can anyone help? (MC, CP??)

[TUBZGSXR]

ok, i had a question earlier in the week about starting my car, as its bin off the road for a while and the battery was flat, i bought a charger and charged it, and it was fine, have had to do it a couple of times in the past 2 months, do to me bein away, or just plain forgettin to start it in the morning!! anyways i charger it again the other day and it jsut doesnt want to start! when i turn the key ( as i said b4 in the last post) it jsut makes a 'ping' noise and the centre twisty nob thing on the front consol that controls the indoor heaters dims, the lights, central lockin etc... seem fine, and im possitive that the engines good, as it hasnt realy bin used that much, only 50,000 miles , full service history etc... so faced with this problem i borrowed sum jump leads and tryed that one, but it just did the same thing..... 'ping'!!! can anyone help ? as im realy stuck and want to start it again as il probly have enogh money to start work on it again.. any suggestions or info is much appreciated.....thanx
tubs :)

[jon_boy]

starter motor broken? ie nuff power to turn it but theres a broken bit in the starter motor that isnt starting the engine? random guess.

[jim sri]

have you tried makin sure the ht/lt leads goin to the distributor/coil/spark plugsetc have no damp in em and then make sure theyre pushed on real tight.

[TUBZGSXR]

yea it could be that i spose, il have a look at the sparks, it has bin a bit damp, realy realy realy hope it isnt the starter motor!!! :(

[pete22]

definetly sounds like the starter motor i had this problem b 4 , check the leads are ok

[Aragorn]

ok turn the key and look at the dash lights or headlights

do they dim after the ping?

the ping could be the solenoid for the starter motor

try getting a big hammer and whacking the motor casing then trying to start it

if it still pings then hit the motor with the key still in the "start" position

if either of the whacks work then the motor is prolly on its way out

if nothing happens its either already nackered or the soleniod is fecked

[TUBZGSXR]

the only thing that dims is that centre heat control nob for the in car heaters, all the remaining lights dont dim at all, not even slightly......... Aaaahhhhh wots goin on!!! :(

[Aragorn]

so the headlights dont dim

prolly means the soleniod is shot - i dunno if u can check the output of the solenoid ir if its integrated into the starter

try connecting a voltmeter across the input then the output of the solenoid while turning the key

if both are 12v on turning the key then im asusming the motor is shot
if only the input is live the the solenoid is shot, but as i said the solenoid outputs mite be integrated inside the body so u may not be able to check that

what i would expect to find is 3 wires to the solenoid, a fat red on from the battery, a fat red on to the starter motor itself and a smaller one from the ignition, on turning the key they should all be registering 12v

[Ste_Nova]

the only thing that dims is that centre heat control nob for the in car heaters

the heater fan and engine fan are cut when position 3 is engaged, this includes the heated screen light

[matt gordon]

I had a similar problem on my old car, turned out to be the dizzy cap had a hole in the bottom so damp was gettin into it, take the dizzy cap off n dry it out, best way to dry it is over a cooker, once it is dry put it back on n it should fire up. If it works, check to see if there are any holes in the cap either around the edges or anywher else, if there is, seal em up otherwise it will arch out n u will need a new dizzy unit. Hope this helps you. :P

[Aragorn]

i dont wanna appear totally dense here - i may have missed summat

but why would the dizzy stop the entire engine turning over?

[CP]

I would say that the solenoid is having a problem firing the starter motor up- its a bit difficult to say without looking. I would try getting it tow started for a start (4thgear clutch pressed down, ignition on, drop the clutch at about 10mph) and see if you can get it running like that 1st. Assuming it goes I would then warm it right up and then stop it and try the starter again. It may go and be OK but its likley to be on its last legs so get it replaced.
Other things to look at. Check that the earth strap from the body to the end of the gearbox is OK and that the earth strap across the alternator adjuster bracket is OK (tighen them up). Check connections to the starter and on the battery. A poor earth = poor starter ask Breeny

[matt gordon]

The dizzy sends a spark through the ht leads into the spark plugs so if the dizzy is damp, it will not create a spark which in turn will not start the engine.