1.5 dCi "dead" no lights no dash lights, won't start...

[Communist99]

Sorry I'm a novice here so my detail may be a bit lacking.

Just come from the local garage. My gut instinct was to not go to them but I thought there's no way they could get an oil and filter change wrong.

One of the guys dropped the oil filter opening tool down near the oil filter and it must have hit the alternator I'm guessing. A big metal thing with what appears to be copper coloured coiling inside.

There were a lot of sparks.
Anyway he couldn't get the filter out so the first guy who was working on it came back to finish off the job. He got the filter changed, poured in the oil.
When we went to start the car, nothing. No dash lights, engine won't start. Headlights no go, no indicator lights etc.

They have no clue what's wrong and I'm desperate to get my car working for tomorrow as I'm a contractor and my income depends on my vehicle.

Please, any suggestions?

[rjacko]

Sounds like tool defo shorted something out. First port of call to check battery is ok, then all fuses and relays.

Good luck with it, and hope your holding the garage accountable for any costs incurred to repair it.

[Communist99]

Thank you rjacko.
Thankfully when I headed back there they had it running again. apparently one of the "main fuses" as they called it had blown.

What I've also just noted is that the idiots have torn the engine corner off from the top left corner so it doesn't sit down snugly and securely :-/

[tomalamix]

you should choose the workshops more carefully, you could blown your ECU if the fuse didnt blown up soon enough

better luck next time

cheers

[rjacko]

Good to hear you got it running and was just a fuse.

Better luck with your choice of garage next time.

Rich

[AlexB]

Communist99,

Well done, All's Well That Ends Well!

Now, you need to check if they used the OEM oil filter and RN0710 oil. Instead of this oil spec one can take Mercedes MB229.5,e.g. Mobil 1 0w40 or similar. Most likely they messed up with these, so you will have to change them again. This job can wait for a couple of months, but do not attempt to do more than 25% of the service interval on the inferior filter and oil. The mentioned oil is under £30 at Costco and the filters are bought from the dealer or GSF.

There might be people around who would disagree with me. However note, I am talking about the quality of maintenance that makes the breakdown insurance redundant...

[tomalamix]

AlexB is completely right,

This engines are particularly sensible to oil quality. Other inferior specs for the oil quality could ruin the engine completely. Recently ive seen two 1.5dci engines broken, one the piston punctured the engine block (yes, a hole on the block and the piston came out) and the other got stuck. Both of them presented major wear on the bushing bearings due to high friction and temperature. This could be avoided using the proper oil quality and DONT obeying the manufacturer 30000km service intervals. Why? Just search for the oil specs...the oil life can vary from 10000km to the claimed 30000km but this last value is only for long journeys cars. The journeys to go and came back from the work (15-20km) is not a big journey and the oil should be replaced a lot sooner. If you make a mix usage swap oil at 15000km or a few more km, its your call.

About the oil filter ive searched a lot and i cant find a single (in Europe) oil filter roundup to choose the best oil filter. I believe that there are better oil filters then others but i dont know which. If any one can help on this department it would be great. The filter must be choosed wisely cause it also maintains the oil cleanliness and, once again, can avoid the friction due to carbon sediments or other particles that can got stuck somewhere where their shouldn't. The price difference for a good oil filter (at least in US) is more €5, or something like this, from the price of a low-end oil filter, this is derisive, its worth the €5.

European Oil filters quality (proven) wanted

Cheers