Starting Problems

[paul k]

hi this is the first time i have been on this forum and am looking for some help my problem is when i try to turn the engine over it will not start nothing yet all the dash lights are ok and battery fine can go back 20 mins later an will be fine this is getting on my nerves now as had to get rescued by green flag

[Johndouglas]

 when i try to turn the engine over it will not start

 

 

Does the engine turn over.   If so, how many times do you try it.

[paul.h]

Is it petrol or diesel, model year, engine size ? Does the engine try to start or only turn over ? Is the engine fault light showing ? Has it recently had any work done ? Have you tried the spare key in case of an immobiliser fault ? Does the engine run normally when warming up ? Any fuel leaks/smells ? Any info will help with diagnosing possible cause.

One possibility could be the crank position sensor - these often fail and early symptoms are not working when hot but ok when cold. They often do not cause the engine fault light to show.

[paul k]

no prblems with the car till thursday i stopped it tried to restart and nothing no turnover no dimming of dash lights they were fine no fuel leaks i left it for few houirs an still the same next day i tried it an it started ok for a day lots of stopping an starting then out the blue same again my car is a diesel 54 plate 78 thou on clock vtr plus 110 bhp

[Guest nalagnik]

I had exactly this problem on my '06 citroen C4 1597cc automatic. It went on for several weeks before I proved what is was... the starter. All articles I read about a fault like this said it was the starter but as it is an awkward item to replace I wanted to prove it first by making sure that 12v was indeed making it to the starter when the key was turned and there was no response and being an automatic could not 'rock' the car in gear to see if it was jammed. Indeed 12volts was getting there. So I removed  the starter, checked brushes and solenoid switch which were all ok. Checked the starter out away from the car on a seperate battery and all was ok. Put the starter back in the car and it worked for a few days then back the fault came. Citroen spares did not have a starter in stock, could not give me a price and guessed it would be in excess of £250 + VAT ! Went to my local motor factors who sold me a commercially rebuilt one for £65 which lasted a week and fault returned. They gave me a replacement ( Sovereign I think !) but on reinstalling it I remembered I had taken photos of the original starter which was made in Poland and noted it had one more tooth than the Sovereign make I had in my hand. Back to the motor factors who made some telephone calls but they were told by the starter manufacturer they insisted it was the correct one for my C4 and suggested it may be a duff battery cell on load driving the starter. Sounded feasible so another £60 was spent on a new battery. Two weeks later the same fault returned again and a groan went up when I entered the motor factors. This time I insisted that I wanted a starter ( not Sovereign) with the same number of teeth as the Valeo D6G3 Polish original starter. It cost me £125 for the Delco Remy replacement and that was about twelve months ago and all is well.