Non starter

[davidd]

Typical, as soon as I say how great it is to be back in a Cerbera...

So it refuses to start, has been fine all week, generally starts really well hot or cold.

This morning, it'll turn over quite happily but does not start..

Any quick suggestions?

D

[fatjon]

battery off, battery back on then arm/disarm alarm and imobiliser seems to cure that on mine. Weird as you would think the immob would stop it cranking at all but when it goes into this in between mode a full power cycle seems to fix it.

[fatjon]

battery off, battery back on then arm/disarm alarm and imobiliser seems to cure that on mine. Weird as you would think the immob would stop it cranking at all but when it goes into this in between mode a full power cycle seems to fix it.

[stuthemong]

can you hear the fuel pump prime?

Stu

[Byker28i]

Have you knocked the little silver key?

[davidd]

Thanks, so the silver key is in place (I've taken it out and shoved it back in again).

I'll have a go at the bettery in the morning, can someone remind me what the fuel pump sounds like and where the noise comes from and finally where it is so I can check the voltage.

Cheers

D

[JensenA]

The Silver Key should be pushed in and turned 90 degrees clockwise to enable the car to start.
The Fuel pump priming just sounds like an electric buzz/hum from the rear of the car and should start as soon as you press the ignition on.

[davidd]

JensenA said:

The Silver Key should be pushed in and turned 90 degrees clockwise to enable the car to start.
The Fuel pump priming just sounds like an electric buzz/hum from the rear of the car and should start as soon as you press the ignition on.

thanks, so where do I find the fuel pump ?

Ta

D

[ridds]

Disconnect and reconnect the immobiliser too, sometimes mine has a moment when the battery has gone flat.

[JensenA]

davidd said:

JensenA said:

The Silver Key should be pushed in and turned 90 degrees clockwise to enable the car to start.
The Fuel pump priming just sounds like an electric buzz/hum from the rear of the car and should start as soon as you press the ignition on.

thanks, so where do I find the fuel pump ?

Ta

D

Under the nearside rear wheel arch - I think, but I'd try the silver key, and/or the other suggestions first.

[davidd]

ridds said:

Disconnect and reconnect the immobiliser too, sometimes mine has a moment when the battery has gone flat.

where is it, is there some sort of re start it needs to go or will it just lock and unlock as per normal ?

Ta

d

[ridds]

email sent

[davidd]

Thanks for the input so far. I've been having a play and it still won't start..

I have:

Checked the silver key, all seems fine.
Unplugged the immobilser and alarm and battery.
The fuel pump is priming.

The battery seems fine and will spin the starter with no issue.

So, any more ideas (please)?

Cheers

D

[JensenA]

Hmmmmmm, it's got to be something silly if it was running OK before.....
Check Petrol? Don't rely too much on the fuel guage, anywhere between 1/8th and empty could be empty.
Sit in the car, re-check Silver Key, lock the car, unlock it, Press start button.
If that doesn't work, repeat the above, wait 30 seconds for the Immobiliser light to start flashing, Push the plastic immobiliser key into the socket then try again.
If that doesn't work, it's Sunday, the pubs are open, have a few pints, then back home for a slap up Sunday roast and drink some more beer

[davidd]

Lol thanks dor that;) I'm beyond driving today already!

Anyway I don't have the black key. There is plenty of fuel, I've tried few diffenet combinations with the alarm/immobiliser to no avail what is annoying is that it was perfect all last week

so what next team ?

Cheers

d

[al 350i]

if you can get the car to turn over but not start, i would check the 3 basics fuel,air and spark.

pull off a HT lead and connect a spark plug to see if there a spark

disconnect fuel line and place into container, crank engine over and see if anything come out

as for air i don't think there is much to check as the cerb doesn't have an air meter but i suppose you could pull off the air pipes from the boxes to make sure there is nothing blocking the flow.

if 1 off the above is missing then it won't start, then aleast you can start tracing things backwards.

i'm pretty sure that if you turn the silver key off you won't get any ignition lights or electrics and the car won't even turn over.

[davidd]

Right I've just shoved a timing light on an ht lead and cranked it, no light....

So, with my basic test (I'm in the middle of cooking a roast so I'm trying to multitask ) it seems like a lack of spark..

I have checked all the fuses in the fuse box, are there any others I should look at?

Anything else I can do or is it going to get terribly oily?

Thanks

D

PS without the silver key the car is utterly dead, no ignition lights, nowt.

Cheers

D

[al 350i]

the next thing i would do is try the same test on a lead on the otherside of the engine, as there are 2 coil packs, one for each bank. if you get a spark on the otherside then i would say its the coilpack, they are fairly cheap to buy (citreon saxo) and quite common for them to break

if you still have no spark then start looking at things like the crank position sensor, power to coil packs etc. i don't have much experience with how the cerb is laid out but i'm sure someone can point you in the right directions

[davidd]

al 350i said:

the next thing i would do is try the same test on a lead on the otherside of the engine, as there are 2 coil packs, one for each bank. if you get a spark on the otherside then i would say its the coilpack, they are fairly cheap to buy (citreon saxo) and quite common for them to break

if you still have no spark then start looking at things like the crank position sensor, power to coil packs etc. i don't have much experience with how the cerb is laid out but i'm sure someone can point you in the right directions

A good plan and one I shall do tomorrow, do we not think it might start on one bank?

How hard to swap out a coil pack??

D

[al 350i]

this did cross my mind, the design of the engine would allow it to run on one bank but maybe not so easy to start it on 1 bank. if neither one of them are working then its finding out why, find out where they get power from and trace it back.

coil packs are well tucked away in the middle of the vee but not too bad a job and probably a worth changing them anyway should only cost £80 for the pair