Car won't start...suggestions please!

[Jules 0]

Hi Guys,

 

I am looking for some help to get my boyfriends car running so that I can get my Corrado off road to get the engine sorted. The car in trouble is a mk 11 16v Golf. It was parked in the garage at night and the next morning it just wont start.

When turning the key it is trying to start but turning very slowly, then it just floods. The battery is fine, and the starter should be too as it has recently been replaced. Obvious things like plugs, leads etc have also been checked and are fine,

 

Any suggestions??

 

Julie

[randal 0]

Knackered starter motor, or on the way out possibly?

[g60_Pete 0]

distributor? checked mine last night and cleaned the poop off it, starts up much more eagerly.

i just cleaned the contacts on the bottom and the spinning thingy.. (man im so technical)

i often had starting probs too

[Jules 0]

Thanks for this guys....

 

The distributor has been checked and cleaned too.....the starter motor however was replaced around 2 months ago, buts that not to say that isnt the problem. Gonna try another starter motor, just incase, and see what happens from there......

 

Julie

[dr_mat 0]

If it's turning over slowly but you've got plenty of volts at the battery then you're looking at engine block earth problems. There's a whacking great big earth strap that can corrode and get a mite resistive in it's later life.

That said, if this problem only happened since the starter was replaced it could be a starter issue..

[Jules 0]

This is the first there has been any probs since fitting the new starter motor, and the earth strap has also been checked and is ok! lol. Cars can be very annoying at times! Anyway....still sticking with the thought it might be another dodgy starter. Any other suggestions though then please let me know :roll:

[Roger Blassberg 0]

Has the battery been tested and proven to be fully charged and in top condition? If not absolutely conclusively proven, try jump-lead starting from your car; if that works, the Mk2 Golf battery is suspect.

 

If the earth strap to the block is ok and properly terminated at both ends, maybe it is the live feed to the starter/solenoid, or its battery terminal connection that is loose or corroded.

 

You say that the starter was recently replaced - was that with a new/reconditioned unit, or just a second-hand one that may be defective?

 

Try turning on the parking lights (position 1 on the switch) before cranking the engine; if they, and the dashboard lights, die almost completely when you try to start it, then the battery or its terminal connections are suspect. If they don't dim appreciably but the starter is sluggish, it points to the starter motor or its own terminal connection. (The main headlights themselves would be cut anyway by the load relief relay during cranking).

 

Good luck - I heard that it was very cold in Scotland last night, so you need a tip-top battery/starter motor.

 

Best wishes

 

RB

[Jules 0]

Hi Roger,

 

The battery was taken from my car just to test the Golf and is only a few months old. The starter was a reconditioned one but my boyfriend suspects that the solenoid is to blame. All the terminal connections to and from the battery have been checked cleaned and seem to be ok.

 

The lights in the dash die when attempting to start, sounded at first to be the timing. Timing was checked, top and bottom pulley and gearbox timing marks all line up, distributor pointing to number 1 lead. When all spark plugs removed and put back into HT leads, when cranking all plugs firing, engine turns freely.

 

(None of this makes much sense to me...as its my boyfriends description over the phone lol)

 

From what you and the others have said though my feeling is with the starter motor but it will be tomorrow now before we can get a new one so fingers crossed.

 

Thanks for your help and advice

 

Julie

[stevemac 0]

This may sound stupid but if your boyfriend attempts to start the car with the clutch fully depressed to the floor - does the engine spin more freely ?

[Jules 0]

He gave it a try with the clutch down and said that it didnt have an effect on it ...

[Jules 0]

Cars fixed....was the starter after all!!

 

Thanks guys :D

[Supercharged 2]

Cool, I lock this one up then...