Starting gremlin engine

[vindiboy]

My van has a starting Gremlin occassionaly , Fiat 2.8 JTD 2003 When I turn the key all the ignition lights come on , further turning of the key to fire the engine some times results in nothing happening, ignition lights do not dim and the the starter motor does not turn, leave it for a while and all is OK and engine will start.I was told to try putting a wire to the small connection on the solenoid and putting a live charge to it quickly, this resulted to a clunk on the solenoid and hey presto all was well the starter motor fired as usual, so it appears to be the solenoid or live feed to it from ignition switch ??? So how do I effect a permanent cure, as I say it does not happen often but it is a bit worrying when stopping the engine at fuel pumps or aboard a ferry with lots of vans etc .behind me.

 

[Deleted member 775]

sounds very much like a new solonoid/starter will cure your prob unless you can strip and repair the solonoid /starter

 

[David & Ann]

In the old days I used to whack the starter with a hammer and hey Presto it fired up. Normally it would be the return spring that would jam up, hence the Whack.

 

[AndyC]

Could be any number of things from a dodgy ignition switch, immobiliser, poor connection in the wiring or fuse, to a faulty starter motor.

The problem will be finding the cause as, unless you can see anything obvious with a visual inspection or the immobiliser is showing a fault, you'll have to get someone to go round with a test meter when the fault is actually occurring.

AndyC

 

[vindiboy]

Thanks Andy, that's the problem with intermittent faults isn't it, they tend to correct themselves before one can get a test done,I called the RAC out once sometime ago and when the patrol arrived I turned the key and the van started, the patrol man just shrugged and said Oh well.