hi. i have been having problems with my car not starting every so often so i had the battery and alternator checked at halfords and i was told i needed a new battery. so i bought a new battery and the problem continued. so i took the car to a garage and the mechanic said i needed a new starter motor. i had a new starter motor and it still hasnt solved the problem!!!

i took the car back to the mechanic and he says he has ran out of ideas of what the problem can be.

the cars bump starts fine but when i try and start it a couple hours later it doesnt start again

any ideas?

Could be starter motor

i have had a new one fitted tho surely it cant be that?

Well as you have replaced the starter and the battery, the only things left are the alternator and wiring. Get an independant alternator check done at a local garage (avoid halfrauds)

Then either yourself or get a mechanic to check the condition of the wiring to/from the alternator, starter motor and battery and check the condition of the earths, perferably taking them off and cleaning the contacts.

Is there anything draining the battery when the car isnt in use? (interior/boot lights?, aftermarket radio/sub? any electrical mods done on the car?)

There is also a possibility you are unlucky and have a dud battery or dud starter motor fitted, but this is rare.

have you tried cleaning the earth lead on the gearbox(of the battery)?

i havnt tryed cleaning the earths no. is it easy to do?

yes easy, often wiggling the earth cable on gearbox will show if its loose (which often happens) what year is your punto?

kenny111 said:

i havnt tryed cleaning the earths no. is it easy to do?

Click to expand...

yes its easy,just follow the black(negative -)to where it conects to the gearbox,undo the bolt(i think its a 13mm)get some emery cloth to rub it down then put back on an spray with WD40

thanks for the replies. my punto is year 2000 x reg. i tryed to undo the bolt on the gear box but cant seem to get it of. i have sprayed lots of wd40 onto the bolt.

the bolt was just turning slighty with the end of the earth wire but wouldnt come loose. i dont want to end up snapping the metal bit at the end of the earth wire??

If someone has fitted an aftermarket stereo; check they have wired it to an ignition live and not to the 2 permenant lives that connect to the standard punto stereo..
If it is wired to the 2 perm lives it WILL drain the battery very quickly.

after cleaning the earth connections yesterday i have gone to start the car this morning and it isnt starting again. i have checked the battery and the battery is fully charged. i am running out of ideas.

is there anything else thats worth trying to do?

Please check the fuse box for water I know it may sound silly but the amount of problems I had with mine was just ridiculous turned out to be water in the plugs that go into the bottom of the fuse box dried them out cleaned all the connections put it back together all issues solved hope that you get it sorted