HELP NEEDED, With gen one Gallardo

[rat rod]

After seven months of winter storage i went to start my gen one Gallardo and found that it turns over but will not start.

It has a manual box not that should make any difference i think

Probably self inflicted but running out of room at home i had to store it some miles away.

Have left it before as long as four months or so and has always started by the third turn of the key.

Always kept it on a battery tender but bought a new battery just in case.

Checked the fuses yesterday to find that six of them had blown including the two ignition ones and the injection .one.

Replaced them thinking it should fire up now but still won't .

Eventually even the new battery died a death so i have left it for now fear of damaging the starter motor.

Would normally put a spanner on it myself but scared i may do more damage than good.

It turns over freely but there is no sign of it trying to fire at all, like either no spark or petrol not getting through ,the tank reads between

half and a quarter.

I usually maintain my own cars but this being neither new or old i am out of my depth on this one.

Before i call the truck and have it transported to Emblem this week has anyone had a similar problem or any idea's please

Thanks in advance.

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 21st March 13:18

[rat rod]

andrew said:

aftermarket immobiliser fitted ?

No, factory one, did lock and realarm a few times but made no difference.

Any one on here got a nice Morris Minor convertible that they can deliver and tow this one away ,

Thanks Andrew,

[rat rod]

Can anyone who owned or own's a Gallardo remember if you can hear the fuel pump when turning on the ignition ?

I can't remember , wish i had took more notice , if so it's quiet now but not sure if it's meant to be like that , Thanks.

[rat rod]

Fast Eddie said:

David_T said:

For a late 2007 Gen 1 car, i think the pump (or something) starts as soon as the driver's side door is opened, lasting for about 12 -13 secs.
That's with the key not even in the ignition.

I had a 2008 Superleggera and you are absolutely correct, pump starts when door is opened

My 430 does that but my Gallardo is 05 and have never had that , must have been one of the many improvements

on the later gen one's, Thanks for your input guys.

[rat rod]

Mine is manual so that might explain the silence,

Looks like it's the truck then, off to Emblem yet again.

At least they got the wizardry to get to the problem.

[rat rod]

xcentric said:

so many possibilities, really - I'd replace the fuel, ensure the battery is a new fully charged one, and check that you can hear the fuel pump ticking over. Unlikely to be plugs/electronic ignition, unless it's an immobiliser problem as others have said.

Or call the AA......

I am a member of the rac but although it says nothing about which make of car you break down in i'm not sure they will be keen

when they hear the make .

But i might get a free tow to the garage out of them ,i've got break down and home cover but the car is garaged elsewhere

so in neither place ,not sure how i would stand there.

I've fitted a new battery and funny enough put some fresh petrol in today ,

Did listen for the fuel pump and did hear a faint noise when i turned the ignition on but not sure if it was the pump or not.

On my 430 there's a loud sort of a hum when i open the drivers door.

Thanks for your suggestions,

[rat rod]

70proof said:

Did the fuses blow again? Odd to have six go, thats got to be an electrical short. Any chance rats have got to the wiring?

Good point never thought of that, the cars in a barn come garage in the country and have seen the odd rat

run across the floor, No fitted the new battery tonight and tried again but still won't fire .

Checked the fuses after and they are still good. If the rats have damaged the wiring not sure if the diagnostics

will be able to pick it up. Thanks for the tip.

Edited by rat rod on Tuesday 23 March 22:18

[rat rod]

andrew said:

ironic if the clue was in your name

Boom! Boom! well spotted, hadn't noticed

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Just my tuppenny’s worth......

I too would be mighty suspicious of all of those blown fuses. I think I’ve replaced one fuse in 68,000 miles in mine.

The RAC (and also the AA, I think?) will only relay you if you are more than 0.25 miles from your home address. It sounds like in this case that wouldn’t be a problem. Mine’s been relayed by the RAC three or four times in my eight years of ownership. I tell the call handler what the car is and they nearly always agree that sending a patrolman will be a waste of time. So they send a flatbed straight out (always a contractor rather than the RAC’s own rig) and there’s never even a hint of drama getting the car loaded. And that’s without front end lift.

Don't think l can push it 1/4 of a mile, heavy bugger for a small car,

Was tongue in cheek about the towing, doubt if i would get away with it with a stone cold engine anyway,

I,ve not got lift and never had problems when being towed either.

Interesting that they would send a truck and not bother with a patrolman.

Thanks,

[rat rod]

xcentric said:

so, what news?

Nothing Had another go today but still not having any of it,

Someone did suggest that although the ignition is coming on and the starter is turning maybe the immobiliser

has cut the fuel off, I've now fitted the new battery instead of linking it with jump leads and has maid no difference at all ,

Had the original battery tested and it's it's fine so that was a waste of time and money,

Could fit it back in the car but had to dismantle the front area to change it and not going through that again,

Did notice that although a new battery it still not spinning over as it should

so wondering if it's giving the full voltage for a cold start.

Have got a mechanic who looks after my classics coming to have a look but admits he is slightly out of his depth

with complex electrics more use to tractor mechanics of older cars so i'm not holding my breath.

Will have to get it transported to Emblem either next week or after Easter if all else fails.

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Just had a thought....... This happened to me ages ago!

Failed crank position sensor. An easy and cheap fix!

Thanks for that info, Will mention it to my mechanic,

If it turned out to be that can you remember if it would require a trained technician to fit it or could

a general mechanic be capable of doing the job with no soft wear.

