Car Not Starting

[citroenfan]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone experienced this before. I've had my C4 for 2 weeks now. First week no issues, drove it around town only everyday. Last Sunday I took it on the motorway for the first time, i did 40 miles return practically not stopping except for parking for 5 mins. The weather was horrendous so had the wipers on, demister, heating etc for a full hour but no issues at all. Monday morning it was cold and icy, started the car normally and drove my son to school, parked near the school, came back 10 mins later and the car won't start. Controls won't work, no ignition, only the radio worked! tried for 20 mins but nothing. Called the RAC and ended up waiting for 2 hours. In the meantime I kept trying to start the car every 10 mins or so but nothing. The RAC guy came, put the key in and the car started no problem, he obviously couldn't perform any checks because "there was no problem" and couldn't think of an explanation either. I was left perplexed, fuming and feeling a little stupid. I took the car everyday since and had no issues then this morning again I park near the school, come back and the car won't start again!! this time I didn't have 2 hours to waste so I left it where I parked it and walked to take the train to work! I will go back to pick it up this afternoon hopefully it will move otherwise I will call for assistance again. Anyone has any suggestions as to what happened? should I take it to the garage? not sure they will be able to do much unless it refuses to start there! grateful for any advice. Thanks

[paul.h]

As a reminder for us, your car is a C4 1.6 petrol automatic, I am not sure of the year but it is the 2010 on model.

 

Not sure if this applies but maybe there is some wear in the ignition key switch and the key may need turning as far as possible for it to work but sometimes it is not being turned enough. There was a case of this in a recent Car Mechanics magazine but it was not a Citroen. A new switch fixed it. Also maybe the switch internally has dirty electrical contacts and does not always work. 

 

Is the area you have parked in the same as before since sometimes there can be radio interference but this only seems to affect the remote locking ?

 

When you turn the key and it does not start, do the lights on the dash still come on, does the engine turn over on the starter motor ?

Being an automatic, are you starting the car with it in N or P and with your foot on the brake pedal - if you do not do this though there would be a warning message ?

 

The car should still be covered by its warranty so I would mention the problem to the dealer.

[citroenfan]

Hello Paul.h and many thanks for the reply. I will make sure to include details about my car in future posts (hopefully not in the problems section). The car is 2011 model on.

 

I have parked in the same area but in a different street. Not sure if that would make a difference.

 

There are no lights whatsoever on the dashboard, it's completely dead. The only thing that works is the door lock using the key and the radio. The dashboard light comes on briefly when I open and close the door. When I turn the key in there is no clic or sound at all.

 

I start the car in P with the foot on the brake. The RAC guy also advised I do this. Good suggestion about the key, I will try the spare key next time. 

 

It is still under warranty and I will take it to the garage if this keeps happening but I just thought i'd ask because I saw quite few threads on the internet about this being a common problem in the pre-2011 models but not the newer ones.

 

Many thanks

[citroenfan]

Back to get the car and it still won't start. Tried the spare key as well. Also i am unable to press on the brake pedal, it seems frozen for some reason!

[paul.h]

If it had not happened before and then ran ok, I would think a maxi fuse had blown cutting the electrics to most of the car but it could still be the ignition switch. The brake pedal may have gone hard since the vacuum in the servo (which helps the pedal go down easily) will have been depleted by using the pedal when trying to start the car - it should be normal again when the engine runs.

 

Looks as if it needs to go back to the dealer to be sorted. Pity your introduction to Citroen cars has not gone well.

[citroenfan]

Well it turned out to be a simple problem. RAC man came an hour later and checked under the bonnet this time, all fine. He got inside the car and realised that the steering wheel had locked itself (!). All he had to do was move the steering wheel while turning the key and the magic happened! Apparently this happens when the wheels are not straight when parking the car..not sure if this is true or not but in 10 years of witnessing my husband park his car with the wheels not straight i have never come across this issue! Oh well at least someone gave a proper diagnostic this time and came up with an explanation! I will try this trick next time and see what happens.

[paul.h]

All cars have a steering wheel lock and it is now checked as part of the MOT test that it works. When you remove the key from the ignition switch, if you waggle the steering wheel so a hole in the steering column lines up with the lock bolt in the ignition switch, it will come on and the wheel will not turn until the key is used and turned a bit in the ignition switch. It may need the wheel turning a touch whilst using the key so it will unlock again.

 

I would be surprised if this stopped the key being turned fully to start the engine, but hopefully the problem will not happen again, especially now you know about the lock.