Won't start

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DaveWS
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 7:09 pm
Location: Leicester

Won't start

Post by DaveWS »

Hi all, my rev 2 turbo won't start. Any ideas? I parked up at home and needed to pop out again a mins later and suddenly she won't fire up. The starter motor turns over just fine. Thanks
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Ryan S
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Re: Won't start

Post by Ryan S »

First guess would be coil. Hard to say without more info. Any fault codes stored? Only reason i say coil is because when mine failed it was the same. Running perfect (for hours). Parked up for 5 mins then it wouldn't start. It was the coil.
oVerboost
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Location: Plymouth

Re: Won't start

Post by oVerboost »

I would check all your fuses. Does it re-start now it's cooled down? Could be a hot-start issue?
paulharry
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Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 6:25 pm

Re: Won't start

Post by paulharry »

DaveWS wrote:Hi all, my rev 2 turbo won't start. Any ideas? I parked up at home and needed to pop out again a mins later and suddenly she won't fire up. The starter motor turns over just fine. Thanks


Check the fuel pump is working
Then check the spark at the plugs
If no spark check the coil and distributor 🙂
DaveWS
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 7:09 pm
Location: Leicester

Re: Won't start

Post by DaveWS »

Thanks the tips guys. I tried starting again today with another plug fitted outside the block and it wasn't sparking for the first few cranks but then this time did start sparking. Popped the lead back on and it fired up, albeit hesitantly. I guess I need to look at the distributor more closely :)
DaveWS
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 7:09 pm
Location: Leicester

Re: Won't start

Post by DaveWS »

Upon removing the ignition pack the other week I ordered a replacement in better condition, as it was cracked and really badly corroded. Having fitted the replacement today, I'm still having problems.

The car started and idled for a couple of mins before it started to cut out and eventually die. It did this a couple more times, each time running for less time until it reached the point where it wouldn't fire up at all (engine still cranks).

There's some other weird stuff going on though. Basically when the ignition is on and the engine is off, the engine light randomly comes on and off. At the same time, I can hear a relay in the engine bay coming on and off (I think fuel pump). When the engine light is off, the fuel pump is off, when's it's on, the pump is seemingly on. I wanted to do some more testing but won't get the chance until Monday probably now, busy tomorrow and over the weekend.

Any thoughts? Thanks
Draven
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Re: Won't start

Post by Draven »

Take the ECU out of the boot open the lid and have a look for corroded / leaking capacitors. :thumleft:
Pauln
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Location: Cardiff, South Wales

Re: Won't start

Post by Pauln »

Draven wrote:Take the ECU out of the boot open the lid and have a look for corroded / leaking capacitors. :thumleft:


+1

if the caps haven't been replaced already on a rev 2 that's high on the list of possible culprits.

The engine management light was randomly flashing on mine recently along with the C/O relay chattering, and I found the caps had started to leak.

Fortunately I had a spare ECU, and there doesn't seem to be any major damage to the printed circuit board on the faulty ECU, so it should be repairable.

Paul
DaveWS
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Location: Leicester

Re: Won't start

Post by DaveWS »

Update:

I opened up the ECU, and sure enough, two of the 10uF ones were leaking and clearly needed replacing.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 00.04.jpeg

After replacing them, I tested the car again, and nothing. After a couple more exasperated hours of checking the wiring, earthing etc in the engine bay, I opened up the ECU to check if a trace on the ECU had been damaged with the corrosion. Again sure enough, I discovered just that, and soldered a jumper wire which, after refitting, allowed the old girl to fire up again.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 00.53.jpeg

It's pretty hilarious that this single red wire is now facilitating the function of my car now, but there we are.

Thanks for the help all!

P.S. I've had another issue with the engine check light coming on intermittently for a while now, which I original assumed was related but I guess can't be. I've opened a new thread for that here: forums/viewtopic.php?p=1706874[/img]
Pauln
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Location: Cardiff, South Wales

Re: Won't start

Post by Pauln »

Glad she's running again. But just in case you didn't notice, if I remember correctly at least one of the PCB boards is double sided so you need to solder the caps on both sides to ensure a reliable contact.

Regards
Paul
DaveWS
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 7:09 pm
Location: Leicester

Re: Won't start

Post by DaveWS »

Yep, the trace on the capacitor side was ruined from the corrosion, which is the reason for the jumper wire (on the reverse side which was easier to solder) :)
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