Battery university

My van has a Blue Varta E11 74aH 680cca.

I just wanted to say it.

It has forced me to learn about electrics.
It's become a love/hate relationship.
I'm still the boss.
But... I had to shut up, be a good boy and learn so I don't become a 'part changer'.
Anyway these are two of the not so common bits I learned about car batteries.

12V batteries can have 'shorts' in themselves. Check out the video by mr-fix below.

"Check if your cars battery drain is caused by short circuit. Dirt, grease and moisture can create conductive layer that will slowly kill your cars battery, cause bad engine start or low voltage in the system.
Watch this tutorial and check your cars battery. It's quick and simple, you don't need to visit dealer or service. All you need for this test is a multimeter." written by mr-fix.

Full power accessories and short distance driving habits cause battery failures.
This article explains in detail what causes such battery failure that is not often talked of.
It is definitely a recommended reading to anyone who has been scratching their head for over 3 hours of poking around in the hope of reviving a no starter vehicle.

Battery University: "What causes car batteries to fail?"

Here is an excerpt:

"The battery remains a weak link and the breakdowns on 1.95 million vehicles six years or less are as follows:

• 52% battery
• 15% flat tire
• 8% engine
• 7% wheels
• 7% fuel injection
• 6% heating & cooling
• 6% fuel system

A breakdown due to the battery remains the number one cause.

* Source ADAC 2008 for the year 2007"

Assume nothing but TEST everything! Parasitic draw test, relays, glow plugs, earth connections, etc

Check your earth connections first!

and assume nothing but test everything!

Preheating - glow plugs control unit and relay

(9639912580-G CARTIER) - Pricey when new but can be found second hand and tested

for a LDV Pilot van (DW8; it fits many other vehicle, check for yourself)

Once more it was the earth, the same battery earth that was causing the engine not to start.
I had readjusted it a few days before the engine went and it looked fine.
For this reason I looked at everything else, read all the manuals, cleaned all possible connections (even bought a replacement Preheat control unit), performed a parasitic draw test for all fuses and relays; checked all fuses and relays (post with video on checking relays here).

Eric the car guy explains how to perform

a parasitic draw test

in the above video.

This is what you need to do if your brand new battery keeps going flat overnight.

If need be one has to check the various relays of the vehicle.

This video is probably the best and most complete one on the topic on the tube.

Thanks to Ratchets and wrenches.

and in the end as I was doing the test, seeing that I had no draw and being clueless.

I thought I've been cleaning up everything electric around so let's just undo this battery negative earth connection, clean it and grease it up.

Next thing the van start (with a tongue in cheek look).

Made me feel like an idiot but as long as it started I'm happy and delighted I learned so much about my van's and 12V systems in general!

[EDIT:] It never was the battery neg earth connection. Today (2 months later) after the van having sat under torrential rains for a couple of days, it refused to start and displayed the same symptoms: Glowplug get on but clicliclic noise and no start + funny warning lights going on by itself for a while.

I am 99.8% sure it is due to a faulty relay (probably the warning lights one).

I am gonna do a thorough check of all relays as in the video above and replace the bugger one.

For the time being I'll have to try to park on the other side of the vehicle because I believe when the road is bent and the van lean on the left, the rain water drips in and humidity accumulates, causing the relay to malfunction.

The van starts fine after a while (me doing long parasitic test, cleaning the relays and looking for the fault every possible where), hence that relay must be drying and when it's dry, everything is fine.