Rallye starting issue

[tarmac terror]

Hi Folks. Oddest thing happened yesterday...

Just shifting the cars around the drive, while reversing car stalled and when I tried to restart there was no life from starter at all.

Now,
Battery in good order
fuel pump primes
inertia switch reset
Under dash fuses all intact

When turning key to start. the dash lights are on but the clock goes out while the key is turned.
I cannot for the life of me think why it would not even engage the starter..

I'm thinking it might be immobiliser but can't see why that would be as the car started fine about 60s prior. Also, there is no history of it doing this before.

Any ideas???? Would connecting to PP possibly flag up something/


TT

[adam b]

Under bonnet fuses ok? Could be the starter solenoid has crapped itself - give it a tap with a hammer / rock the car in gear. I would probably check the battery terminal connections are tight and clean first - the screw on ones can look tight but actually aren't.

[rikky]

have you checked for spark / fuel at the rail?

[adam b]

Rikky going down the relay full of water route....

[rikky]

not really, i just always check them two things first now before looking at other stuff (assuming the lighting looks ok and it doesn't point to earth issues)

[adam b]

not really, i just always check them two things first now before looking at other stuff (assuming the lighting looks ok and it doesn't point to earth issues)

Bet its the battery terminals... £5 or your next years membership to the 6 club...shake?

[rikky]

given there's no starter engaging it's probably not far off the truth so i'm not gambling on that

[adam b]

given there's no starter engaging it's probably not far off the truth so i'm not gambling on that

Damn you and your reading the original post again...

[tarmac terror]

Thanks for the replies so far....

1. Not checked the underbonnet fuses so far...will do that. I did actually rock the car in gear a few times in case it was a stuck solenoid!
2. Not checked for fuel/spark yet either.
3. Battery is good and terminals tight.
4. Fuel relay is new and pump primes happily when key moved to Pos 2.

Now, a dud battery would usually either crank the car in a really sluggish fashion or, if really flat, would dim/extinguish the dash lights when cranking so I'm confident I can rule that out. Its odd how it was running/starting fine and then after a stall, wasn't having any of it!!!

How would the immobiliser react if, for example, I removed the chip in the key fob??


TT

[adam b]

Is the signal wire to the starter ok and attached? Key must have the chip in to start it

[rikky]

if you doubt it being the voltage then you need to check fuel and spark. could be crank sensor. have you got 12v at the coils etc? without actually testing anything you can't rule anything out

[Niall]

Right its not the immobiliser. The immobiliser doesn't stop the starter kicking in. It stops fuelling and spark.

If it was just sudden, to me it sounds like a buggered starter which has stuck. If i was you, get someone to crank it for you whilst you twat the starter with a hammer and see if it goes again. If so, new starter motor time.

[tarmac terror]

So, got this sorted....
Replaced the starter for a TD variety and all is good in the world again.


However.

Prior to the starter quitting I had an issue where I would be driving along and the car would suddenly lose power gradually and then cut out. Dash lights, radio etc were unaffected. Quickly turning it off and restarting would have it up and running again until the next time (usually every 5-10mins).
I have changed the cat, lambda, MAP, ECS, IAV, Crank sensor to no avail.....


Any ideas before I go out and buy a Lexia3?


TT