Starting problem
Discussion
To cut a long story short…
On my V8S I have a new battery, alarm does what it normally does, fuel pump primes, duh-dunk. Nothing except the alarm then going off. Responds to the key fob. Try again. Duh-dunk.
Does this sound like the starter motor or a potential whole host of possible problems? Never had problems with the starter before…
Matt
On my V8S I have a new battery, alarm does what it normally does, fuel pump primes, duh-dunk. Nothing except the alarm then going off. Responds to the key fob. Try again. Duh-dunk.
Does this sound like the starter motor or a potential whole host of possible problems? Never had problems with the starter before…
Matt
Deadfast said:
OK, in which case, if I was to daisy chain an earth from another car (just join the black cable) do you think it would start?
Cheers.
You would have to connect the red cable across as well. I would just disconnect and clean up your battery terminals first and try that. Also worth checking the volt drop on the battery during starting as it could be an internal fault on the battery.Cheers.
Rob.
An earthing problem certainly makes sense, but where do I start looking?
What I didn’t say is that the car had been away at a reputable garage having the radiator replaced (again). It was running when I picked it up on Sunday, but failed to start when I stopped just a few miles down the road. The garage came out and finally got it going by putting in a “new” battery and attaching jump leads to it. It then ran fine all the way home. However, now it won’t start again. The only difference is that there is clearly more juice in the battery now than on Sunday.
I have booked on a basic car maintenance course this autumn, but until then (and probably still afterwards) I have to be treated as a complete numpty!
Thanks
What I didn’t say is that the car had been away at a reputable garage having the radiator replaced (again). It was running when I picked it up on Sunday, but failed to start when I stopped just a few miles down the road. The garage came out and finally got it going by putting in a “new” battery and attaching jump leads to it. It then ran fine all the way home. However, now it won’t start again. The only difference is that there is clearly more juice in the battery now than on Sunday.
I have booked on a basic car maintenance course this autumn, but until then (and probably still afterwards) I have to be treated as a complete numpty!
Thanks
I still think its a connection problem as you said your alarm sounds after a start attempt. This is usually because with a bad battery or earth connection the starter draws so much current it effectively disconnects the battery. As soon as you release the key the battery reconnects and the alarm goes off. If the battery was changed last week, make sure the terminals are still tight, I would be tempted to disconnect them and clean them anyway. Also disconnect and clean the connection between the black (negative) cable from the battery to the chassis.
Rob.
Rob.
Deadfast said:
Thinking about it, are there amy other chassis earth points other than from the battery? I'm sure I read about earthing points in front of the radiator. As the rad has just been out could that be the issue? If so, how do I get to those?
Thanks again.
There are several other earths, but none that are designed to take the starter current (probably 200 to 300 amps) Except the engine earth.Thanks again.
Rob.
(edited to add engine earth)
Edited by Griffinr on Wednesday 31st August 14:03
Griffinr said:
Deadfast said:
Thinking about it, are there amy other chassis earth points other than from the battery? I'm sure I read about earthing points in front of the radiator. As the rad has just been out could that be the issue? If so, how do I get to those?
Thanks again.
There are several other earths, but none that are designed to take the starter current (probably 200 to 300 amps)Thanks again.
Rob.
(i) from the battery (positive) to the starter motor via the solenoid.
(ii) through the motor itself - ie is the starter motor working properly?
(iii) from the motor back to the battery - ie the complete earth side of the circuit. That earth side is in 3 bits: the motor is earthed through the engine and gearbox unit. That in turn needs to be earthed to the chassis. AFAIK that main engine earth is under the gearbox - a braided earth strap to the chassis. Then the circuit between the chassis and the battery negative terminal needs to be good as well.
If there is a duff or dirty connection aanywhere along that whole supply and earth path, that will reduce the amount of current, and hence the efficiency of the starter motor.
As GRiffinr says, none of the other earth points are designed to take full-on starter motor current - it might TRY to work, but the thin wires at those other earths simply won't pass enough current.
FARKIT said:
you could also try using your negative jump lead from the earth on the starter to a clean earth somewhere else on the chassis.
Most common problem is a bad or dirty earth from the starter to the chassis...
As Farkit says, then, the best test to try first is a GOOD jump lead from a clean bit of the engine / gearbox, to a clean bit of the chassis (or even the battery negative terminal but make sure you don't create sparks if you do that). If the starter motor suddenly works fine, you know your problem is in the earth side of the circuit. Most common problem is a bad or dirty earth from the starter to the chassis...
Just a thought. Have you tried disconnecting the alarm/immobiliser? Mine plays up sometimes; I’ve got an isolator switch so I just turn to whole system off and leave it. When I do this, the central locking will only work when I turn the key in the door lock but that’s hardly an issue. Usually the alarm system resets itself after a while and all is OK until its next brain fart.
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