Topic

For months I've had an ongoing problem with my mgf being a bit temperamental when it comes to starting. It's been in and out of the garage and various solutions have been tried, with varying success. I would take it for a quick spin and when I went back to it, it would sometimes decide not to start. After various investigations the garage discovered one of the leads connected to the coil pack was not plugged in properly and we thought they'd solved the problem. Been out in it a couple of times since it came back from the garage and the car has been fine and then today I had to pop into town to go to the bank and when I went back to it, it hesitated to start as if there was not enough power from the battery with the starter motor clicking. The fan in the engine compartment had also kicked in which I thought was suspicious cos the car hadn't had time to even get warm. I'm going to get a new battery to see if that's the issue. The battery is only two years old but I've often had to put it on trickle charge cos the car hasn't been getting much use.

Any suggestions on what else to try would be gratefully received.

When it won't start, is the engine turning over, or is it sometimes just clicking? Have you had the battery and alternator checked for voltage?

Thanks for your reply. There often wasn't enough power to turn the engine, just the clicking coming from the starter motor. The car went into the garage a couple of weeks ago to be serviced and MOT'd and investigate the non starting but apparently it was fine when it was in the garage. Paid the bill, got in the car to come home and it wouldn't start which was rather embarrassing for them. They jumped started it and ordered a new battery. When they came to put the new battery on, the car still wouldn't start, so they took it back down to the garage to investigate which is when they discovered the loose plug on the coil pack. They put the old battery back on the car, as the battery didn't seem to be the problem. I don't know whether they checked the battery and alternator for voltage but I would imagine they would have done when they were investigating.

If the battery is in good condition ie it holds 12,3 volts without losing voltage, then the issue is probably the connections to the starter motor. The connections get crudded up or even becomes loose.
They need taken off cleaned up and re-tightened. Especially the small connector to the solenoid.

I see you are in Cumbria, I'd be happy to have a look at your car. Unfortunately I'm going to be away for the next two weeks.

I'm over at sunny Silloth, although it's drizzly at the moment. I would very much appreciate you having a look at the car. The car has spent more time off the road than being functional recently, so another couple of weeks is not going to make much difference. I've just been out to it to see if it would start and it wouldn't but the fan engine bay fan came on straight away.....very strange?? I think it's got gremlins!

fan coming on points to the ECU thinking the battery is low, for some reason the ECU is programmed to run the fan in this situation, possibly to completely flatten the battery!.

That sounds logical although this is the first time the fan has been on when I've been trying to start the car and the battery has been flat or almost flat a few times.

David Aiketgate wrote: wrote:

If the battery is in good condition ie it holds 12,3 volts without losing voltage, then the issue is probably the connections to the starter motor. The connections get crudded up or even becomes loose.
They need taken off cleaned up and re-tightened. Especially the small connector to the solenoid.

thats exactly what happened to mine!!

The small spade connecter was nakered so I fitted a new one cleaned up the contact area on the starter and cleaned up the contact area of the larger wire ...all sorted and had no further problems with it

Certainly sounds like it's worth a try. Thanks.

The other important thing to check is the earthing strap/cable from the bulkhead to gearbox, the connections get corroded an give a poor earth, not very expensive to buy and fit a new one. believe it or not, this can cause a battery to drain overnight.

The AAT fan can sometimes come on due to a bad dirty connection at the sensor, which operates on an 'open'circuit (unplug the sensor and the fan should start)

David A is your man to sort your problems, he is a ''whiz'' with electrics.

Took the battery back and have been given a one on loan until they ascertain whether there is a fault with the battery or not. Fitted loan one and the car fired up straight away. Quick spin around the block. Parked up and car started again no problem. I'll see how it goes over the next few days. Spoke to the garage earlier today and they say they checked the connections to the starter motor when it was last in and they don't think it'll be the alternator....altho I'm not ruling out any possibility.

I think I've said it before but I'll say it again......The-T-bar.com is brilliant. Lots of friendly people, with loads of advice and all with a common interest. I've spent hours reading through previous posts and the How To A-Z guides are also brilliant.