K-series not starting

[Tin Man]

I have just come back from a trip today. I went to put the car in the garage & the engine would not start. The 7 is a 1.8 K s/s 18 months old. Normally when I turn the key in the ignition you can hear what I assume is the fuel pump setting before I start It. I cannot hear the noise now when the key is turned & when I try to start It the solenoid just clicks.

 

Any ideas anyone

 

Thank you

[CHRIS CLARK]

Hate to state the obvious here, but is the battery charged/ in a good state ? A dead stop click from the starter solonoid is very indicative of low volts !!!!!!!

 

Having re read your statement, I think you may have a loose earth or live from the batt. Worth a check anyway!

 

Edited by - chris clark on 16 Apr 2001 20:02:07

[Tin Man]

Chris,

I did 730 miles last week with the seven & about 60 miles today, It started first time. I have tried the electrics, lights etc & they all work fine.

 

Thank`s for your help.

[Jason Plato]

If all your electrics are working - lights etc , but the starter is not turning on occasions . It sounds like the common starter solenoid fault ? .

 

dave

[Jon Raine]

Try checking the ECU fuse.

[Dartmoor7]

Tony Isherwood had this problem:

 

Thanks to all those that have offered advice on my occassional non starting

problem.

Further investigation has turned up the following:

 

Cause : No fuel ( obviously rectified itself when I took off the fuel line,

cos I was convinced that I had fuel)

 

Reason :

bad connector under the ECU which connects the safety rollover switch

(inertia switch ?) into the wiring loom. Plug and play a few times and bit

of a scrape, things seem back to normal.

 

 

[Johnty Lyons]

Sounds like an ECU fault Try resetting it [:-)]or possibly an immobliser problem we had a few of these on Scandi.

 

jj

[Johnty Lyons]

Sounds like an ECU fault Try resetting it [:-)]or possibly an immobliser problem we had a few of these on Scandi.

[Nick Green]

TM,

 

I would tend towards Dave J's thoughts, especially as these are exactly the same symptoms as happened to mine. On 2 motors. Be aware if attempting multiple turns of the ignition key, that the 20A ECU fuse eventually blows. The clicking solenoid means the ECU fuse is still intact.

 

What starter motor do you have ? I am guessing from the age, which is the same as mine-ish, that it is the Magneton jobby with the solenoid on the bottom. If so I'd like to hear how you get on with getting a new one out of Caterham, as they never did get back to me, despite several calls.

 

Hate to sound pessimistic, but if it is working ok now, don't be surprised if it fails again in the future.

 

I have now gone for a solenoid on top one from Halfords: HSM 407. I've araldite-reinforced the actuator terminal too, which fixes the problem which occurs on this type of starter.

 

Nick.

[Tin Man]

Spot on Jon. New 20amp ECU fuse did the trick. thumbsup.gif

 

Thank`s everyone for the help.

 

 

[Tin Man]

Spot on Jon. New 20amp ECU fuse did the trick. thumbsup.gif

 

Thank`s everyone for the help.