should get you underway.

Nigel,

[Doone]

Yes the relay can still click when the fusible link has blown. I just spoke to Allan. He said they can be hard to pull apart, so push it together (you may hear it click) press the CLIP down, and try to pull it apart again. If you do this a couple of times you should be able to pull it apart, then you will be able to see if the link has broken.

[westonwarrior]

if you do a search for fusable link with my name in the poster part you should find a pic of what i made as a temp fix which lasted 2years befor i sorted it properly
im on the phone or would post link but no idea how on this

[jaylee]

if you do a search for fusable link with my name in the poster part you should find a pic of what i made as a temp fix which lasted 2years befor i sorted it properly
im on the phone or would post link but no idea how on this

Done for you! Hope this is the one? http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/ ... sable+link

[Doone]

I'm glad you found that, I've just searched and couldn't find it.
If you can get a replacement then don't forget its a 30amp fuse.
You also should find out why it's blown.

[eoptio]

Hi all

thanks for many replies. Got the connector of the fusible linek apart, it had all molten together, so this hopefully is the problem. Cleaned it all up as best as I could, will try to make the temp fix with a 30 amp fuse, just awaiting someone who is looking for some spade connectors.

Provided this is the problem, next question is what caused it, checked the wiring to the glow plug rail, all looks ok. We have had some issues with leisure battery fuses blowing on the starter battery side, 20 amp fuse kept blowing put in a 25 amp fuse for an hour or so driving yesterday, this fuse did not blow but perhaps it somehow broke the fusible link (although would not quite know how). Will let you know how I get on.

Thanks agin

K

[g8dhe]

With regard to the charging of the L/B a 20 Amp fuse is a bit on the low side as regards the likely current a flat L/B would want, but the fuse should have been chosen to match the the gauge of wiring between the S/B ,relay & L/B. The wiring should be capable of carrying at least 50 Amps and then be fused at say 30 Amps, the relay should likewise be rated at a minimum of 40Amps. However lower ratings are often used and won't give a problem in lots of situations ....
None of the above should affect the Glow plug fusible link however, however you repair the problem do make sure you keep a fuse in the circuit with the fuse close to the S/B as the fuse protects the wires themselves.

[eoptio]

Hi all

got it running again! Temp fix with a 30 amp fuse did not work, fuse blew as soon as key was turned, then connected the wire directly wthout a fuse, started first time, disconected wire immediately as started to smoke. Engine kept running albeit lumpy, letting it run now to warm up a bit. So the fusible link seems to be the problem, if a 30 amp fusse blows immediatley would that suggest there is a problem further on in the glow plug circuit wiring? Cannot find anything obvious nor find the glow plug rail touching any metal anywhere? Or could it just be the 30 amp fuse/wiring used was not enough? What to look for next?

Thanks all

K

[roofraisers]

If the 30 amp fuse blew straight away & the wire gets hot whilst connected to the battery + terminal, you have a dead short circuit somewhere. DO NOT try & make the electrical connection any better until you find what is causing the short circuit. All that will happen is the electric wires will get hot, the insulation melts & that is the start of an electical fire.
Not wanting to scare monger or trouble you here.

Now the wire is disconnected, there is no electrical flow, so no chance of a short circuit or a fire.

Let's just see if we can find any other problem areas, but the usual cause is the glow plug strip or the wiring has rubbed through somewhere on the glowplug side of things & is earthing out on the engine, injector pipes or vehicle body.

Nigel

[eoptio]

Hi


ok thanks will have another look at the wiring/glow plug rail, the weather turning bad here now is not really helping

K

[dave_aber]

Not sure if it's possible, but can glow plugs fail short circuit?

Don't think I've ever heard of one, but that's hardly conclusive proof.

[roofraisers]

I have had a good trawl using the forum search & am unable to find any other favorite rubbing through/ shorting out area's for the glow plug positive feed.
I have also been outside & had alook at mine to see if I could spot anything that may give concern.....

The only thing I did see is that the glow plug rail does get close to the injector leak off pipes. These pipes are fixed to the bottom of the injectors (close to the cylinder head) & link all the injectors together. The glow plug feed bar may be shorting out on one of them in the depths of the darkness.
Also the bar does go behind a bracket that has 4 vacuum solenoids fitted, may be worth removing the 2 bolts that fix it & having a closer look behind especially to the rear of the engine.

It might be worth sticking your head up in the drivers footwell & locate the clicking glow plug relay & making sure that there are no crimped wires, melted parts on the relay or melted multiplug or anything that smells burnt in that immediate area.

Just to reitorate.
The glow plug live feed bar should only touch the 4 glow plugs & be connected to the feed wire at the front of the engine.It should NOT touch anything else. If it does you need to bend the bar slightly or the affending item so there is an air gap between them.

I'm sorry but I don't think I am going to be of much more use, but I am glad you can at least get started & move to seek help now if needed.
Don't try to start the Bongo too often if the temporary live wire gets hot, as it will only weaken the wire/insulation & possibly cause more problems later on.

All the best,

Nigel.