RCZ won’t start after major engine work – timing chain, oil pump, electrical faults & water ingress – need advice

[Tanakarcz]

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some guidance from those more experienced with the RCZ, because I’m completely stuck and very concerned about what’s happened to my car.

I own a Peugeot RCZ petrol (2010). I took the car to a mechanic specifically to sort the timing chain and related preventative maintenance. Below is a full list of work that was completed by the mechanic:

Work carried out:

1. Timing chain kit (chain, tensioner, sprockets, guides)
2. Water pump
3. Water pump drive pulley / gear
4. Drive belt
5. Engine oil + oil filter
6. Coolant flush
7. Oil pump
8. Rocker cover gasket
9. Front crank seal

After all this work, the car only drove about 5 km from the workshop before issues started.
Shortly after, the mechanic told me the car now had a starting/charging issue, and began suggesting that the starter motor or alternator might be faulty — despite the alternator being brand new and just installed during this repair process.I didn’t feel confident with the diagnosis, so I had the car towed back to my home.

Here’s where things got more concerning:

• When I received the car back, the battery was completely dead, even though it was brand new when I first gave the car to the mechanic
• I bought another brand-new battery, installed it, and the car still will not start
• The dash now shows “Economy Mode”
• I also get “Battery charge or electrical supply faulty” on the display
• The engine does not crank at all

On top of this, when I went to the mechanic’s workshop to check on the car while it was still there, I found the vehicle unlocked and the interior fully wet, as if it had been left exposed to rain. Seats, carpets and am
Sure interior panels were also exposed to
Rain.This raised serious concerns about possible water ingress affecting electronics or the BSI.

At this point:

• The car ran before the timing chain job
• It now does not crank at all
• Battery and alternator are new
• Multiple major engine components were disturbed (oil pump, crank seal, timing components)
• There are now electrical fault messages and economy mode

I’m trying to understand:

• Could something during the timing chain / oil pump work cause a no-crank + charging fault?
• Could water ingress trigger economy mode or BSI issues on the RCZ?
• Where should I realistically start diagnosing this — main fuses, earths, BSI reset, starter signal, alternator wiring.

Any advice, similar experiences, or pointers would be hugely appreciated. I’m honestly just trying to get the car back to a running state and understand what may have gone wrong after such extensive work.

Thanks in advance

 

[EddieJ]

Awful thing to have happen.
During the job the battery should have been disconnected, it could be that during the disconnection or reconnection the battery control module got blown. If this is popped it could give you most of your issues, including being stuck in economy mode. Depending what all got wet you and now no longer has power the ecu‘s may not be getting power, but have you tried to scan for any codes in the cars ecu’s? Also if the battery module is damaged it can affect which modules read.
Only speaking for myself, but anytime I am doing a chain or engine work I always lower the drivers side window as if a wheel is rotated during the prep works the speeds sensors still read and can auto lock the car. Tho I always have the car indoors so rain won’t affect it.


There is a thread on the forum about replacement modules, I’ll see if I can find it in a moment.

First, can you access the bottom crank pulley with a socket or spanner and turn the engine through a full rotation? 18mm spanner or socket. Just rule out something having slipped re the chain works.
During the 5km drive did it run okay?

 

[EddieJ]

Electrical gremlins

Hi all, I've just taken delivery of a 2011 (1.6T auto, non-satnav) which I've posted about in the 'Newbies' section however, after a few days of travelling I now have some interesting quirks show up and wondered if they are common or not. So we took this on a 10hr round trip and two strange...

www.peugeotrczforum.com

There was a thread on the forum about a member that fitted a brand new Bosch alt and to put it quite simply, the car did not like it. New alt from Peugeot sorted him out.

 

[Tanakarcz]

Electrical gremlins

Hi all, I've just taken delivery of a 2011 (1.6T auto, non-satnav) which I've posted about in the 'Newbies' section however, after a few days of travelling I now have some interesting quirks show up and wondered if they are common or not. So we took this on a 10hr round trip and two strange...

www.peugeotrczforum.com

There was a thread on the forum about a member that fitted a brand new Bosch alt and to put it quite simply, the car did not like it. New alt from Peugeot sorted him out.

Thanks for the detailed reply, much appreciated.

Just to clarify the sequence properly: the mechanic told me the car was running like brand new after the work and that he left it running fine when he returned to his workshop. The reason the car was left parked on the street was because police wouldn’t allow him to drive it further due to the car being unregistered.

We went back to the car later, and that’s when it would no longer start and was stuck in economy mode.
Before that point, there were no drivability issues reported during the short drive.


At the moment I can’t access the bottom crank pulley, so I haven’t been able to rotate the engine manually yet. Given the sudden no-crank after being parked, I’m leaning more towards an electrical / power distribution issue (BSM, battery control module, ECU supply, or earths)

If you’re able to find that thread on replacement modules or have specific checks to suggest, I’d really appreciate it.

 

[EddieJ]

The module info is in the electrical gremlins just above.
Good luck.

 

[JvdBosch]

I would suspect the module on top of the battery. And don’t rule out a loose ground connection to the battery. I had this, it would not start but otherwise behave normal. And as said, alternators other than PSA will not work well.