Ford Transit 2.2L Diesel Motorhome Jump Start Problem

[scotfree15]

Has anyone got a work-around for jump-starting flat main battery hidden under driver's seat of my CI Carioca motorhome - stored in a remote non-electric powered depot, please? Ford's under-bonnet remote terminal is match-size tiny - diesel jump lead croc clips cannot get sufficient grip for sufficient amps to flow. Repeated Rescue Home Starts take hours and costs. Any ideas anyone?

 

[gus-lopez]

On the one occasion I attempted to use the under bonnet tat on my 2,2 Transit,it was worse than useless.
The AA man turned up, laughed ,pushed the seat right forward & used his jump start pack direct to the battery terminals.
He said the battery needed to be 100% normally to start a transit & you never get the power needed from the terminals under the bonnet.

You just have too make sure that you are clamped directly upright on the + &- & be on safe side & put something around the seat base edge to prevent any shorts.

 

[DandG5515]

Had same problem with my 2.4 transit, jumper pack direct under seat. Problem is if you have seat swivels. Could be worth installing small solar panel to keep engine battery charged. My problem was caused by an aftermarket stereo using an ISO adapter plug into the ford wiring harness, from memory it connected the electric areal port into the alarm circuit giving a constant drain. Enough over a month to struggle to start. I cut all additional functions in the adaptor except power earth and 8 speaker wires and problem went away. In solving this I had replaced 2 starter batteries as they were 8 years old thinking that was the problem. Then realized it became an issue after fitting the stereo. Good luck

 

[scotfree15]

On the one occasion I attempted to use the under bonnet tat on my 2,2 Transit,it was worse than useless.
The AA man turned up, laughed ,pushed the seat right forward & used his jump start pack direct to the battery terminals.
He said the battery needed to be 100% normally to start a transit & you never get the power needed from the terminals under the bonnet.

You just have too make sure that you are clamped directly upright on the + &- & be on safe side & put something around the seat base edge to prevent any shorts.

Many thanks gus-lopez for your feedback - as mentioned by DanG5515 on another thread - my seat is a swivel seat. Its special frame stops the seat going forward far enough to expose the terminals. I'll try another shove when I get back. BUT I have replaced a non-performing power pack I tried earlier - its croc clamps were far too small and without an end plate across the jaws for good contact with that hopelessly small under-bonnet tat the Transit has - as you mentioned. Now bought MSC 18Ah Overland power pack - as recommended by another poster on another related thread that I cannot find now! MSC also offer a longer set of clamps as the Transit model I have has no earth point. My engine is 11 year old oxidised aluminum alloy block so a longer cable is needed to get to a place where there's a good contact.

On the one occasion I attempted to use the under bonnet tat on my 2,2 Transit,it was worse than useless.
The AA man turned up, laughed ,pushed the seat right forward & used his jump start pack direct to the battery terminals.
He said the battery needed to be 100% normally to start a transit & you never get the power needed from the terminals under the bonnet.

You just have too make sure that you are clamped directly upright on the + &- & be on safe side & put something around the seat base edge to prevent any shorts.

 

[scotfree15]

Had same problem with my 2.4 transit, jumper pack direct under seat. Problem is if you have seat swivels. Could be worth installing small solar panel to keep engine battery charged. My problem was caused by an aftermarket stereo using an ISO adapter plug into the ford wiring harness, from memory it connected the electric areal port into the alarm circuit giving a constant drain. Enough over a month to struggle to start. I cut all additional functions in the adaptor except power earth and 8 speaker wires and problem went away. In solving this I had replaced 2 starter batteries as they were 8 years old thinking that was the problem. Then realized it became an issue after fitting the stereo. Good luck

Thanks DandG5515 - I have had two Halford solar panels on the dash which have worked for the 3-4 years - but only by doing a 1hr long battery charge ride every 2-weeks. This year left it too long. My brand new RAC battery is now completely flat. I have checked all my ancillary electrics are off - but there is a residual drain which I cannot trace/stop. Short of fitting a remote switch to cut off the battery terminals where it will not stop the seat swivelling. I called the region's major Ford Transit agent -who'd never heard of my problem - surely common on many motorhomes? Nor able to locate or fit a remote terminal switch to defeat it. As you'll see from this thread, I will now try MSC Overland 18Ah power pack - now on its way. And will post results!

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[pappajohn]

I'm sure the under bonnet cables are adequately sized so maybe change the small terminals for some more suitable.

