Topic

Took the car, 2002 TF 135, Lucas fob, off the road over the winter and did the timing belt & water pump. I didn't disconnect the battery and it ran flat but have it fully recharged again. Engine is all back together again, turned the engine over a few times on the crank, timing seems good and everything lines up as it should. However...

... the car won't start. The starter solenoid is clicking and engaging with the ring gear as far as I can tell. Tested it yesterday off the car & it's working ok. Am I right in thinking that the fob & SCU are not connecting now? That the immobiliser is preventing it from starting?

If so, how do I get round it?

Is the starter spinning the engine?

The normal opperation of the immoboliser is to allow the engine to turn over but it doesn't fire, or if it does it only runs for a few seconds.

No, not spinning it at all. Starter solenoid clunks but that's it. Had the starter out yesterday & tested it, working fine of the car.

On further investigation, I think the battery may be a bit weak. It's sitting on the charger overnight, give it another try tomorrow.

Clean up and tighten the starter connections...

Discovered what the problem was...

Put the battery on charge overnight, refitted today, synced up the key with the ECU, still no luck. Got my wife out to try the ignition while I got the multimeter on the terminals. While my arm was in the bowels of the bay, I realized I'd dislodged this previously unseen cable. Which happens to be the feed for the motor

Solenoid was connected up ok, but it had nothing to work on previously. All good now!!!

Can't wait to get back out in it tomorrow and double check everything is good again