car wont start

[Matt 16v]

my car took 3 attempts to start this morning and almost cut out going up a hill, then i come to it tonight and it wont start at all??

the starter motor turns, and its trying to start

the fuses are all ok

tried both keys

tried jump starting it from another car too, so i dont think its the battery

not sure what else to look at, its about a mile and a half away from my house, so if i cant fix it i'll call the recovery service thats included in my insurance to come and have a look, but i'd rather fix it myself...

anyone know what it could be??

 

[MrMark]

fuel pump not working, maybe

 

[cooks189]

immobiliser???, i had the same problem,but tried a different key and it worked,but obviosuly yours doesnt

 

[BrianR]

Matt, have you checked all the obvious things, like fuel in the tank, is the pump running, does the immobiliser turn off etc.

You say you've checked the fuses, did you check the ones under the bonnet?

 

[nath17t]

you could have bloked injectors or lazy fuel pump or the speed sensor on the flywheel could be durty had that before

 

[Matt 16v]

yeah, checked the engine bay fuses, there ok,

how can i tell if my fuel pump isnt working?

the light goes out when the imobiliser is off doesnt it?

theres quite a loud buzzing noise when i open the bonnet with the ignition to position 2, not sure if thats got anything to do with it

 

[nath17t]

thats probs just your cold start

 

[MrMark]

when you turn the key to power on (not ignition) you should hear the pump priming. a sort of "deep-smooth" noise, is best i can describe it.

 

[BrianR]

You should be able to hear the pump running if you put your ear to the boot floor.

 

[Matt 16v]

right, i cant actually remember if i heard that..the fuel level was very low when i refueled yesterday, i wonder if its a block in the line or the injectors, would that explain the problems sudden occurance??

 

[BrianR]

Mmmm its possible, but the fuel pick up on most cars, doesn't sit at the very bottom of the tank to prevent this from happening. It would have to be an awful lot of muck to get into the lift.

 

[Matt 16v]

if it was the pump are they hard to fit? and how much do they cost?

is there any chance that shell are selling silicone infected optimax lol

 

[BrianR]

I would doubt that very much, given the outcry a few weeks ago.
However its not unheard of for water to find its way into tanks.

 

[Matt 16v]

just got my car seen to by a recovery guy and he dropped it back at my house, he says it could be the crank sensor...could this be right? where are they on the 172's just wanna give it a clean to see if it makes any difference, also how much do they cost?

 

[Matt 16v]

didnt make any difference :dapprove:

 

[Matt 16v]

just had to charge the battery too, so everything has had chance to reset, and i tried doing that thing when you hold the internal lock button until its beeps, tried the fault code thing with washer stalk and the only thing it told me was that i have 25 litres of petrol in the tank..

I may get a new crank sensor if its not expensive just to rule it out

but other than that dont really know what to do now???

 

[Matt 16v]

coil pack perhaps? anyone

 

[Fred@BTM]

could be loads of different things

remove the rear bench seat behind the drivers seat, you'll be able to hear if the fuel pump is priming much easier

we've had a few with a knackered fuel pump relay, and also a few with dodgy batterys

if you're really stuck i'm sure yoz or myself could pop over next week

 

[Matt 16v]

Thanks Fred, I'll just go and check it

 

[Matt 16v]

couldnt hear anything with the rear bench out, where is the fuel pump relay? whats under black circular cap that with the wire going in? that fuel tank related??

 

[Fred@BTM]

thats the fuel pump sender unit under the black circle

fuel pump relay is in the fuse box inside the engine bay

have you tried using the spare key to start the car?

 

[TomTom]

Yes, thats the top of your fuel tank, pull that cover off and you can check the connection on the pump whilst your at it.

Worth getting it on a diag computer really.

Could be temp sensor - done a few of these on RS's, after about 2 minutes of cranking they eventually start, but run like a 3 legged camel.

Could be a fault TDC sensor for poor start aswell.

 

[Matt 16v]

I have a couple of spare relays, dya know which one the fuel pump is? i can try that now

If this doesnt fix it i'll calling someone out to, Fred or Tom you got a diag laptop???

 

[Fred@BTM]

we've got a OBD2 fault reading tool yes

 

[TomTom]

Not 'as such' Its only the 'easy' version not the proper version of clip

Fred closer anyhow

 

[Matt 16v]

I'll make sure its sparking before i call anyone, fred is your code reader better than those ones on ebay?

 

[TeZ]

i had the same problem the otherday, tried same things keys etc etc got a bran new battery fitted now starts fine thoughrt it was the immobaliser

 

[Matt 16v]

the recovery guy tried a battery he had on it and it didnt work, so i think this isnt the battery, I just used a spark plug lead from my dads car to check and its not sparking, it cant be the imob as the light goes out..so what does that leave, crank sensor and coil pack?? or is there more?

on thurs morning i noticed the power dip as i was goin up hill, and the the car cut out just after starting, when i touched the electric window switch on thurs night