tony_ack

So just to add a bit to this one. We sold our big car to a dealer earlier this month (we've gone for camper life!). When they came to collect they saw the vr on the drive and told me how they had sold a corrado with 4k miles on it last year. From what they said (not sure how much of this is hyperbole), the first owner was a business woman and got into trouble with money and ended up being murdered about 20 years ago. The house and car were left untouched for years, with the car on the drive, before it was recovered and sold on. I've just come across this thread, so I'm pretty sure it's the same car... But he also said it was sold for £24k (which it wasn't) so read into it what you will! Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

So, totally predictable post given the issues I've been having recently! I have the Corrado factory immobiliser fitted and working, and the remains of a laserline system providing remote central locking and "alarm" (the siren is bust, so just flashing indicators) when it wants to work. I don't need Cat 1 for the insurance, and now the legendary Toad Ai606 is discontinued, I'm looking for a decent replacement, but want something that's effective rather than just offering the standard cat1 features for the sake of it. Not fussed about extra immobilisation as Cat 1 systems are easy to bypass (but if there is immobilisation, I'd rather have one that did not arm passively or if it did, that worked off proximity to the reader rather than buttons/touch pads when trying to start the car) open to having an alarm or not, silent alarm or tracker perhaps needs secure remote central locking (i.e. protected against code grabbing) with full closure (button on a fob is fine here!)

Bypassed the immobiliser yesterday, everything okay so far and the milliseconds delay when starting has gone too, fingers crossed.

Thanks - I'm going to do some investigating this weekend. The alarm/immobiliser needs taking out anyway as there are quite a lot of things going wrong with it. And I'll have a good look behind the fusebox at the same time as the control box for the alarm is nearby. It happened a few times again yesterday, but rocking the car in gear with the ignition on always sorts it, so at least there is a workaround.

The plot thickens!! I've been armed with a multimeter today to try to work out what's going on. Normal readings (cold, left overnight, engine off). The engine started fine after I took these. Voltage across the battery = 12.1v Resistance battery negative to starter housing = 0.01ohms Resistance battery positive to positive starter terminal = 0.01ohms After being run (warm, engine just turned off) Voltage across the battery with engine off = 12.25v Resistance battery negative to starter housing = 0.01ohms Resistance battery positive to positive starter terminal = 0.01ohms When starter won't engage (engine obvs off, usually 10 mins - 3 hours after last been run, happened twice today) Voltage across the battery with engine off = 12.1v Resistance battery negative to starter housing = 0.01ohms Resistance battery positive to positive starter terminal = 0.01ohms So nothing obvious there... BUT... When the starter didn't engage today, the relay definitely clicked in the starter when I turned the key. I wondered whether rocking the car back and forth in gear might help a little, so put it into third and rocked back and forth, with the ignition on... as I rocked the car I heard a two quick clicks from the fusebox area. Then I tried to start and guess what.... fired straight up!! So when it happened again later (luckily both times were at home), I decided to experiment. Starter got no power, so I'd rock the car a little (no fusebox clicks), tried to start... nothing Then I'd rock the car a little more, the fusebox would click and the car started. Also, I heard another fusebox click about 2-3 seconds after switching the engine off. Tried to start again... nothing. I repeated it all, same results - I'm convinced the clicking is a relay that is causing the issue. There is nothing in the fusebox diagrams related to starting, other than the x-over relief relay, which I've replaced with another (made no difference) Now I'm wondering the aftermarket immobiliser is kicking in and killing the solenoid (and I'm getting the click at the starter because the solenoid kicks in briefly before the immobiliser kills the circuit?) Bloody Corrados.

Right so it's let me down again today. There is a click in the engine bay when trying to start which I guess rules out everything to do with the switch and immobiliser, and any wiring behind the dash. That leaves the big positive from the battery to the starter (cleaned at the starter) the contact between the starter and gearbox (cleaned up when swapping over) or the big earth from the gearbox to the battery (will look at this again at it not a thorough clean as it was hard to reach)? No idea why, but it always ses to start fine when it's completely cold. Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

There's a relay on the starter itself which I've ruled out when I replaced the starter. There's the x-over relief relay, but I don't think that sits between the ignition switch and the starter? (I could be wrong...)

I cleaned up the contact area on the gearbox before fitting the starter. It wasn't bad, but benefited from a wire brush and a spray of contact cleaner

I finally managed to fit a refurbed Bosch starter today. All wiring was cleaned as I refitted, as was the bellhousing. So the new starter cranks much better than the old one - I never thought the old one was weak, but I see now it must have lost a lot of power. It's been cranking and starting on the first touch of the key all day, but this evening on my last journey home there was perhaps a 1/2 second delay between turning the key, and the starter turning over. It might not sound like much, but this is how the problems begin, and the occasional delays increase until eventually nothing happens. If the starter does kick in after the delay, it does so at normal full power, there's no hint of voltage drop. I've now replaced the ignition switch and starter and cleaned up the wiring and earths. Is there anything else it could be? I'm starting to wonder if the aftermarket immobiliser is involved? It's an old Laserline 996 that is literally falling to pieces - the install manual suggests one of the immobiliser circuits is between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid...

First Corrado spotted in the wild for years! Green corrado, looked like plate started with 'H' (could have been private) on the Leeds ring road near the Headingly/A660 roundabout, about 7.30pm yesterday. I was in the (also Green) corrado on the other side, but don't think you saw me. Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I've cleaned them up a few times (including when I had the starter off a couple of months back) but maybe not enough. For the earths, are you meaning the bulky cable from the starter to the battery? Or the earth points on the head?

I wonder if the one I have is from a 6-speed....

Thanks for the heads up - I think I'm after a new bearing and outer CV joint ultimately

Just an update on this - I investigated the play in the wheel and the hub nut was a little loose! Squeak and grind have now gone.

Hi everyone, I'm trying to fix a starting problem. Sometimes I turn the key and I get no crank. X-over relay kicks in but nothing from the starter. Sometimes it kicks in after a short delay (anything between half a second and about 5-6 seconds) Sometimes it doesn't start at all. I also get an issue where sometimes the starter does spin but it's not engaging with the flywheel (it spins freely). There are a couple more intermittent starting issues but I'm pretty sure these are fuel management/crank sensor related. I changed the ignition switch to rule that out - it seemed fine for a few days and then started doing it again. I am planning to get a refurbed VR6 starter, but is there anything I'm missing that might be causing the problems? Is there anything to look out for when getting a new starter? Differences in years, etc.? I did get a MK4 V5 starter a while back but it's completely the wrong shape.