car won't start???

Savman

Hey
got some good info here before so thought I'd put this to the motor heads amongst ye:D

96 Mondeo Diesel, won't start and not even cranking, was having loadsa trouble on the cold starts had to push start it in 2nd until recently when cranking it just went dead. Battery is only 6 months old but charged it anyway and all the electrics are working fine so I got the AA out to tow it to mechanic but AA fella said "Ignition switch was gone" so unless mechanic had one I'd be wasting my time.


So after a trip to Ford parts, today I replaced the ignition switch and low and behold still nothing. I know the glow plugs are knackered but I cant even get it moving to the mechanic to get them done, still I would've thought it'd be cranking over and struggling to start.

In the few days before it went there was the appearance of bubbles in the coolant, but engine never overheated and its not losing any coolant but it is slightly over the "max" mark.

Any help would be appreciated, as I said when i turn the ignition all the lights come on as normal it just doesnt start cranking so it's limp at the mo

anyone

mondeoman

Id say your cold starting problems are glow plug related.
have you got the right battery for your car (diesel)?
has any bit of the fuel system been touched ie fuel filter etc??
if so has the system been bleed of ALL air?.
non cranking could be a fooked starter moter.
hope you get it sorted

ibanez

Glow plug relay.

AMurphy

Savman wrote:

Hey
got some good info here before so thought I'd put this to the motor heads amongst ye:D

96 Mondeo Diesel, won't start and not even cranking, was having loadsa trouble on the cold starts had to push start it in 2nd until recently when cranking it just went dead. Battery is only 6 months old but charged it anyway and all the electrics are working fine so I got the AA out to tow it to mechanic but AA fella said "Ignition switch was gone" so unless mechanic had one I'd be wasting my time.

.....

won't start and not even cranking,

WEll if it not cranking, dead glow plugs and bubbles in teh coolant are not the cause.

You have to go back further in the chain and start there...

Teh battery is old, etc. it is possible for a battery to have enough juice to light lamps, etc and not turn the engine. So lets do a few preliminary items first.
take your battery and cable terminals and clean, scrub then with a wire brush ( you can get circular ones if necessary), or those thin-hard green pot scrubbers you get in hardware stores will work. Now you got both of those nice and shiny, re-connect your batt and check the clamp is tight on the post, I did not mean the nut is tight and the clamp completely closed in, that usually signified the post is too small and will usually be loose with a very tight nut. I'll let you to figure how to get that part completed.

On cars with long starter primary cables, these cables can often collect moisture internally at "U" loops in teh wire, this corrodes the wire completely and will not support starter currents.
With a test lamp or DVM, wheck you have 12VDC or power at the starter end of the main cable from the battery. If not, new cable required, before you go any further.
If you have power there,

Try see if it starts. if not, does the starter motor even click when you turn the key, if yes good, (go to "2 below"), if not, you have a bad primary from the ignition key to the solenoid of the starter or a bad solenoid in the motor.

Do you have any sort of a 12V test lamp. or could you make or buy one.
Remove the ignition primery from the starter solenoid, and connect the test lamp.
Have someone else turn the gey to start, if you have a lighted lamp, you have a faulty motor solenoid; change/rebuild starter.
Meanwhile here is somethign else you might try. Replace the primary to the solenoid connection and while someone else is holding the key turned. Then tap the starter motor, not the connections, with a light hammer or iron bar. Thsi often jiggles the sticky parts loose. Definite sign the starter motor is the problem also.
If the lamp does not light or no voltage, you have a problem in teh circuit between the key and the solenoid. Depending on the car, this could be a simple relay in the relay panel, check if you have a second starter relay in teh relay panel, replace or jumper this relay.

(2 below);
If the Key clicks but it still does not turn, you have 2 possibilities, your battery is bad and cannot generate the current/voltage required to turn it, about 100amps. (1~1.2KW). Hook up jumper cables from another car which you leave on a fast idle for 10 minutes and then retry.
If it now starts, bad battery.
If it fails to turn and start, you have a bad starter, usually the brushes or the high current contacts within the solenoid.

good luck, it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

Savman

AMurphy wrote:

won't start and not even cranking,

WEll if it not cranking, dead glow plugs and bubbles in teh coolant are not the cause.

You have to go back further in the chain and start there...

Teh battery is old, etc. it is possible for a battery to have enough juice to light lamps, etc and not turn the engine. So lets do a few preliminary items first.
take your battery and cable terminals and clean, scrub then with a wire brush ( you can get circular ones if necessary), or those thin-hard green pot scrubbers you get in hardware stores will work. Now you got both of those nice and shiny, re-connect your batt and check the clamp is tight on the post, I did not mean the nut is tight and the clamp completely closed in, that usually signified the post is too small and will usually be loose with a very tight nut. I'll let you to figure how to get that part completed.

On cars with long starter primary cables, these cables can often collect moisture internally at "U" loops in teh wire, this corrodes the wire completely and will not support starter currents.
With a test lamp or DVM, wheck you have 12VDC or power at the starter end of the main cable from the battery. If not, new cable required, before you go any further.
If you have power there,

Try see if it starts. if not, does the starter motor even click when you turn the key, if yes good, (go to "2 below"), if not, you have a bad primary from the ignition key to the solenoid of the starter or a bad solenoid in the motor.

Do you have any sort of a 12V test lamp. or could you make or buy one.
Remove the ignition primery from the starter solenoid, and connect the test lamp.
Have someone else turn the gey to start, if you have a lighted lamp, you have a faulty motor solenoid; change/rebuild starter.
Meanwhile here is somethign else you might try. Replace the primary to the solenoid connection and while someone else is holding the key turned. Then tap the starter motor, not the connections, with a light hammer or iron bar. Thsi often jiggles the sticky parts loose. Definite sign the starter motor is the problem also.
If the lamp does not light or no voltage, you have a problem in teh circuit between the key and the solenoid. Depending on the car, this could be a simple relay in the relay panel, check if you have a second starter relay in teh relay panel, replace or jumper this relay.

(2 below);
If the Key clicks but it still does not turn, you have 2 possibilities, your battery is bad and cannot generate the current/voltage required to turn it, about 100amps. (1~1.2KW). Hook up jumper cables from another car which you leave on a fast idle for 10 minutes and then retry.
If it now starts, bad battery.
If it fails to turn and start, you have a bad starter, usually the brushes or the high current contacts within the solenoid.

good luck, it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

Jesus :eek:
many thanks

david powell

Hi,

Some usefull checks in the post above....

It sounds like the engine has been hard to start for a while, as the glow plugs were on their way out?? If this is the case, it is possible that you have burnt out your starter motor while trying to continualy crank it... the start motor is designed to turn over a healty engine, but if the engine is taking a long time to start this can kill the starter motor very quickly, as it will be over heating.

Hope this helps...

Savman

Understood but new starter motor was fitted only very recently. I have to be careful re the above in case i feck something up I'm not a fan of fiddling around under the bonnet

AMurphy

New or OEM Rebuild or Aftermarket re-built?. (Aftermarket re-builds are not known for their above average quality, not about here anyway.)

DP has a point, but if you had bad glow plugs... surely the garage at which you changed the starter would have detected this?.
Constant cranking won't do your batt any good either. And cranking such an engine with a low voltage batt, will generate more heat than torque... so make it more likely to damage the insulation inside the motor.