AHHH Won't Start

[everitj]

OK... Got the car out yesterday after long hibernation in garage.. Battery was completely flat.. Took the battery out and put it on charge for a 5 hours and then put it back on the car.. Car started first time, no problems. Went out for a quick spin, big smile. As the battery was not fully charged I plugged the charger into the cigarette lighter to make sure it was full. Went back to start it today, No Fuel pump, dash lights working, instruments working ok, turning over fine however no go. The stepper motor does not seem to be making a noise like normal when the ignition is turned off... Any ideas?? have checked inertia switch and all fuses, all are OK....

[Don]

Have you tried a different battery?

Ours behaved in a very strange way after a total discharge. It would charge up - just not hold on to it. Bizarrely it had enough zip left in it to run the interior lights and so on - but not turn the starter motor...

[everitj]

Starter motor turns over fine... It's the no fuel pump and stepper motor noise that is making me worry..

[halfman]

does the fuel pump relay click when you turn the ignition? If it does it may be the fuel pump itself or as in my case today a loose spade connection on the fuel pump.

[GreenV8S]

Main power relay failed? Or perhaps a fuse? Or it could just be the ignition switch connector, or an alarm/immob problem.

[everitj]

Does not seem to be any power getting to the fuel pump relay... If main power relay had gone, would all of the dash lights, gagues be working. Could it be and ECU fault..???

[adiandvic]

I had similar, in the end it was a faulty fuel pump relay the bosch 30amp jobby,
symptoms were car turned over but no start or fuel pump sound. I got a temp fix by buying a 30amp relay and putting it in place of the fuel pump one cost me £5 have now got the bosch one on order

[M@H]

A Lucas SRB521 should sort you out

[everitj]

Found the problem today after much head scratching.. Thought I would post my findings in case others have the same issue.. I was not getting any switched power to the ecu - pin19.. I eventually traced this back to a dodgy connector under the dash on a rather home made looking box above the glove box, I can only assume this is somthing to do with the imobiliser. Connection remade and all is now well again..

[jem]

Don said:

Have you tried a different battery? Ours behaved in a very strange way after a total discharge. It would charge up - just not hold on to it. Bizarrely it had enough zip left in it to run the interior lights and so on - but not turn the starter motor...

fully dischargign a battery can screw it.

J

[M@H]

jem said:

fully dischargign a battery can screw it. J

Which is a bit of a pisser as both my Chims had a habit of doing this to themselves after 10-14 days of sitting unused. Mine is dead at the moment... I drove it to and from work Monday to Wednesday the week before last (50 miles a go), then thought I'd use it last friday and once again its dead.

Why do these cars drain the battery SO much though.. if I leave mine with the alarm off its only the clock and a bit of power to the ECU thats left drawing current isn't it.? This is the one and only thing that really hacks me off about Chim ownership.

(and yes it is a newish battery, and no I don't have a garage or outside power so leaving it on an optimate all the while isn't much of an option either)

Cheers,
Matt


>> Edited by M@H on Tuesday 22 February 09:11

[GreenV8S]

In that situation, Priority Start is the answer to your prayers. It's an electronic battery isolator which automatically isolates the battery if it detects it starting to run down while parked, and automatically reconnects it when you come back to the car. Made in the USA, I got mine from a gentleman who imported a batch and advertised them in Sprint. I know Tower View were looking for these a while ago so might be worth an enquiry to them.

[hut49]

everitj said:

.......the glove box......

M@H said:

Why do these cars drain the battery SO much though.....and yes it is a newish battery

Normally they don't drain the battery any more than other cars. If there's a residual drain after the ignition is off this should be detectable. I suspect that "newish" battery (assuming it is rated correctly) isn't up to it. I replaced my Chim's battery at the start of winter. It lives outside in a carport under a cover and it starts first time even after 3 weeks without attention. Considering the trivial cost of batteries (OK some hassle to replace them in a Chim) replacement every 3-4 years seems sensible and removes the will she/won't she uncertainty that takes the edge off the fun of ownership.

[M@H]

GreenV8S said:

In that situation, Priority Start is the answer to your prayers. It's an electronic battery isolator which automatically isolates the battery if it detects it starting to run down while parked, and automatically reconnects it when you come back to the car. Made in the USA, I got mine from a gentleman who imported a batch and advertised them in Sprint. I know Tower View were looking for these a while ago so might be worth an enquiry to them.

Sounds excellent ! Thanks

Edited to add:

www.noflatbatteries.com/carscampersagriculture.htm

£78.50 inc P&P.

>> Edited by M@H on Tuesday 22 February 10:41

[M@H]

hut49 said:

M@H said: Why do these cars drain the battery SO much though.....and yes it is a newish battery Normally they don't drain the battery any more than other cars.

I beg to differ.. we've had the figures up on here a few times. I remember it was enough to mean that the Solar trickle charger I used to keep my S Series battery tip-top was totally useless for the Chim. (My battery was replaced on 13th July 2004 btw.) As for other cars, I have left other ones of mine for literally months (the S Series for over six months once) and they have all managed to crank OK.

Matt.

>> Edited by M@H on Tuesday 22 February 10:24