Car won't start, any ideas?

Piriz

Hi,
I drive a rover 200, it has been having difficulty starting occasionally for the past few weeks. It usually gets going eventually on the second attempt, and i rev the accelerator a bit while the key is turned..
My plan was to get it looked at when i return to Dublin next weekend, im in Limerick at the moment and don't know any mechanic's here..
Today it stopped working for me..
The radio comes on when the key is turned but the engine wont start..
it is not low on fuel or oil, the spark plugs, timing belt and leads were replaced in the summer and it has just over 50k miles on the clock...its a 99 so no spring chicken either but its in good nick...thats about all the info i can think of..

What should i do?

Thanks

Tallon

Sounds like the battery is gone

That and the fact it's a rover :pac:

Piriz

I knew someone was gona have a dig at my Rover....you leave Roy out of this!
Battery eh? even if the radio is still working the battery is gone?
can i jump lead the battery to life again?
how much is a new car battery supplied and fitted?

Tallon

Completely missed that part about the radio.

Might be the alternator not charging the battery correctly. Try a jump and that will tell you

kildare.17hmr

Starter, its that time of year again

Piriz

Completely missed that part about the radio.

Might be the alternator not charging the battery correctly. Try a jump and that will tell you

Ok so im a bit of a dumb ass when it comes to cars... whats the alternator? if i try jump leads and it doesn't work does that mean its the alternator? or you talking about trying a jump start in second gear with a push? how much would an alternator cost me?

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Starter, its that time of year again

is the starter different to the alternator? what is the starter what should i do about it? and how much would it cost me?

cheers lads!

Piriz

Tallon wrote: »

Completely missed that part about the radio.

Might be the alternator not charging the battery correctly. Try a jump and that will tell you

?
see above

Tallon

Alternator charges the battery, so if the car jumps, it usually means the starters ok and the battery has just become low due to not being charged

kildare.17hmr

The starting motor is what starts the car when you turn the key. Im guessin thats the problem as you say it has been getting worse over the last few weeks. you will need to have it taken out and refurbished by an auto electrician or replaced. Off to your mechanic with ya

bbam

To be honest it could be a number of things, least likely the laternator...

Battery, could be duff, first frosts each year claim the weak batteries, it could be way down on power, run the radio and still not be fit to start the car... Will it run anything stronger than the radio, wipers for example or turn on the lights and see if they are strong.. If the wipers are real slow or the lights dim them the battery is a possibility...

If the wipers and lights seem fine and the engine doesn't turn over then the starter could be the fault... However being a rover there are a plethera of other stuff that goes wrong to prevent them starting...

Don't go out and buy a battery without getting it checked first as it may just be money wasted..

Rovers are a nice car in principal... the reality of owning one is quite different :rolleyes:

SV

Are you missing an engine?
That's my best guess.

Piriz

lads lads, leave it out on my f*ckin Rover, Roy cost me 700euro and he's a f*ckin babe magnet! i bet he just needs a gentle slap and he'll be king of the roads again!
Jealously 'il get ye know where!

Thanks for all the replies...

Any one recommend a good honest mechanic in Limerick city?

Is it a mechanic or an auto electrician i need?

Topdeck

I there is still a bit of power in the battery try starting it with a push.

Tallon

Piriz wrote: »

Is it a mechanic or an auto electrician i need?

A car dealer :pac:

Piriz

if i can get the car started with a push will that solve anything?

if i do get it going should i leave the engine running for a half hour?

will i have the same problems the following day or week?

how much would it cost for a new battery? or starter? or alternator?

Tallon

If you push it and it starts, it will solve the problem of your car not starting that one time.

Next time it will just happen again.

If it's the alternator it will need to be fixed or replaced by a mechanic, either way, it looks like it's off to the garage for Roy

A battery is about €70-80 but you don't know thats what the problem is

bbam

Tallon wrote: »

A car dealer :pac:

Abandoned Quarry might work..:P
And if that's a babemagnet.... it must'nt take much to impress the ladies round your way..

Seriously though at that value make sure you get a quote before any work is done...

tweedledee

if its the alternator,which it sounds like it is,dump Roy in a river as the alternator would cost more than the car,sorry :P

Tallon

tweedledee wrote: »

if its the alternator,which it sounds like it is,dump Roy in a river as the alternator would cost more than the car,sorry :P

€50 > €700

You sure your maths is right?

tweedledee

Tallon if you can get a good quality,if possible new alternator and get it fitted for 50 yoyo's then thats fantastic,I'm very happy for you,honestly but...................................

