Non-starting

[AcemanToo]

Hi Max,
   The battery is very good with plenty of power reserve. The fact that the engine cranks over at a good speed suggests that the engine is suitably earthed as well. The auto-electrician proved to be fairly basic in his knowledge, so no success there! I'm hoping to arrange a visit from a mobile specialist for Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week so fingers crossed! I'm going to get him to check the steering column ignition lock to see if that is breaking down in any way; I'll also get him to isolate the alarm immobiliser just in case there's a fault with that.

[Max Allan]

Hi Patrick,
   
   It certainly sounds like the kind of weird problem a faulty immobiliser could cause, so would urge you get the auto electrician to disconnect the alarm before ripping the car apart. If I were a gambling man I'd put a £10 on it being that. But I'm not, so I'll settle for a sportsman's bet!!!
   
   In a previous post you said if the engine does start it runs fine. Is that still the case or is it completely dead now?
   
   Good luck. Max

[AcemanToo]

Engine dead I'm afraid! That's the weird thing about it all - if it does fire up, the car goes like a train! Trouble is, it hasn't shown inclination of starting since the final great run about a fortnight ago!
   Watch this space though!

[Max Allan]

We will - with interest!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AcemanToo]

Well, all solved! A brilliant mobile auto-electrician called Mark Eaton came to see the car and did the usual checks - he found that the coil was getting 5 volts from the live feed and so went looking for a wiring problem. The answer was some loose wires on the under surface of the under bonnet fuse box. Push them home properly and BINGO! starting problem solved! The car now starts first time, every time! The previous two electricians picked on the coil and the ECM as the culprits, but mistakenly so. As aresult I now have two new coils spare, plus a new ECM and the engine management EEC as well! Oh, and a distibutor cap, rotor arm and a set of plug leads! Logic and common sense fly out of the window when you're clutching at straws.......
   Many thanks though to all of you who made suggestions as to the solution. None of us thought of the real answer!

[Max Allan]

Relief the problem's been solved, but annoying you now have money tied up in unwanted parts.
   
   Guess it's sometimes cheaper to call in the experts from the outset (provided a genuine expert can be found) rather than go the DIY route - a lesson I for one have never learnt!!

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by Max Allan: Guess it's sometimes cheaper to call in the experts from the outset rather than go the DIY route - a lesson I for one have never learnt!!

   Yeah, but then you never know how much you would have saved, you just think how much you spent on an expert!
   
   Congrats on finding the right man for the job, and that the job is now done! [:D]

[paho]

Hi,
just experienced a similar problem with my Ace. Car cranked o.k. but wouldn't fire. Checked everything listed in this post without success. Had lunch, coffee and then went out
for another look, noticed a red button by the battery (Inertia switch), pressed the red button, turned the ignition and heard the fuel pump, cranked the engine and it fired on the second try!

My guess is the inertia switch tripped when I dropped the rear of the car after jacking it up.
/Paho

[AcemanToo]

Mine turned our to be a faulty ignition switch on the steering column! Replace it with a Ford Transit one and it's been fine ever since!