Battery fine - car won't start

EdGasket

Crank sensor. But all we can do is guess. Can you check if you are getting a spark? If you can't do that then just get a breakdown service out.

littlerock

I have tried all the suggestions here and none worked. The engine starts to fire then stops. So I phoned my garage to see when they could look at it, before phoning the breakdown service. As I would either need to get it towed in, if the breakdown service can't get it started, or drive it in for a lookover if they can.

However my garage is fully booked out all week and cannot look at it before Friday - even though I really need to use it on Thursday and I am a regular customer. Nor were they able to recommend another garage locally. The other one near me was turned into a housing development last year.

So I feeling a bit stuck. I am with Britannia Rescue. I know they will come out and tow it into the garage if necessary but my garage cannot take it in until Friday and has no spare parking spaces for it meantime on the forecourt either. I really need to get it sorted before then.

I have quite a long trip scheduled for Thursday and would like to be sure the fault has been identified and fixed before then. If BR can get it going, I really want it checked over by a garage before I go on a long journey. Should I ask Britannia Rescue to recommend a garage where it can be towed and or repaired? Or should I look up garages near me? How can I tell if they are competent?

EssexExile

Aren't you over-thinking this? The rescue man may arrive, say "You're thingummyjig has become disconnected from your whatdoyoucallit", put it back & all is well with the world.

Sorry about the technical jargon.

Rain_Shadow

I'd get the breakdown service out to it and see what they say. It might be a quick, and permanent, fix that they can do there and then.


Ah, beaten to it by EE.

littlerock

Breakdown is on the way. 90 minutes.

EdGasket

EssexExile wrote: »

Aren't you over-thinking this? The rescue man may arrive, say "You're thingummyjig has become disconnected from your whatdoyoucallit", put it back & all is well with the world.

Sorry about the technical jargon.

Apart from AA and RAC, the other 'Breakdown' services won't do much more than change a wheel or battery and if it's neither of those will take you to a garage. I'd be surprised if they diagnosed and fixed a crank position sensor.

Pewmouse

Silly question but have you dropped or damaged your key recently? I only ask as we had a similar sounding issue with our Alhambra and it was the immobiliser stopping the car from running due to the transponder chip in the key being damaged. Our key had been dropped and it fell in to two pieces, we picked the bits up and it slotted back together but the chip was lost and that triggered the immobiliser so the car would turn over but not catch. New key fixed the issue as we did not have a spare, we now do!

littlerock

(no have not dropped key.) Breakdown service came out, checked engine diagnostics. No warning lights on. All looked fine. Checked battery. Fine. Connected own battery pack anyway, Still would not start. Nearly but not quite. Engine turning over but not firing up. Nothing obvious wrong on visual inspection of engine. Sprayed (think with Cold Start?) still same, not starting. So then revved it hard, dismissed my suggestion of flooding the engine ,"not on modern cars". Kept revving and eventually it sprang into life.

Said nothing obvious wrong with it. Was inclined to think it was the filters which were blocked and needed replacing. Said take it to garage (assuming it starts next time out). Unable to recommend any local garage said go to own garage. I said could not get it in till Friday and needed it on Thursday. Said zif it doesn't start Thursday, call us out again..��

It was local agent used by Britannia Rescue.

EdGasket

Thanks for the update.
Not sure how you can rev up an engine that hasn't started, I guess you mean continued cranking. Modern engines do flood. Then its foot to the floor and crank to clear it.
Had similar symptoms with mine; it was the crank sensor; no codes.
Have you changed plugs recently? Could be they are dirty.

DoaM

Dirty because they've been changed? Or dirty so the need to be changed?