Technical non starting multipla ? please help ??

[fiatmaniac]

hi can anyone give me a clue as to what may be happening with my multipla 1.6 16v elx 2001 model , the other day it would not start from the key , all dash lights are working and battery ok , had to call the AA out and he said it was the starter and got me going with a tow . ive since fitted a new starter but same thing is happening ( nothing when turning the key ) , checked the earth leads that i know of and all tight , is there a relay or anything else that could be wrong ?? any help greatly appreciated cheers gaz

 

[widemouthfrog]

The earth leads can look fine visually but internally the individual strands corrode. Eventually, a combination of this and higher current demand (e.g. starting the engine from cold in cold weather) means that the cable can't cope. It happened to me in the really bitter weather we had last January.

Try putting a temporary earth cable (use something of decent thickness) from battery negative clamp to a screw or bolt on the engine block. Make sure you clamp the cable at both ends to ensure good contact, don't just hold it in place, then try starting.

Not sure if it's the same for the petrol, but the diesel has a secondary earth cable that goes to the gearbox casing which is know to suffer the internal corrosion problem.

 

[lankytim]

A jumplead is perfect as a temporary earth!

 

[fiatmaniac]

thanks lads for the info it turned out to be the earth lead that go,s from chassis under the battery tray to the engine block . sorted now only now after refitting the battery ive got EBD SYSTEM FAULT and this morning it showed ABS SYSTEM FAULT on the dash !! any ideas what to do to remove these ive got me mot in march , car drives fine and these faults dont show every time i start it just seems to be first start up of the morning from cold , any info appreciated cheers gary