Car wouldn’t start. Then it did.

Ditzy_Mitzy

Or it may be absolutely nothing.  The ECU is a computer after all, it may be the case that it had a temporary gremlin which went away by itself.  My dad's old Mondeo did something very similar at a ferry terminal, but fired up on the second or third try and never again exhibited similar behaviour.  

ripplyuk

Mistral001 said:

As has been said it could be the starter motor that is sticking if there is a click when attempting to start.  Sometimes tapping the starter motor with the end of a brush shaft unsticks it, but I would see and Auto spark as it will probably need the starter motor replaced.  Not very expensive if they replace with a reconditioned starter motor. 

I don’t think there was a ‘click’. I’m not 100% sure. My worry is that if I take it to a mechanic, they will start replacing every possible part that could cause this, without really knowing the reason why it happened. 

ripplyuk

Ditzy_Mitzy said:

Or it may be absolutely nothing.  The ECU is a computer after all, it may be the case that it had a temporary gremlin which went away by itself.  My dad's old Mondeo did something very similar at a ferry terminal, but fired up on the second or third try and never again exhibited similar behaviour.  

@Ditzy_Mitzy I’m hoping it was something like that. Just a one off. It certainly hasn’t had any problems since. The not knowing why is worrying as I don’t want to end up stranded somewhere but I think it’s probably best to wait and see if it happens a second time before spending money on it.