i have been having some problems with my bravo lately when starting it, the car wont start first time when leave off for a long while, u turn the key and nothing happens, just a click under the bonnet, the engine doesnt turn over either, but if u continue to turn the key in the ignition it will start up ok and after driving it for a while, its fine. At first i thought that this was the symptoms of a dead battery so i got a new one but the problem is still there. Coud this be the starter motor going? Even though after a few turn of the key if does start and after the problem goes away if you drive around the car for a bit.

ps. had the alternater checked and it was fine.

wat about distributor


it may need cleaning had similar problem with my last car

where about is this distributor thing located? and is the starter at the top right of the engine on the bravo or is it located at the bottom?

I'd guess that to be the starter thats going.
Had a faulty starter in the Stilo that would randomly just make the click sound

but what i find strange is that once i drive the car around for a bit, it will start first time no problem if i turn the engine off, but if i leave the car off for a long while, like say 5hrs thats when i have the problem, i thought that if it was the starter motor, the car would not start at all and would have this problem all the time.

The Bravo 1.6 doesn't have a distributor does it?

If the battery is new and the alternator is fine then check for a good electrical earth contact at the battery and engine.

It's pretty cold so it puts the biggest strain on battery,alternator and starter motor at ths time of year so poor electrical connections anywhere there wilol show up. Once the car warms up then the dampness disappears so end of problem, until the next time

If your new battery is losing charge over time then you may have a current drain on it like the bootlight remaining on for instance

Jayjj said:

but what i find strange is that once i drive the car around for a bit, it will start first time no problem if i turn the engine off, but if i leave the car off for a long while, like say 5hrs thats when i have the problem, i thought that if it was the starter motor, the car would not start at all and would have this problem all the time.

Click to expand...

Thats like the intermitent fault we had on the stilo, was no predictability of it. But as soon as it went click just knew it was the starter that was playing up.

garage said that its more likely to be the starter motor than the ignition coil, so thats gonna be another £70 on this crazy car.

Check your earths!
If it starts fine every time when it's warm then it's unlikely to be the starter motor. Starter motor isn't so affected by the cold but it needs a lot of current so any resisitance in the supply and it falters

Garage puts a new starter in (and redoes you earth connectors) and charges you for a new starter

My Bravo has 108k miles and has been started every day around 20 times per day and is still on the original starter. How does that compare with yours?

thats what i was thinking with the motor, that if its dead, its just dead, but i notice a pattern today, when it refuse to start, and if i put back the ignition to off, and if i turn the key in the ignition fast it start first time always, so it seems like there maybe power lost somewhere. and also twice i saw the key code stayed on and didnt go out on start. I want to rule out all other before i change the motor cause it aint cheap, so monday i will let the garage take of the motor and clean connectors.


mine has 64K on the clock, never had a problem before starting always one turn of the key and it starts, that is until last week.

Jay
Your starter motor sounds fine, don't mess with it. It's a pig of a job to take out and you don't need to remove it anyway to clean the contacts. That's most likely not the problem.

Listen up here! Your starter motor needs a lot of power- you've got the power with a new battery- you just need to get the power to the starter motor from the battery and most importantly- back to the battery again via the EARTH to complete the circuit

A poor earth will cause ALL the symptoms you have and the Bravo is renowned for poor earths.

The key warning light is normal if you're switching the key fast on and off. Mine does that too.

Get to the battery- find the earth lead- inspect it- is it in good condition?-take off where the earth lead connects to the engine and clean up the points of contact so it makes good electrical contact.

Check your battery terminals for security

Try it again and let us know the outcome

Always go for the easy stuff first

ok will have a go with it on sunday or monday and then tell u all the out come.

hello there!
maybe it's the contacts but i think the starter is the problem.
there are contacts brushes in it and they are probably warn out so when the car is not in use for a while the contact gets poor. the problem will start to appear more often so i think you need to change them. they don't costs a lot but i don't know how much the electrician will take for changing that.
thats my opinion.
good luck

Deckchair5 said:

The Bravo 1.6 doesn't have a distributor does it?

Click to expand...

Ain't that old mate! Uses neg trigger from ecu.

Stick a jump lead from the neg battery to engine lift bracket(or bolt etc)& see if it starts,quick way of checking the engine earth.

Ha!
Moved on a bit since dynamos and magnetos then

ok i took it to the garage, turn it off and tried to start it and it was having problems at the garage starting, so the guys at the garage checked it and said its definately the starter motor. so i will get it change on thursday and tell u guys how it goes.

ok i have now changed the starter motor and the car seems fine so far, also changed air filter car seems to be running a lot better as well, thanks for all your help.