Tallon

But what?

Why does he need a new one?

Topdeck

After you push started the car and its running .take the positive wire off the battery.if the engine stays running your alternator is ok ,if the engine dies its fecked.

Piriz

is there any point in calling my insurance company breakdown assistance ??

peasant

Before any talk of alternators or scrapheaps you need to be sure that your battery is fit and healthy (it most likely isn't)

An old, washed out battery will do its job fine during summer while it's warm but once it's cold outside it just collapses.
But batteries don't go completely dead from one day to another. Your old battery will probably play the radio for weeks to come, it just can't muster enough ooomph anymore to turn the starter (which takes a considerable current)

If your car starts fine on jumpleads, it is 95% your battery that's at fault.

If you alternator wasn't charging the battery anymore, it would be so low on charge that even a jumpstart most likely would not get you going ...at least not without a struggle.

Owen

+1 on what peasant said. All this alternator discussion in premature, most likely the battery just died due to the cold, and it's own age.

corktina

i was under the impression that push starting a car will damage the Cat....

Gary ITR

corktina wrote: »

i was under the impression that push starting a car will damage the Cat....

A whole load of push starting will eventually damage your cat

corktina

thats what I would have thought...a one off push in an emergency cant do much harm would be my guess

Gary ITR

corktina wrote: »

thats what I would have thought...a one off push in an emergency cant do much harm would be my guess

From my limited understanding of it, push starting allows unburnt fuel run down into the cat which eventually destroys it. I could be very very wrong but this being boards I'm sure somebody will correct me very quickly

argosy2006

is engine turning over when u try to start it?

Piriz

argosy2006 wrote: »

is engine turning over when u try to start it?

Hi argosy,
what do you mean exactly? the engine makes that initial err err err noise but never reaches the veroom veroom, it just keeps going err err err and thats it..
the engine never gets going i cant rev the car...
i apologise for my lack knowledge of car terminology and my resorting to err err veroom veroom

zenno

your radio will still work if you're battery is almost dead so i recon a new battery. €55 for a new battery. i will give you some advice though on the rover. with this cold weather in now i would recommend you make sure every few days that your coolant is topped up to max because those rovers have a delicate problem with the headgasket going on them so never let your coolant go low ever. and obviously never use water. just a heads up. yeh i'd say it's the battery. if you connect jumpleads to it and it starts right away then you need a new battery simple as that.

ecenur

I had a similar problem, contacted an electrician who is a family friend got them to check out the electrical problems see what's wrong with it. We couldn't find out the problem so I had to take the car over to my dealership to get it tested. Apparently my problem was with my battery, so I just got it replaced with a new one.

Piriz

Ok, so i called breakdown assistance, guy came and connected the battery to jump leads, still didnt start, car got towed to the garage who got the car started..guy in the garage thinks it could be a compression problem and is going to test it..
disaster!

Akrasia

if a car isn't starting it could be a problem with the fuel, the battery, the ignition, or the compression.

That's basically everything you need to start a car

If the compression is out on one or more cylinder, it could be that your head gasket is gone, or hopefully, just one of the valves.

If there isn't enough fuel getting through then the engine won't start, could be a failed fuel pump or damaged injectors

If the battery isn't charging it could be a bad altenator, bad battery leads or connectors, or a shot battery

If the ignition is the problem it could be bad spark plugs, bad distributor (worn cap or leads letting water in) it could be the distributor itself, the ignition coil....)

congo_90

doesn't sound like battery. perhaps fuel pump or immobiliser?

jimmyw

Tallon wrote: »

But what?

Why does he need a new one?

My thoughts exactly

Topdeck wrote: »

After you push started the car and its running .take the positive wire off the battery.if the engine stays running your alternator is ok ,if the engine dies its fecked.

Thats a complete no no,it is a sure way to f**k it up if its not broke, not recommended.

Piriz

thanks for all the replies everyone...
i dont like the way the mechanic suspects its an engine compression problem..i guess he knows best...i just dont like hearing the worst being suspected i guess..
the car has been a bit jumpy tho the past while...like chugging a bit in second and third gear at times...i dont know what this could mean tho...
Hopefully i find out tomoro..

How much should it cost to fix if there is an engine compression problem...i know people will say scrap the car but i would consider getting it fixed instead of buying another banger only for the same problem to happen in six months...