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Renault Scenic II - 'Low Battery', will not start **Fixed**

82K views 40 replies 21 participants last post by  terry11 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi
I have only had my Renault Grand Scenic 1.9 DCi 04 plate,54.000 miles for a couple of weeks and it has just died!
It will not start..No engine turning over..warning light indicates 'Low Battery'. (checked battery shows 10.6v) & SERVICE light and occasionally parking fault, I guess all due to low battery.
All the rest of the electrics are fine, lights come on, doorsopen fans start, so battery is not completely dead!

Breakdown guy came out put on the heavy duty battery charger on it, but still same error message and no engine turn-over!

I don't know whether to leave it on trickle charge to try and get battery charge up...or admit defeat and take it to a garage.

Do you think it is best to take it to a garage or an 'Auto-electrician?
New to all this ...I used to have an old nissan with no electronics...and only went wrong when I forgot to put petrol in!!
If any one could help I would be really grateful. Thanks
 
#4 ·
Hi Thanks for the reply.

I bought a high quality eletronic battery charger and managed to get the voltage up to 13.8volts after about 0 minutes.

But the problem is worse now!
The car still will not start but it is now giving me a 'Parking brake' error and a 'Low Oil pressure error' as well as the service light being on!

I think the breakdown guy was a bit rough and ready with his jump leads yeterday and I'm wondering if this could have made the problem worse!

Again if anyone has any words of advice I would be really grateful, or I guess my next stop is a Renault garage!
 
#6 ·
If the battery was at 10v it will need to be on charge for some hours to start the car, over night at least, the battery is the most likely suspect, but it could be a bad corroded or broken earth connection to the engine, Renault's seem prone to that.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Thanks for your reply Ralph

I have checked the fuses on the battery and changed the battery for a heavy duty 74AH Varta battery and the message is still the same 'low battery' you mentioned the the earth could be a problem is there a quick way to check this? could I attach a jump lead etc?
Quick update, I have checked voltage from chassis and engine block to +ve terminal on battery and all show fine around 12.5v same as from -ve terminal.
I checked the starter motor fuse as well, that was okay.
If anyone has any other ideas I would be grateful but I think I have exhausted most things I can try myself.
 
#9 ·
You could run a jump lead from the earth on the battery to the engine, if your getting 12.5v from the body and engine to the live but the display is saying low volts I would check fuses and connections look for any sign of water getting into fuse box or relays.
 
#11 ·
Thanks again for everyones advice.
I have now conceded defeat and put it into a Renault garage for them to take a look.
There was some water in the botom of the battery tray so it might be a water ingress problem, but I will let you know the results when they finally let me know!

If I had a bit more time and confidence I would have tried to investigate whether the problem is some kind of earthing water problem, but I was a little nervous of compounding the problem, and as I have only had the car a few weeks I am very much at the... 'still learning'!! ....the hard way!!
Thanks again
 
#13 ·
same problem

Hi, I have an 03 Scenic II 1.9dCi and I seem to have the exact same problem as you i.e low battery warning, low oil pressure, autolights fault, parking brake fault and vehicle will not even attempt to start (although the fan does come on when I try).
Did you find a resolution in your case and what was it?
I am losing patience very quickly and I have a car that I can't drive.
 
#15 ·
I'd hazard a guess at an earth fault or +ive feed to the ECU, had this with my 06' Scenic 2 litre, turned out to be the connections at the battery! the earth to the ECU was loose as was the +ive feed! When i tried to start mine, all the warnings came on the dashboard and the cooling fan started up! but would not turn over!
 
#16 ·
Hi
Yes I managed to resolve the problem.
The fault was a corroded wire to one of the relays probably due to water/moisture( I think it was the starter motor or the ignition coils, I can find out if you need to know!) it is in the in the ICU ( I think thats what its called!)
basically its next to the battery over the wheel arch and is made up of a large set of relays and wiring looms...not the best of places to put them !!
They are quite easy to access once you take the battery out!

Take no notice of all the alarm messages !!
It seems to create them on a whim and for me anyway, bore no resemblance to the fault!

If you are thinking of doing it yourself, I would probably start by buying a set of relays and replace them all, I would think they are relatively cheap,
or you could just reseat them all after spraying with a good electrical contact spray.

If the problem is in the wiring loom like mine, you need to identify the wire which sounds quite difficult as it uses some form of multiplexing of the signals!!
It really needs the computer dignostics to diagnose the fault unless you have a lot of patience and there is always the possibility you could do more harm than good!!
Hope this helps...if you have any other questions just let me know.

Colin
 
#17 ·
the computer beside the battery full f connectors anf relay s is the upc. when this corrodes it often brings the cooling fan on which is what causes the battery to die. this is always the first thing i check for corrosion if i have a renault with the cooling fan on
 
#18 ·
Hi
I see what you mean, but that's not the problem I had.

I replaced the battery with a top of the range Varta, and it still had the same problem. The fan would come on together with a number of erroneous fault messages, but once I locked the car the fan would switch off after about 1minute.

My fault was actually the wire had corroded, to onr of the relays, (I will have to check which connection), I think it was ne of the plugs, and the electronic checks prevented the engine trying to start.

The probelm I might have now, is that if one wire is corroded, I dread to think what state the other wiring might be in?