It's only it will be so much easier for my regular mechanic as he will come to me and save me transporting it anywhere.

Not a problem as Emblem have worked on the car before just a lot less flaffing about.

Thanks again.

[rat rod]

interstellar said:

Is that Emblem in Poole, you local?

Yes well sort of, Cadnam,

There is a high performance speciialist in my town called Regal Auto Sport, they race a 911 and heavily into tuning Vauxhalls,

My son has taken his Golf Turbo and R33 Skyline to them but that was about 2 years ago,

There was a Hurricane there having some work and they told me that they plan on being a service centre for them.

Will give them a call in the morning, Forgot all about them, Thanks for jogging my memory.

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Sorry for the slow reply! It’s a Hall Effect sensor, mounted on the outside of the gearbox bell-housing, secured with just one screw, that counts the teeth on the flywheel as it rotates. When it fails, the starter will spin the engine but as the ECU doesn’t know the crank position, it knows neither when to inject fuel, nor when to ignite it. So it does neither.

Five minute job and no specialist equipment required (if that’s what it turns out to be).

Edited by 4321go on Friday 26th March 21:18

Thank you very much 4321go, My mate who coming on Monday and we will investigate it ,trouble is we got no ramp where

it's stored,may be able to jack it up but always a dodgy thing to do on these type of cars,

without a diagnostic how would you tell if it is that or would it still need to go to a specialist.

Also would you know if it can be fitted without taking the under panel off.

Sorry for so many questions but just trying to work out if we can do the job where the car is.

Thanks for your trouble ,

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Sorry, but I can’t answer any of that. My Eleven, Mk1 focus and even some tasks on the aeroplane, I can spanner myself. The Gallardo I leave to others. Too complex and, as you alluded to, too heavy.

Good luck!

Think i'm going to stick to my classic stuff in future ,tractor mechanics ,a spanner in one pocket and a screwdriver in the other

you should be able to fix it. well at least to get you home,

I'll post my progress, good or bad.Thanks for the help.

[rat rod]

70proof said:

The fuses going is still of concern to me

Get a obd Bluetooth dongle off eBay and read the fault codes

I always thought only a Lamborghini diagnostic would work, I don't have bluetooth would that make any difference.

That would be great if that works ,at least i will have some idea of the problem, might but unlikely be able to fix it my end ,

Thank you.

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Any OBD2 reader will give you a basic decode. You can buy them for about £20, either online or over the counter from most motor factors. The socket is above the drivers left shin, behind the dash, just to the left of the steering column.

The Gen 1 Gallardo is a pretty basic car, electronics-wise, and not an awful lot is actually monitored. For example, I’ve an intermittently dodgy lambda sensor. When it’s being bolshie I get a check engine light. Plugging into the OBD socket, my generic reader tells me that there is an over-voltage detected in an oxygen sensor on bank 1-5. But for a full diagnostic reading, you need a laptop with the correct software, plugged into a socket in the passenger footwell. That’s a specialist thing! Only with the Lambo laptop plugged in can I discover that it’s the post-cat sensor (there’s a pre-cat sensor too).

If there isn’t a fault light on the dash, then an OBD2 reader won’t be of much help. (From memory, when my crank position sensor failed, I don’t think that it illuminated any warning lights. The engine would crank quite happily; it just wouldn’t start!)

I too wonder why so many fuses have blown. A single blown fuse is uncommon. Multiple? Did you discover them before or after you started swapping batteries?

I discovered the blown fuses before swapping the batteries after firstly using a jump pack and then with brand new jump leads from the new

battery and finally jumped it off a another car.I have checked them again since fitting the new battery and they haven't blow

I took the car to a local car electrician some 4 years ago on a air bag light problem who specializes in Audi's and high performance

chips and he tried his R8 diagnostic and it let him in but blocked it when he got so far.

So what your saying is without the Lamborghini software i won't get a accurate reading.

Problem that i have being a old dinosaur i don't get it and this is all new to me, you can hardly call a 17 year old Gallardo state of the art but

i'm more use to older

cars whether they be super cars or bangers, Never had this problem with the Jalpa or Countach , if its got spark and petrol it

will go and if it doesn't it is a easy fix. well easier , In fact the guy who looks after them refuses to work on the Gallardo and won't even

work on Aventador's , Really appreciate everybody's help in this matter,

Thanks guys.

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 28th March 19:56

[rat rod]

4321go said:

Any update on this?

Lost interest in it, had a very good friend and mechanic coming to see what he could find but lost his dog the day before he was coming

and don't like to pester him until he's ready as having no kids the dog was his life ,

Now got so many what it could be's i'm confused, would be easier if it needed a clutch and you just get on with it,

Could cost a fortune with trial and error method and can't work on it where it is, no ramp and to low to take anything off underneath.

Now's Easter is over i will have words with Emblem and the transport man ,

It's blocking my other cars in so good in a way, the money i've saved on petrol by not using them may pay the bill.

Edited by rat rod on Sunday 11th April 12:43

[rat rod]

70proof said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELM327-V2-1-OBD-2-Car-A...

Get this bought

Install incardoc app on your phone and read some codes

Really, looks to cheap to work but will give it a go, only got one of those Nokia old fashion phones

with no internet or camera just a hello and goodbye buttons, but my son

has one of those smart phones so he should be able to work it.

Thanks for the tip,