This week's problem: Random starter woes!

[Turbo-Brown]

<Drum roll> <tssssssssh!>

Presenting: THIS WEEKS PROBLEM!

Started the car this afternoon do drive to a mate's house. Didn't think anything of it at the time but there was a tiny delay between turning the key and the starter actually doing anything.

Drove to said mate's house, started car again went out to one shop. Started car again and went to Saino's. Went to start car having picked beer up and.......nothing!

Turn the key and nothing happens except the temp gauge drops to zero, but there's not a sign of life from the starter!

Any ideas?

[yardie]

this happens to me occasionally. when i roll the car forward a few feet, it then starts!!
i have intermitent issues with the immobiliser so i thought it may be related to that..

[Brianmoooore]

Posted an answer to this half an hour ago! Where'd that go?

Turn the headlamps on. What do they do when you turn the key?
Depending on the reult, it's either the ignition switch or one of the connections in the battery cables, including the block to body strap.

[Turbo-Brown]

Aah, cheers Brian, sorry I cheekily double posted, didn't think all that many people looked at the other thread.

Will have a good poke around the connectors, may be time for a good clean up down there

[Brianmoooore]

Hmmm! I'd just boll**ed someone else for doing the same thing as well!

So what happens with the headlamps on?

[Turbo-Brown]

Dunno, it's too bloomin' bright outside to see them!

Will try when it's a bit dingier, although it did start first time without hesitation this morning, but then did hesitate at the petrol station.

[miamistu]

Right, last time when I posted about this, I just jiggled the solenoid activation wire around and it worked fine for weeks and weeks.

Then I used the car last Monday to go to the dentist and it hesitated to start again.

Put a new connector on the activation wire today and it started fine on the drive, at a petrol station and when I picked a mate up from work. But then refused to do anything after buying beer at Sainos grump.

I ended up rigging up a connector to a bit of wire, attaching it to the solenoid and then with the ignition on, touching the wire to the =ve dist block under the bonnet.

It started first time so think we can rule out the starter or heavy power to it.

What could it be?! Guess the switch on the ignition barrel?

Cheers!

Alex

[Brianmoooore]

It started first time so think we can rule out the starter
Alex

Not neccessarily, since the problem is intermittant.
Starter switch is probably the most likely though.
Take the top off your diagnostic socket and mark with tipex or something, pins 11 and 14. Next time it happens use a short piece of wire to short these two together. The starter should activate, and with the ignition on, the car should start.

[Andy335Touring]

Alex, doesn't the trigger wire go through the c101 plug on the bulk head via the fuse box ? May be a dodgy conection or wire ?

Mine does this occasionally but it's never failed to start.

I think my earth lead/starter wires connection might need a clean up and i was thinking of putting a second earth lead on.

[Brianmoooore]

Any poor connection in the big wires will identify itself - it's right where the smoke is coming from.

[Andy335Touring]

Any poor connection in the big wires will identify itself - it's right where the smoke is coming from.

No smoke on mine(touch wood ! ) but i will give them a clean up.

Can you see any reason why i shouldn't fit a second earth strap ?

I just want to build in a little redundancy/head room

[Brianmoooore]

Can you see any reason why i shouldn't fit a second earth strap ?

No reason, but no point either. A single good earth strap in the standard position isn't exactly rocket science.

[miamistu]

Aah, no diagnostic socket on mine anymore due to the Emerald

[Turbo-Brown]

Something I forgot to mention yesterday too was that after 'hot wiring' Brown, the windows, fan, temp gauge and no doubt some other stuff stopped working!

Still had all the lights and things though.

Anyway, it started absolutely no probs this morning. Nothing like intermittant faults is there?!

Don't suppose it's possible to seperate the switch from the barrel is it?

Will have a root around in there if it is.

Cheers!

Alex

P.s. Couldn't get the forum to sign out my mate yesterday so had to post as him.

[Brianmoooore]

Actual ignition switch just unclips from the back of the barrel.
If your widows, roof, heater fan and mirrors aren't working, it all points to a starter motor problem, as all these worked through the unloader relays, which are switched by the starter motor itself.

[Turbo-Brown]

Really, is that what the other terminal on the solenoid's for or something?

Only on mine, there's the Black wire with Yellow stripe which goes to the lower terminal on the solenoid and tells it to do it's thing, then there's the heavy power lead which goes to the solenoid, and that's it.

[fowler]

black yellow is for unloader relays brain will correct me if i am wrong you need som diagrams or ask brain to explain unloaders as i am crap at explaining them

[Turbo-Brown]

Guess from the name that they just switch off any extraneous crap whilst the engine's cranking do they?

There must be a +12v feed down the black/yellow when the key's in the start position though or I'd never have ben able to start the car

[Brianmoooore]

black yellow is for unloader relays brain will correct me if i am wrong

You are wrong - black/yellow is start signal.

[Brianmoooore]

Really, is that what the other terminal on the solenoid's for or something?

That's what it's for. Wire is black/green and goes through pin 15 of the C101.

[Turbo-Brown]

This isn't something that came in on later cars is it? Only there wasn't ever anything connected to the other terminal on mine.

Presumably if there was supposed to be something there on mine, the windows and the like would never have worked at all?

Will go have a look at the round connector and see what's in there for pin 15 in a mo. How bizarre!

[Turbo-Brown]

Hokey dokey, just been out and taken the bulkhead round plug (think that's the C101) apart.

Can categorically state that there is nothing on either side of the connector attached to pin 15.

Pin 18 is the start signal and there are various blue wires, a white, a brown which is the signal to the temp gauge if I recall, but the only black one is the Black/Yellow start signal.

Something of an anomoly?!

[Brianmoooore]

Open up the fusebox, then and see what is connected to pins 85 of relays K5 and K7.
There should be a small black/green wire linking them together, with a second black/green going off from one of them. This is the other end of the wire that should go to C101 15, but is doesn't take a direct route.
There should be a black/green coming in from the C101 cableform, and then dissapearing down the tube intothe cabin, along with the one from the relays.
Somewhere along behind the dashboard these two join together and another black/green goes on to the blue instrument cluster plug.