 

[DandG5515]

Thanks DandG5515 - I have had two Halford solar panels on the dash which have worked for the 3-4 years - but only by doing a 1hr long battery charge ride every 2-weeks. This year left it too long. My brand new RAC battery is now completely flat. I have checked all my ancillary electrics are off - but there is a residual drain which I cannot trace/stop. Short of fitting a remote switch to cut off the battery terminals where it will not stop the seat swivelling. I called the region's major Ford Transit agent -who'd never heard of my problem - surely common on many motorhomes? Nor able to locate or fit a remote terminal switch to defeat it. As you'll see from this thread, I will now try MSC Overland 18Ah power pack - now on its way. And will post results!

It sounds a similar amount of drain that I had. I have 2 80ah starter batteries under the driver's seat and anything more than 5 weeks I could be in trouble. Is the van fitted with aftermarket alarm / tracker that could be causing a problem? Could move them to habitation battery see if that's the problem. You need someone clued up with a meter to find the drain I doubt it's a ford issue. Isolating the battery may not be a good idea, removing battery from mine resets the vehicle and can take 50 miles to return to normal. Good luck

 

[Two on Tour]

Has anyone got a work-around for jump-starting flat main battery hidden under driver's seat of my CI Carioca motorhome - stored in a remote non-electric powered depot, please? Ford's under-bonnet remote terminal is match-size tiny - diesel jump lead croc clips cannot get sufficient grip for sufficient amps to flow. Repeated Rescue Home Starts take hours and costs. Any ideas anyone?

In case you need to jump start your van again in the future, why not fit a pair of cables from your battery terminated with an Anderson connector and use the same connection on your jump leads or jump starter pack.

These are what we fitted to race cars to start them as the cars only had small batteries to run the cars electrics that were not really capable of starting a high compression race engine.

You could easily make your own up a lot cheaper than the one I have linked to, but it gives you the idea for a way to easily connect to your battery under your seat.

<Broken link removed>

Here's a cover for the connector to cover the terminals when not in use.

ANDERSON PLUG DUST COVER CAP FOR SB 175 AMP CONNECTOR (BLACK RUBBER) - x1 no. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ANDERSON PLUG DUST COVER CAP FOR SB 175 AMP CONNECTOR (BLACK RUBBER) - x1 no. at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[scotfree15]

It sounds a similar amount of drain that I had. I have 2 80ah starter batteries under the driver's seat and anything more than 5 weeks I could be in trouble. Is the van fitted with aftermarket alarm / tracker that could be causing a problem? Could move them to habitation battery see if that's the problem. You need someone clued up with a meter to find the drain I doubt it's a ford issue. Isolating the battery may not be a good idea, removing battery from mine resets the vehicle and can take 50 miles to return to normal. Good luck

Thanks for the advice against using a remote battery switch. I have not actually removed my aftermarket tracker - I no longer subscribe to the service - but realise now it will still be working - just the signal is no longer read/recorded - so there will be leakage. My two windowscreen solar panels and twice-monthly battery runs during winter depot storage worked for 4 years. None of my habitation or service Ford Transit service people here in SW Hants will touch my habitation or tracker electronics. I'll check online for someone. Fitting the battery leads will interfere with the movement

In case you need to jump start your van again in the future, why not fit a pair of cables from your battery terminated with an Anderson connector and use the same connection on your jump leads or jump starter pack.

These are what we fitted to race cars to start them as the cars only had small batteries to run the cars electrics that were not really capable of starting a high compression race engine.

You could easily make your own up a lot cheaper than the one I have linked to, but it gives you the idea for a way to easily connect to your battery under your seat.

<Broken link removed>

Here's a cover for the connector to cover the terminals when not in use.

ANDERSON PLUG DUST COVER CAP FOR SB 175 AMP CONNECTOR (BLACK RUBBER) - x1 no. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for ANDERSON PLUG DUST COVER CAP FOR SB 175 AMP CONNECTOR (BLACK RUBBER) - x1 no. at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Thanks Two on Tour - the Anderson connector plug would work for a fixed seat with batteries underneath - but it would be a trick with my swivel seat - as they'd obstruct from fully rotating? I thought there might be a battery on/off switch solution but 1. accept advice it would be a bad idea, 2, there might be the same obstruction problem.
One way might be to fix a swtich or the Anderson connector to the side of the upper seat frame above the swivel mechanism & take the connector wires internally down it to the single battery via a rotating contact - could have hair-raising results! I'll see how the MSC Overland jump starter works - and get the under-bonnet terminal changed to a decent size, as suggested by pappajohn! Thanks to all again.

 

[mitzimad]

can you get the live onto the starter terminal from under the van and earth onto the block