battery reconnection

Hi all.  My Nuevo has not been used for quite some time, and the engine battery has been on trickle charge for that time.
Someone reconnected it for me and all the dash lights are flashing.
Has anyone any ideas please?
Could it be one of the many fuses?
Is the battery no longer any good?  It's not that old actually, maybe 2 years?
Hoping to actually use my van this year.
Thanks in anticipation.
Brenda

What you really need to know is whether the battery has a high enough terminal voltage to run the van's electrical systems. Does the trickle charger have any status LEDs to indicate what the battery's state of charge is? The problem with trickle chargers is that they are often designed so that they cannot supply more than a certain amount of current, and some will do that into a short circuit without indicating any problem!

If you go to the control panel in the habitation area of the van and select the vehicle battery, it should show what voltage that is seeing from the engine battery. (Edit: actually, on a 2005 van I'm not sure that the control panel will show this - would need to know more about exactly which power control system you have.)

Once you have established that the battery is supplying a high enough voltage, it may be worth disconnecting it, leaving it for a short while and then reconnecting it. It's not unknown for the control systems to get upset and need "resetting" in this way - though these days it seems fairly rare.

This article shows a specific order for battery disconnection and reconnect to avoid upsetting the ECU systems. may not be relevant but...

http://www.petercoopercarrepairs.co.uk/peugeot_bsi_reboot_procedure.htm

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice.
The control panel just seems to show leisure battery status, Mojo, but worth a try.
Tried starting to see if it was just being temperamental, but it didn't improve.
Have now been to local car spares shop, and the guy there has given me chapter and verse on how batteries charge, and how mine hasn't charged completely, as my charger was indicating?   I find it slightly baffling, but we agreed to give new battery a whirl.
Guy coming tomorrow to fit for me, just in case..... watch this space.
Thank you to everyone who replied, it is much appreciated.
Can't wait to get back on the road, after a long absence.

If the engine started the battery can't be in too dire a state. But it won't harm to change it, as that will eliminate one possible cause.

If you're still getting flashing lights on the dash, you will need to look up in the handbook to see what they indicate - typically some are obvious and some are not! If there seems to be no logic to it, you may have a dash panel failure - there has been a pattern of that across a range of different makes of base vehicle in recent years - but hopefully not... If so, repair is probably a better option than replacement - there is a recommended company in another thread here - but hopefully it won't come to that...

Thanks mojo.  Now at the stage where mechanic who tried to start the van, apparently jump started it?  New battery not starting it either,  Key lock showing on dash.  Had second mechanic who has gone off with the ECU.  Said a different man is coming today to make the keys reconnect with the ECU.   Why a mechanic would jump start a vehicle if he knows it could 'spike' the unit, is baffling?  Obviously something he has not come across before?
Hey ho!  Let's hope the keys connect?
Again thanks for suggestions, it's reassuring to know of the experience out there.

Hopefully it will be something fairly minor - but I try to avoid jump starts if at all possible on modern vehicles, because of the reason you state - I've seen too many reports of ECU, instrument panel or ABS controller failure as a result. But sometimes you have little choice, and a garage mechanic will always be tempted down that route because it's quick!

I don't know Peugeots at all well, but on most other vehicles I've worked on the lock symbol indicates an issue with the factory immobiliser, and that is typically built into the instrument panel, not the ECU.

Anyway, you're in the hands of the mechanic now - good luck!

Thanks mojo. Key expert has taken ECU back to it's 'virgin' state, his words. Replaced immoboliser unit in steering column and initialised the keys. Voila I'm up and running.
So relieved. Says lights, heater and other stuff should be on when vehicle has had no power for a while. New battery spiked the ECU, because of power surge, apparently.
Thanks again for everyone's input, have learnt something new again. Lucky to have this forum for valuable advice. Cheers.

I'd recommend that while the van is laid up with the trickle charger connected, you should leave the battery connected up to the vehicle - but obviously check the user manual for the charger first to confirm that it is designed for this.

That's how they are typically meant to be used, so they can maintain all of the electrics in working state. This can help to extend/maintain the working life of some of the electronic components, too.

Heidi wrote:Thanks mojo. Key expert has taken ECU back to it's 'virgin' state, his words.  Replaced immoboliser unit in steering column and initialised the keys. Voila I'm up and running.
So relieved. Says lights, heater and other stuff should be on when vehicle has had no power for a while. New battery spiked the ECU, because of power surge, apparently.
Thanks again for everyone's input, have learnt something new again.  Lucky to have this forum for valuable advice. Cheers.

Probably NOT the new battery but the jump start that spiked the ECU !

Peugeot manual states disconnect battery before using a charger and gives instructions for disconnect/reconnect methods and jump starting.

PLOUGHLIN wrote:Peugeot manual states disconnect battery before using a charger and gives instructions for disconnect/reconnect methods and jump starting.

It's a slightly difficult area. I suspect that Peugeot are trying to cover the situation where somebody might be using an ancient, very low-tech charger, which ~could~ damage the electrical systems. But more modern chargers such as those made by CTEK are designed so that you shouldn't need to disconnect, and trickle chargers tend to be the least risky of all, as they are typically low-current devices that simply don't have the energy reserves to cause a spike in the battery voltage.

I guess if you were to nit-pick, you would have to define the function of the Sargent (and other) control panels that allow you to divert the 12V power supply output to the engine battery when on EHU as a "charger", and it would be extremely difficult to try to disconnect the engine battery while using that!

But I understand your point - if you're risk-averse and want to go strictly by Peugeot's books, you probably should disconnect the battery before connecting a charger to it.

Appreciate both statements. Sorry, wasn't clear about the van situ. Am not able to charge/plug in as van is across from my house, have no driveway. Hence the reason I disconnected. Will definitely follow strict procedure should I need to disconnect again.
Not usually left for 6weeks, but I was travelling to Australia, so thought disconnect and low charge was best option. You live and learn.
Thanks again guys, am taking notes for future reference.

Has anyone taken a connection from the leisure battery to maintain vehicle codes when the the vehicle battery has to be removed for charging/replacement?

Not a problem on the Merc Sprinter. Need to redo the clock and maybe re-educate the electric windows.

I recently changed both the starter and leisure batteries, and although I carry the radio code, it worked fine without having to enter it. Maybe it only needs to be done if the radio is removed.

Same on VWs - the radio code is remembered by the main body control module, so as long as you don't try to put the radio in another vehicle, the code does not need to be input again. On T5s, the only thing that needs to be reset is the clock and the one-touch front windows.