Thought was Hot Start problem....but not

[TvrIanD]

I have an issue where my Griff 500 will not restart when hot. I thought it was the classic Hot Start problem, but after fitting the Mod-Wise fix, the problem has not gone away.

However, it does appear to be related to whether the fans are on or not. If I try to restart, I hear the fuel pump, the fans start running (when the engine is hot enough for them to be triggered) but the engine does not turnover. If I leave the fans running and let them do their job, as soon as they switch off I can then start.

Just to cloud the issue somewhat, if the fans are running, and I turn off and try to restart immediately, I can restart. If I wait a minute or so between stopping and trying to restart, I cannot until the fans stop running.

This suggests the fans are drawing too much power, or I have a starter motor issue? However at the recent 12K service the starter motor was described as looking new.

Any suggestions welcome.

[PeteGriff]

Check your main earth from engine to chassis, if this has deteriorated or fractured there will be a restriction on current flow and as the cranking current is high you can have starting issues! Look back at earlier threads, FFG had issues with the main earth causing running problems. Regards, Pete

[phazed]

It's under the offside manifold and generally bolted to the outrigger seen in the front offside wheel arch.

That was my problem.

[David Beer]

If you still have the led test lead, leave it connected to the thin red wire, it will show if it's the immobiliser at fault. Also if you supply the thin red wire with a positive it will activate the solenoid. Also check the connector on the solenoid, it can become "dirty" and subject to high resistance. At the end of the day, leave the relay in the circuit, it should be there.

[spend]

phazed said:

It's under the offside manifold and generally bolted to the outrigger seen in the front offside wheel arch.

That was my problem.

I always move that to the chassis side bolts of the engine mounts, and add an extra one to the starter / bellhousing fastening (I replace with stud & nut to make it easy).

[TvrIanD]

Thanks for the suggestions. Being of fairly limited ability (fitting the hot fix was actually a big event for me, although it did take 10 minutes as David mentioned to me!) potential earthing issues will have to be looked at by someone who knows what they are doing.

David - with regards to the solenoid, where/what are you actually referring to? My Steve Heath bible is not helping me out here...I had actually removed the LED but can wire back on.

[TvrIanD]

Ok.Should read the bible properly - page 265 explains everything. Will check solenoid connection.

[TvrIanD]

Just an update. Turned out to be the starter motor. Replaced by Bespoke Performance (£195).