Gah! Would you believe it? I pressed my Seicento into daily service about 8 weeks ago and have been covering around 280 miles a week so far. The car has been totally brilliant and has never missed a beat. Until this morning...

It was booked in for an M.o.T. so I dropped it off with my usual local garage. About ten minutes later came a call asking if there was some 'special way' of starting the engine. I was only a few minutes away so wandered back to their premises. Apparently the car wouldn't re-start where I left it moments earlier, so they pushed it into the garage, where it then did start up. Now it won't start again. All the dash lights come on but the starter motor doesn't kick in. I've left it with them as they'll get it M.o.T.'d even if they have to push start it.

This is only the second time they've seen the car. The first was some weeks ago when I had the handbrake repaired. I was supposed to bring it in but on that morning the battery was flat as a pancake so they had to come and jump start it. I fitted another battery and all was well after that until today. So all in all the car has broken both times it's been booked in at the garage. I'm pretty sure they have a fairly low opinion of small Fiats and mine isn't helping the image one bit!

These cars certainly have a sense of humour don't they?

Steve

Earth strap intact?

D

Well the good news is that the car passed it's M.o.T. with no advisories, so hoorah for that. It started on cue when required for the test. It also started when I picked it up and drove it home with a stop off for some petrol, got back.... and now it won't start again.

The earthing seems in order from the engine to inner wing and the earth from the battery seems equally good. There's the usual relay ticks and clicks when the ignition key is turned, although obviously no tell-tale dimming of the dash lights at the moment the starter should kick in.

Steve

Can you clarify exactly what happens when you try and start it and it fails, and would you say this only really happens when the car is warm?
Do you hear the fuel pump prime?
Does the CODE light come on, and then go off on the dash?
Does the starter turn?

Steve70 said:

Well the good news is that the car passed it's M.o.T. with no advisories, so hoorah for that. It started on cue when required for the test. It also started when I picked it up and drove it home with a stop off for some petrol, got back.... and now it won't start again.

The earthing seems in order from the engine to inner wing and the earth from the battery seems equally good. There's the usual relay ticks and clicks when the ignition key is turned, although obviously no tell-tale dimming of the dash lights at the moment the starter should kick in.

Steve

Click to expand...

Hi, at least they passed the MOT

put a jump lead in the boot, next time it refuses to crank;

lift the bonnet,
and put the jump lead from car battery NEGATIVE to the engine metalwork,
try again,
if no luck,
connect from Battery . Neg terminal to Chassis points.

whichever one makes a difference.., that's where your earth lead is dodgy

Yes I mustn't overlook the not inconsiderable triumph of gaining an advisory-free M.o.T. Probably quite a rare achievement on a Seicento.

As to the starter problem. My neighbour who is a mechanic of many years experience, has a suspicion the brushes in the starter motor are worn. He gave the starter (or the tiny bit of it you can see) a few moderate raps with a socket bar extension and hammer, then told me to try it again. To my surprise it burst into life. He reckons that giving the brushes (or what remains of them) a small jolt is enough to close up the tiny gap between them and the commutator, enabling it to work. Until the next time.

Sure enough when I tried to start the car later, the starter was lifeless again. A couple of taps with the hammer and bar and it started up perfectly.

I should add that all the earth connections are sound and solid, as is the main feed from the battery to the solenoid.

Looking at the car's history, it's only travelled between 1,000 to 2,000 miles a year for the past few years. My mileage is more in the region of about 12,000+, so I am expecting a few hiccups along the way as various worn ancilliaries throw in the towel.

Steve

Got a sporting here with an intermittant charging issue and I think the brushes may be on the way out too.

Thanks for posting the good old tip of giving the starter a tap... think I'll try that on the altanator next time the battery light stays lit with the engine running

Good result on the MOT!!