6 Weeks trouble free in France & then . . . .
Discussion
For the first 6 weeks of our holiday the only trouble experienced was a blown break light bulb so all was looking good.
The day before our return to the UK while out and about locally the car refused to start after leaving it parked for an hour or so. The fuel pump was priming, the locking and alarm working OK. Anyway after doing nothing in particular and trying a number of times it eventually started. The following day it started first time so we set off on the journey home. Around 90 miles north we stopped for petrol and this is when it all went pear shaped. Same symptoms as before but this time even after trying for more than an hour it wouldn't start. Not looking good.
The breakdown insurance people did a first class job in booking hotel, flights, taxis etc to get us home the following day. The car is in Limoges and the breakdown insurance company have reported to me today that the garage say it is the starter motor that is faulty. As a complete mechanical numpty does this sound reasonable? It looks as though it will cost around 300 Euros for parts and repair and I will be visiting France again sooner than I thought!
Bill
The day before our return to the UK while out and about locally the car refused to start after leaving it parked for an hour or so. The fuel pump was priming, the locking and alarm working OK. Anyway after doing nothing in particular and trying a number of times it eventually started. The following day it started first time so we set off on the journey home. Around 90 miles north we stopped for petrol and this is when it all went pear shaped. Same symptoms as before but this time even after trying for more than an hour it wouldn't start. Not looking good.
The breakdown insurance people did a first class job in booking hotel, flights, taxis etc to get us home the following day. The car is in Limoges and the breakdown insurance company have reported to me today that the garage say it is the starter motor that is faulty. As a complete mechanical numpty does this sound reasonable? It looks as though it will cost around 300 Euros for parts and repair and I will be visiting France again sooner than I thought!
Bill
slippery said:
Was it turning over at all? Sounds like starter motor or immobiliser problem if not. Did you try rocking the car backwards and forwards in gear, then turning the key again?
It didn't turn over at all or make any click or noise whatsoever. I didn't try rocking the car in gear as I was too busy placating my lady wife and telling her that buying a crazy sports car with a dubious reliability record was a normal and rational thing to do! 
Tinker15 said:
slippery said:
Was it turning over at all? Sounds like starter motor or immobiliser problem if not. Did you try rocking the car backwards and forwards in gear, then turning the key again?
It didn't turn over at all or make any click or noise whatsoever. I didn't try rocking the car in gear as I was too busy placating my lady wife and telling her that buying a crazy sports car with a dubious reliability record was a normal and rational thing to do! 
Let's hope it's in good hands.
Tinker15 said:
It didn't turn over at all or make any click or noise whatsoever. I didn't try rocking the car in gear as I was too busy placating my lady wife and telling her that buying a crazy sports car with a dubious reliability record was a normal and rational thing to do!
Starter Solenoid wire come off?Mine is just pushed on and can easily be pulled off. In fact it did the other day.......
Sorry to hear your woes.
They can be temperamental and stressful things at times and when their ok the car starts to give you grief!
One thing I notice with mine, that only occurs the day after I have done several hours of motorway driving, is the idle revs drop right down to a few hundred when coming to a stop. I gave the stepper a good clean this time and it seemed to help a little.
The only thing that sounds similar to your symptoms are the fuel or immobiliser relays in the passenger footwell. When they get hot they go closed circuit and shut the pump off and when they cool they usually work ok for a while and allow you to start the car.
Once they start to fail they are very unreliable though, but lookily they are only £10 each - just a thought.
Hope it didn't ruin your rather extended holiday you jammy #@@##!~@
They can be temperamental and stressful things at times and when their ok the car starts to give you grief!
One thing I notice with mine, that only occurs the day after I have done several hours of motorway driving, is the idle revs drop right down to a few hundred when coming to a stop. I gave the stepper a good clean this time and it seemed to help a little.
The only thing that sounds similar to your symptoms are the fuel or immobiliser relays in the passenger footwell. When they get hot they go closed circuit and shut the pump off and when they cool they usually work ok for a while and allow you to start the car.
Once they start to fail they are very unreliable though, but lookily they are only £10 each - just a thought.
Hope it didn't ruin your rather extended holiday you jammy #@@##!~@
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