Nick Mann
18-09-2007, 08:31 PM
Well, I called the RAC for the second time last night in the two and a bit years I have owned the car. The first time was for Loss of Drive (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12148). This time was a failure to start!
The symptoms:
Unlock car with alarm button (Sigma alarm/immob)
Get in!
Turn key to acc, then ign, all is okay - dash lights up, relevant warning lights go out etc...
Turn key to start. At first it looks good - the radio goes off, the backlight for the dsh goes out, but the battery/oil lights stay on. But within a second or two you realise that the engine is not turning. You can't even hear the starter. A further check reveals that the immobiliser LED is doing all the right things to allow the car to start. The barrel is obviously hitting the right contact because of the lights on the dash and immob. So what is the problem?
I decided that the car thought it must be in drive/reverse and so was stopping the starter coming in. But where is the switch? Putting the car in P or in N did not seem to have any effect. I dismantled half the car, and after a phone call to my hero Mo, located the inhibitor switch. I fiddled with the connections in the dark and the rain, but no luck. Mo had said the problem could also be the starter itself, so now that doubt was playing on my mind.
The RAC man turned up before I got any further and agreed with Mo that it was either the inhibitor or the starter motor. The theory goes that if you apply 12v directly to the starter, you quickly discover if the problem is the starter or the inhibitor. As the car started, I now know my problem to be the inhibitor.
So, after looking on here and finding a couple of interesting threads here (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13354) and more significantly here (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12259), I am hoping it is a dodgy connector. After all, following my first RAC experience, I know who plugged that cable in!! But really I would like to know if anyone has ever had a look at the switch in all its gory detail? Is it easy to change or difficult? Is it serviceable or not? I will be able to answer some of these questions over the coming weekend, but a bit of preparation would be useful!
Wish me luck......
The symptoms:
Unlock car with alarm button (Sigma alarm/immob)
Get in!
Turn key to acc, then ign, all is okay - dash lights up, relevant warning lights go out etc...
Turn key to start. At first it looks good - the radio goes off, the backlight for the dsh goes out, but the battery/oil lights stay on. But within a second or two you realise that the engine is not turning. You can't even hear the starter. A further check reveals that the immobiliser LED is doing all the right things to allow the car to start. The barrel is obviously hitting the right contact because of the lights on the dash and immob. So what is the problem?
I decided that the car thought it must be in drive/reverse and so was stopping the starter coming in. But where is the switch? Putting the car in P or in N did not seem to have any effect. I dismantled half the car, and after a phone call to my hero Mo, located the inhibitor switch. I fiddled with the connections in the dark and the rain, but no luck. Mo had said the problem could also be the starter itself, so now that doubt was playing on my mind.
The RAC man turned up before I got any further and agreed with Mo that it was either the inhibitor or the starter motor. The theory goes that if you apply 12v directly to the starter, you quickly discover if the problem is the starter or the inhibitor. As the car started, I now know my problem to be the inhibitor.
So, after looking on here and finding a couple of interesting threads here (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13354) and more significantly here (http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12259), I am hoping it is a dodgy connector. After all, following my first RAC experience, I know who plugged that cable in!! But really I would like to know if anyone has ever had a look at the switch in all its gory detail? Is it easy to change or difficult? Is it serviceable or not? I will be able to answer some of these questions over the coming weekend, but a bit of preparation would be useful!
Wish me luck......