c15 roma 'starting problems??

[stephenbellini]

Hi all i thought id share this one with you, as an x mechanic it had me and work mates baffled for days. I hope none of you come accross this BUT? if one day you find your roma wont start giving all the symptoms of a flat battery and yet all the electrics work dont give up in dispair or feel the need to wait for hours for a recovery company to come out.
Breifly?
1, turn the key and everything works appart from the satrter motor.
2, the problem is infricuent and there is no pattern to this problem accuring
3, all the electric systoms check out ok, ie battery ,altinator
this leaves you will a bewildering "what 4".
4? The cure;

LEAVE THE IGNITION ON BUT BE SURE TO BE IN NUTURAL

un plug the low voltage (12v) cable on the starter solinoid, take a jump lead (either) from the possitive terminal on the battery and tap the other end on the 12v contack on the solinoid (small cylinder attached to the starter moror). This will cause the starter motor to jump (dont worry about any sparks if the lead brushes against anything under the bonnet). The whole point of the exercise is to make the starter jump so dont be concerned or worried when it does, that is, after all what you do when you 'start the car'.

Rhyme or reason,
either- the fuse need cleaning hence a poor voltage is traveling to the starter solinoid (clean the fuse with sand paper)
OR
The solinoid has a sticky patch (this could cost you a solinoid, cheaper to get a second hand starter motor or be content to 'brush the contacts with a jump lead?).
I hope you dont need to referance this, happy camping (ive got my jump leads ready haha)

[ant]

Hi Stephen.
I too have done some head scratching in the past with this problem, I have discovered that the starter solenoid is fed from the glow plug relay ( on the inner wing near side), if the terminal and heavy wires are corroded going into this relay the solenoid trigger wire fails to get the correct voltage. Normally worse on a damp day!
Ant

[sloeman]

Hi,
I get this problem 1-2 times per week but so far with repeated turning of the key it has always managed to start (I presume the starter has been creeping round to a point when it is more able to turn?). As a total novice at anything mechanical are there any basic instructions available for me to try to rectify this?

[cooperman6]

Might be worth checking the earth lead from the engine to the body and its connections, or run a separate earth wire from the starter motor back to the battery, other than that it's the relay connections as Ant said or a bad solenoid connection on the starter motor.

[sloeman]

Thanks cooperman, I'll open her up and have a tinker this weekend.