Does anyone know if there are any known water ingress problem areas to look for on the Grand Scenic? specifically around the UPC, and how best to prevent any further problems?
Thanks
 
#19 ·
In my case there were two problems.
Water had got into the fuse box and corrosion had set in meaning replacement was the only option at a cost of £120 from Renault. I have added additional protection from this problem re-occurring in the form of a plastic bag over the fuse box and cleared the drain hole under the wiper scuttle which was causing water build up.
Also there was a bad earth connection to the ECU and was corrected by adding an additional earth from the battery to one of the bolts on the ECU. This eliminated all the dash faults and the scenic is starting and running perfectly now.
Only one problem persists – the hazard lights come on and intermittently flash several hours after locking the car. I am inclined to believe that it’s an alarm fault because it gives 3 flashes and then a 3-4 second pause before flashing again. I tried disconnecting the alarm but perhaps it needs isolated via the computer as well as unplugging it??
The only other dash fault I had was ‘check injection’ which was solved by changing the glow plugs as advised elsewhere on this forum.

Thanks to all who have replied with their help so far and thanks for a great site.
 
#20 ·
hi i have a starting problem with my scenic 2 1.5dci 2004 it wont even turn over the radio windows etc were working now the arent there was also a clicking noise when i hit the start button but now its doesnt even click do i need a new battery i cant get it to a garage because it wont start so any ideas just to even get it started would be great
ps i will never ever buy renault again
 
#21 ·
Hello have Secnic II 1.9 DCI with similar problem
Display say low batt , Parking brake problem etc. and no star the fan starts when pushing start bottom.
Have been tru all fuses I can find seem to be fine.
Tester has been connected to car and can not find ECU (engine control unit EDC16 I belive) ABS , Servo Steering. All units found in engine bay seems somthing common.
I checked the Engine ECU and did not see any supply voltage on on any wires at all with ignition on car so this is clearly problem or part of it.
Tracked wire to fuse/relay box besides battery seems this does not switch 12v supply to the units. Got other one from junkyard but still the same, now I have been opening wiring harness and started to inspect harness seems ok from first view but really many wires.
Anyone know where to start or perhaps I am off the right track ?

All commments is apriciated very much

Thanks in advance
 
#22 ·
Well starting problem with Scenic 1.6 auto 52 plate, take it into Garage -and it starts without any signs of fault or problems, they stick it on the Computer, and it comes back as clear everything working ok. I decided to replace the TDC or Crank sensor that they called it £76 later the car is still starting ok, and its now a case of waiting to see if replacing The Sensor, has resolved the starting problem, or its another thing removed from the list of things that are causing the starting problems?

Basically the starting problems is still a Mystery and with the replacement of coils spark plugs, and even getting a heavy duty battery, didn't sort out the problem.

Water ingress (leak) from the roof, and wet drivers foot well, still hasn't really been resolved, but thats come up, as a possible cause, to the staring problems.
 
#24 ·
I had the TDC sensor (Crank Sensor replaced) This aided Starting, but even after a long run the car would once every so often (Out the Blue) suddenly have a dead battery ? I had the alternator checked and it was charging fine? So I replaced the Battery, as the Garage mechanic said that he suspected the battery was actually not holding the power. Since then I have (while it seemed to be running ok) Sold the car on. I will look at the more modern Scenic when I do buy another car, but I also have my eye on another popular sold car from another french car manufacturer, as my dad has one and in the 6 years his had his from New only the heater fan resistor has needed fixing.
 
#25 ·
I've got the same problem, I charged the battery which was low anyway. The dash lights come on everything works except the starter. Renault suggests a new battery, I had this battery fitted 2 months ago for the same problem and the alternator tests 100%.

I have owned many many cars in my lifetime, This Renault Scenic 1.9 DCI is the worst of all. It has had more trouble in 19000 KM than all my cars combined. Including 3 former Renaults, a 5TS, a 14 a 9 and an 11. This heap is a disgrace, I was going to buy a Nissan, but not since it has joined Renault. I prefer cars that I can drive around not store in the renault dealers fitter center.
Where do I find the ECU?? I expect to fully disassemble this money eating pathetic electronic liability.
Francis
 
#26 ·
Hi Guys
I've got the same problem with our 59 plate Scenic conquest 1.5dci.
Cars been stood a week in airport parking and now won't start coming up 'Battery charging fault' and the cooling fan spins up very loud when it should be starting and runs on after car locked
Tried various things to get it going, jump leads, charging packs etc.. just causing different fault to appear (low oil pressure, low battery etc..)
Battery tested and 11.99V so took that out to charge up.
Have stripped the fuse box down to see if any obvious water ingress or corrosion, none seen yet so going to put back together.
Would you recomend going straight to renault dealer for this fault (probably renault Manchester) or worth getting a local garage to look at? (local garage round the corner so can push car there or will have to probably pay to get it towed to dealers as already been towed home)
Thanks for any advise
Jim
 
#27 ·
Sounds typical Mk2 Dead battery. If it's been flat for a bit, then probably needs replacing. After all, it's 6 years old. If it won't jump, then It's REALLY flat.
Put a new, fully charged battery on. Should sort it.
Before fitting, check the fuses on the +Ve terminal for continuity. Should be 3.
Then if still no joy, that's the time to find an expert.
Local Indy, before Dealer IMHO, unless you like an empty wallet. :smile2:
 
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