(T) Starting Issue

Hi all

I have just bought a 52 plate Punto so my wife had a reliable car following our Landrover Discovery breakdown issues.

Well 2 days in and the Punto is disgracing itself. Car opens on the button, put key in and all the lights come on. Turn the key and nothing...... It is intermittent, it may start and get you from A to B then decide not to start again as you attempts to get from B to wherever......

It is now abandoned in ALDI car park and I am likely to get a severe kicking for buying another pile of crap when I get home. I am inclined to think it is an earthing issue but anm open to suggestions from those more experienced in Punto ownership.

Jon

So you turn the key - you get a click and thats it?

To me that sounds like the main gearbox earth to body to battery negative failure

Usually a corroded terminal or wiring
Ensure the battery is fully charged
Stick a negative jump lead on the engines side of the engine mount - and then clip the other side onto the negative terminal of the battery

Then turn it over - does it start 10x better then before? Yes - see the above
No? - Report back

Take it no warning lights on dash - no error codes? - Anything recently been done it?

Dont lash out on the first instance of a breakdown, its only a breakdown, not WW3 or end of the world as we know

Ziggy

Immobiliser fault? Do you get the Key/Immobiliser Warning light?

What am I looking for with the immobiliser please?

Light on the dash that won't go out - key code warning. Can't for the life of me remember what it's like but it should be obvious

go back to basics
* how many keys do you have - if you have 2 try the 'spare'
* when the car won't start is there a click from the starter? YES = check earth lead on battery plus the engine to chassis earth + rock the car ignition OFF but in 2nd gear to see if the starter has jammed -- doubtful by the intermittent issue
* NO = could be starter motor - less than £100 exchange at local factors but first look on the dashboard look for a yellow car symbol with a padlock around it - means the immobiliser is locked - that could be 'coil' around the barrel of the ignition lock but again intermittent suggests a wiring fault and a need to check continuity of every single wire of both ECU connectors - as that's a dealer cost of circa £200 to locate and fix you may wish to spend a day with a multimeter yourself
* have you got Multiscan - if it will connect it's not likely the immobiliser
*

The light on my dash shows a picture of the front end of a car with a padlock!
Other models show pictures of a key (IN ORANGE OR RED)

If it's immobiliser related, the car will turn over like it's trying to start, but wont... If you get nothing when you turn the key it's likely to be starter motor, or earth fault, or alternator as other have mentioned!

Al

Thanks for all the help guys. The prize in this case goes to Ziggy122 as it was indeed the earth lead. Looks like a new one for fitting at the weekend.

All in seems not a bad wee car. Look out for my next post. Why is the heater so flipping poor.

Jon

Airlock possibly. Is there a gurgling noise from the heater on startup? Sticky thermostat is another possibility. Do you have a temp gauge and is it sitting in the middle all the time after warmup?

Brendan W I have noticed a slight moaning noise from under the bonnet and it sounds similar to an airlock in my old Landrover so will bleed the system first.

These cars are a bit tricky to bleed as they don't have a header tank as such. Filling the rad to the top of the filler neck helps. There is lots of advice and help on here. Persistance pays.
Moaning is unlikely to be airlock related. Alternator belt or bearings would be a good starting point.

Thanks Brendan W, I'ii check those out. Regarding the heating, the needle sits bang on in the middle once warmed up so I am relatively happy with the the thermostat. The heater works reasonably on full when teh car is driving (though not as hot as I would expect). Once you stand still it hten cools rapidly until its just cool air coming out. I will look on how to bleed the system and hopefully it will resolve the issue.

Jon

In particular, when you get a moment remove the back light clusters and have a look at the black earth wire and pins at the plugs. They have a tendancy to corrode and cause all sorts of funny electrical issues. A good blast of contact cleaner will head them off.