I took the battery out to operate a 12v pump down in garden beyond the reach of a car. I put the battery back in the correct manner but when I went to turn over the ignition nothing happened (the internal car lights and dashboard ligts were working but the starter motor didn’t turn over. Presuming I’d run the battery down I got my neighbour to give me a jump start, but all that happened was all the electrics went totally dead. No dashboard lights, no hazard lights, nothing.

So, what have I done and what fuses, etc, should I be checking?

The Zafira manual and google haven’t thrown up much useful stuff yet.

Cheers.

Some sort of immobiliser needs resetting?

Check the battery terminals for cleaness/tightness – I wouldn’t have thought the lights would be part of an immobiliser circuit.

Don’t want to worry you but…and I’ve got to ask this, you did put the jump leads on the right way round?, if not then the Engine or another ECU could be knackered/burnt out…. Also because the battery was very low the sudden surge of power through the system from the donor vehicle via the jump leads can also damage delicate components in the ECU, especially if the ignition was on when it occurred.

You probably need a good auto electrician with a Tech 2 diagnostic tool.

Don’t want to worry you but…and I’ve got to ask this, you did put the jump leads on the right way round?,

GULP! …. err, what way round do the jump leads go again 😉

Check the battery terminals for cleaness/tightness

Just taken the battery out and refitted it. It’s all gone back to normal 😳

Right, sorry for wasting everyones’ time now I can go and pack my bike for Saturday’s flight out to the Alps, safe in the knowledge that I won’t be abandoning the family with no transport for a week 🙂