Flat Battery

[Soeley]

David, a similar thing can happen with the manual, key-less ignition. You need to depress the clutch, Start button goes green, engine starts. If however you lift off the clutch too soon the engine cranking is disrupted and can cause flooding symptoms.

So far so good, has started perfectly since. Think I will put my multi-meter in the car just in case it happens again away from home.

[Soeley]

Vox, thanks for your input, sounds very plausible. The replacement Battery I had last August was supplied and fitted by Toyota and is Toyota branded, so unsure who's make it is. I was also told the Battery listed for the Stop/Start iQ is an up rated Battery to what was initially fitted from the factory.

I will just have to hold my breath and wait and see :o

[tarquin]

think i have a squealing fan auxiliary belt when cold. it was weird, when i first got the car. after 2 weeks the belt completely shredded to ribbons and had to be replaced, pushing on it, it doesn't seem tight enough will check it.. could explain Battery issues

David

[vox]

Yes, a slipping fan belt can cause poor charging, try
and find out how tight it should be. Generally they are very tight, but some
not so. An over tightened belt can cause bearing failure in the items it
connects e.i. alternator, steering pump, (not a problem in the IQ) and water
pump, but I'm sure you realise that. A loose belt usually shreds fairly quickly
and has the dreaded "squeal" just to remind you and annoy the
neighbours in the early mornings. I normally re-tighten a new belt after a
hundred miles or so as they can stretch a bit.

Mark, If Toyota had fitted your Battery I guess it should be genuine and
hopefully the correct one. I would try and check the Battery type, Ah rating
etc just to make sure. Smart/Mercedes have been known to fit the wrong Battery
before, but their service leaves a lot to be desired.

I can't remember whether you have had a diagnostic check on your car, that

ought to show up or suggest any bad wiring connections, or maybe some other
faults.

[tarquin]

When i was in the spares dept at the local dealer that i know well, a Aston Martin engineer came in and picked up a water pump for the Cygnet. Which kind of concerned me. The belt was never re-tightened after fitting. No explanation why it shredded. I have the original Toyota diagnostics but waiting for the interface. The "squeal" isnt like usual squeal linda hard to describe. Will resolve it

David.

[vox]

I haven't had the chance to have a really good look under the bonnet of my IQ yet, I will try and have a good look today David. I will see how tight that belt is.

Squeels can come from anything with a bearing! I hope it's not too serious. Most dealers don't bother to re adjust belts these days, it seems they slightly over tighten them and let them wear in. Not ideal, but it saves them money. I'm only assuming Toyota does the same as you said the belt wasn't re adjusted.

BTW, the rear offside wing of my car got scraped yesterday, thats the fourth time since I picked it up in December. I do have minor damage cover, but I will wait untill it's a bit worse before I get the mobile repair guy to sort it. This road is real awful, no one ever stops and admits to it.

[tarquin]

Really sorry to hear about that. I get paranoid where i park. I have a scuff mark close to the front mud flap. I was in a country lane no pavement and had to reverse back a bit to generously ( i say generously) as he wasn't going to go back. When i went forward to carry on my lefthand front rode up on a hidden rockery! Protruding into the road ( in my opinion) in trying to revers off it started to pull my wing off. Lots of shouts from some guy's thatching a roof nearby who jumped down and lifted the front so i could reverse off. The guy who owned the garden/ rockery was standing in his garden just watching. Then he comes over and says " don't worry mate it happens all the time" i replied why don't you get rid of it then.

The belt pushes in about 1/2 inch i an sure its not tight enough

David

[vox]

I have checked the belt in mine David and it's quite tight, it moves about 1CM at the bottom, which is a little tighter than yours.
It's a Polyvee belt which is great, if you can imagine how wide that belt would be if you could pull the "V"s out flat it would be huge.
Polyvee belts sometimes have a loose piece if string like reinforcement hanging out of one side, if you ever see this, cut it off as close to the belt as possible to prolong it's life a bit, but it shows it's delaminating and should be replaced ASAP. Or the next thing is the loose string catches on something and the belt shreds. This usually happens when the belt is slipping and gets hot, melting the rubber.
I'm sorry to hear about your rockery accident, there are some right Barstewards in this world, fancy telling you not to worry! It's a shame we're not allowed to kill them!

[ianlinux]

This road is real awful, no one ever stops and admits to it.

Been there got the t-shirt. My C5 was a good looker until some woman in a dark green VW-whatever decided to scrape the side. Brazen she was, even parked a few cars down with my light blue paint on her left size corner bumper. Police just laughed,

"Did you see her do it sir?"

"No but, it's blinkin' obvious..."

"<closes report book> Good day sir"

Oh well :/

[vox]

It kinda gives a new meaning to a "flat battery" Ian. A mate had a large 32 tonne truck back in to his near new ford fiesta. It was flattened right up to the windscreen. The trucker drove away, but some thoughtful person caught the whole thing as a mini movie on his camera. He said I didn't notice! Must have been deaf as well as stupid?

Unless it's vandalism, the police generally don't want to know unless someone is injured. It's a civil case. and they don't have the time.