Non-starting
QI have a Peugeot 206 1.4 with 85,000 miles which was running fine until I stupidly left the ignition on for 30 minutes and flattened the battery. When I returned, the dash was showing ‘Eco-mode’ and the engine would turn over but not start. With the ignition on, you can hear the fuel pump prime.
I’ve sprayed it with some Easy Start, but the engine whips over as if the cambelt was broken (it’s not as I’ve checked it). Ecomode has shut off some of the electrical items, such as the radio, wipers, headlights and horn, although the electric windows work. I understand that the purpose of Ecomode is to save the battery, but it seems it has also immobilised the ignition and fuel. There’s no spark from the coil pack, which explains why the Easy Start didn’t work.
Online they talk about BCI, but what exactly does this do? PSA are the only company to use this feature. Geoffrey
AI hadn’t heard of this before, but my research uncovered the following online comment: “There are various posts about Peugeots getting ‘stuck’ in economy mode and not starting. Well, this happened to me today. I had been cleaning the 307 HDI for about an hour, then decided to move the car closer to the garage to plug in the vacuum cleaner. I inserted the key in the system OK’. The second engine light with the exclamation mark remains on.
This engine light problem bothered me so much that I called in the RAC and asked for a DTC print-out. The fault exposed itself as ‘PO251 – fuel pump control unit, signal out of range, to high’. What does this mean and what can I do about it? Dave J
‘P0251’ is a generic fault code that relates to one or more of the following: the fuel pump optical sensor, crankshaft position sensor, accelerator pedal position sensor, intake air temperature sensor or dirty fuel. These each provide input to the engine control module (ECM), which results in an output from the ECM that adjusts fuel supply and ignition timing.
The ‘P0251’ code indicates that there is an erratic reading from one or more of ignition and… nothing! The dash warning lights lit up and the centre console screen showed the warning ‘Economy Mode Activated’. As this has happened to me before, I turned the ignition key again, which normally cures the situation, but this time there was nothing.
“I concluded that a new battery was probably required. Having checked out how to replace the battery in the Haynes manual, I was shocked by the complexity of such a simple job. I decided instead to call out the AA. The guy spent 10 minutes working on the car and it fired up. Gobsmacked, I asked him what he had done and he said the Pug had entered economy mode because I had been cleaning it with the doors open and had run down the battery.
“Peugeots can sometimes be a pig to get back out of this mode. The trick is to run a thick wire from the battery positive terminal directly to the starter motor and force the car to turn over with the ignition turned on. This forces the car to start and come out of economy mode. He advised leaving the car running for half-an-hour or so, to let the battery charge and for everything to reset itself. He advised not to leave the car doors open or the radio on while the engine is not running.
“So the next time your Pug sulks in economy mode, try kicking the starter motor with 12 volts.”
these components, so it’s important to check each one. The optical sensor counts the pulses emitted by the rotor in the injection pump. If an optical sensor is changed, a scan tool must be used to re-learn the position of the cam. Check for a dirty or faulty optical sensor and wiring/connectors, a clogged fuel pump, fuel filter or fuel injector, a faulty intake air temperature sensor or wiring/connectors, a faulty crankshaft position sensor, or accelerator pedal position sensor and wiring/connectors, a faulty fuel control actuator, and a faulty engine control module.
Given that you are not experiencing any running problems, it is unlikely that the fault could result in a breakdown. In my opinion, you could leave it alone unless running problems did occur, which would make diagnosis easier.