Technical Starting failure

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Technical Starting failure

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The beast lives in Wales these days and lately it's been mildly damp over yer (or as the English would say, it's been constantly p*ssing down). This may be involved in my symptoms.

I went for a drive on Saturday (when it was actually dry, after a week of "dampness").
I parked the car on the drive, so I could dry out the mats etc. and give it a clean out. Then after about half an hour I'd finished, so went to start it, so I could park it properly.

When I turned on the ignition, everything was as normal.. but when I actually turned the key to MAR, there was nothing. No "click", no starter turning, no errors on the dash.. it was as if I'd just turned the ignition on.

I tried it a few times - even got out and locked/unlocked the car a few times, just to flush out the immobilisor… but no change. Then I got under the bonnet and poked about with the fuse/relay box next to the battery... mainly just blowing off the dust and tapping the fuses. It all looked dry, apart from some grit (I have a big black cover over the battery).

Then I tried it again and this time it started okay. I moved the car.. turned it off and it's been fine the one time I've started it since (just to move it away from some road works).

I guess it's a fuse/relay glitch .. but in case it does it again, does anyone know which fuse/relay it could be? I suspect it would have to be the starter motor fuse/relay (symptoms were the same as if there was no starter fitted inside the engine bay) but I don't have my User manual so I can't look it up.

The starter itself could have been wet, or shorting or the wiring down there may be suspect.. which I'll have a look at if it's dry next weekend... but it was dry when I drove it, so it's puzzling. Does anyone have any other ideas?


Ralf S.
 
I guess your starter relay is on its way to heaven, it sits directly on the startmotor there are no other relays down the path only fuse in the fuse block in engine compartment. If you can pull the starter out cleaning the insides of it tends to make startmotor life easier
 
I had this problem on and off for a while until the starter motor finally seized. Ended up buying a new starter motor and it's been fine ever since. Had the same you describe, turn on ignition, turn key to start and nothing happened. Try again and it would start, when it finally seized even the RAC couldn't get it going with the usual thump to the starter. Ended up having to be bump started and told to keep it running until got home and to NOT turn it off for anything ... lol
 
Not with a Stilo..

But on an old 1600 fiat I noticed the lights didnt dim.. so no power going from battery.. a new contactor disc in the bottom of the ignition barrel sorted it

However my sons Grande mj does this.. only when its had a run though..so is warm.. perfect cold

Again no attempt to start.. no dimming of lights

I was thinking dodgy earth cable ( no circuit..)

But will wait until it happens again.. got the jumpleads in the boot now ;)

On a side note..wish I could drive as far as Newport without gassing myself in that car.. 30 minutes tops .. driving me mad.. cos it runs beautifully and is really tidy.. but is worth nowt

Might be a spring: summer project :eek:
 
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The clutch flywheel is due to be changed soon. I'm just looking for a period of dry/mild weather.. but I also have an MOT due in the next month, so I don't have definite dates for that job yet... but I'll have to disconnect the starter then, so I'll have a chance to inspect it and give it a furtle, as much as I can.

It's the original factory-fitted jobbie, so it's 17 years old next month and has 207,000 miles on it.. so it could possibly have some signs of wear and tear by now... but it still works splendid with no signs of sticking or seizing etc.

I suspect the fuses/relays but if there's a relay on the starter itself, that could be a contender, since the fuse box looks quite cosy (although it could be getting splashed from below, I suppose).

The car has an under-tray which ought to help the starter motor a bit.. but when it's a bit wet here, it's quite a bit wet so a spray with some WD40 might help it. I've just moved the car again and it's fine.. so hopefully it'll behave itself now.


Ralf S.
 
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