Hot Start Problem - Do I Have It? Is This It?

[im]

Hi y'all

I think I've been having the famous 'hot start' problem that so many Chim owners have complained about but am not sure.

Here's what happens.

I run the car around for a while then pull in and and stop for some Petrol etc. Upon returning to the car and putting the key into the ignition and turning the pump primes but absolutely nothing else happens.

No other noises are detectable (ie Solenoid trying to work etc) - all is silent.

I leave the car for (say) 60 seconds - sometimes a little longer - and try again. Hey presto, we have lift off.

I ask if I've got the problem because I can't believe that in the (say) 60 seconds I've waited between attempts to start the car that the car has actually cooled down enough for it to make a difference to whether the ignition works or not. It just seems that the car is still 'hot' when the ignition finally decides to work.

Perhaps the words hot-start are not entirely descriptive of the problem as this suggests the problem will remain until the car is 'cold'.

Any advice gratefully received and I'll buy the Mod-Wise kit if the replies to this post still point to the 'hot start' problem.

im

Edited by im on Wednesday 16th January 11:46

[bigdods]

Buy the kit and install it anyway, at some point you will have the hot start problem. This sounds a bit like my battery problem I had a while back. My starter solenoid was sticking a bit and the battery was weak . Combine this with heat after a run and sometimes the solenoid wouldnt throw, so not even a click from the engine. Usually had to turn ignition off, wait a few seconds then turn on and try again, after 3 or 4 goes the solenoid would unstick and it would start.

Eventually it got so bad that I installed the hot start kit (which improved it quite a bit) and had a new starter fitted (which improved it more but still didnt solve) . Only having a new battery totally solved the problem.

With hindsight the bettery kept going flat and I was having other electrical problems so I should have realised what was going on. Changing the battery first might well have saved me the cost of a new starter motor + fitting.

[im]

Cheers Dodsey!

I had a new battery fitted 2 years ago and it is kept on an accumate when not in use so the battery is always in prime condition.

[mdotrutherford]

Ian, my 2d worth, found cleaning up the earth points fixed my starter probs hey it worked for me not a panacea !
Brgds Ian

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[V8 GRF]

I'd say hot start problems take longer to clear than 60 seconds or so. Might it not be a problem with your immobiliser?

[im]

mdotrutherford said:

Ian, my 2d worth, found cleaning up the earth points fixed my starter probs hey it worked for me not a panacea !
Brgds Ian

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Apparently though, reading that thread, you could hear the starter struggling - I can't hear anything and then 60 secs later Bingo - Brmmm, Brmmm...and all is well.

V8 GRF said:

I'd say hot start problems take longer to clear than 60 seconds or so. Might it not be a problem with your immobiliser?

...hmmm...it's a thought...

So, do we not think it's the Hot Start issue then?

[WOO5IE]

Isnt the hot start problem more to do with the wiring feeding the starter solenoid getting too warm as its near the engine and going high resistance and therefore not enough current to operate the solenoid. So perhaps it can cool down in a short time.

Trev

[V8 GRF]

WOO5IE said:

Isnt the hot start problem more to do with the wiring feeding the starter solenoid getting too warm as its near the engine and going high resistance and therefore not enough current to operate the solenoid. So perhaps it can cool down in a short time.

Trev

I think it's what you say, combined with the starter motor getting gunged up and having poor contacts on the windings?

[chrispitman]

Could someone with a hot start kit tell me what it actually does what is the component that causes the problem.

[WOO5IE]

I believe it is to do with the wiring resistance/ temperature

The link below takes you to the Mod wise web site and kit @ £20


I have a later model Chim 2000 so I am not sure if it has been fixed. So far I have not had a problem

Trevor

http://www.djbeer.hostingbt.com/id32.html

[Cider Andy]

OP: this sounds exactly like the 'hot start' problem. It's twofold:

1. The wiring to the solenoid is a bit weak in three areas:
a. Some think the connector to the Vauxhall ignition switch is poor, so there's potential for voltage drop there.
b. The circuit passes through the immobiliser and there can be another voltage drop there.
c. Land Rover fitted a relay in the circuit to carry a healthier supply via a relay.

The Modwise kit simply replaces this 'missing' relay with the added advantage that it also bypasses the ignition switch wiring and immobiliser. In effect it just uses the 'weak' wiring to operate a relay which in turn provides a healthy voltage to the starter motor solenoid.

2. With age and heat the starter motor itself, or at least its piggy-backed solenoid, degrades. The upshot is that there may not be a sufficient voltage at the end of the original circuit to throw the solenoid. And when the motor is hot (as it becomes when, say, you've just pulled into a petrol station) it turns more slowly.

Fit the Modwise kit as it will prolong the useful life of the starter motor. And consider fitting a heatshield to the starter motor itself. Ultimately the starter motor will need replacing.

Your symptoms started on my car two years ago, so I fitted a relay in the circuit. Although still working I've just replaced the starter motor; the old one was becoming just too slow.

[nikman]

WOO5IE said:

Isnt the hot start problem more to do with the wiring feeding the starter solenoid getting too warm as its near the engine and going high resistance and therefore not enough current to operate the solenoid. So perhaps it can cool down in a short time.

Trev

Yes, that's correct and yes, I'd say it IS the hot start (or 'hot-not-start'!) problem that's been described by im.

I bought the kit, didn't get round to fitting it yet thinking it would be less likely to happen in this cold weather - and it happened yesterday - first time for months