405 Mi16 WON'T START: Yet Another Update!

Shafted starter motor?

Why? May be I'm being thick but the starter turns over and can move the car.

-- Malc

Yes! It can't be my starter motor as that's doing all it should. Others have told me that perhaps it could be the ignition amplifier...

Probably a loose electrical connection. The movement may have jiggled it.

Car broke down again. On a main road. Wouldn't restart. No mobile. No money. Car abandoned with hazard lights on. Had to walk 4 miles in f-ing rain. Got home and the police turn up. They had to move the car. And now I'm told it's possible I might be prosecuted for leaving the car on a main road. Great, just f-ing great(!)

Dad just towed me home. Before he towed me we tried to start the car but possibly due to the flatish battery the starter or something else just "clicked". Tried again and the starter moved slowly. Then tried a bump start by towing me but that didn't work either. One thing I know for sure is that it isnt the starter motor as the car cut out earlier when I was travelling along. Also something I noticed was that when I've turned the car key to "ignition setting" before all this, the "CHECK ENGINE" sign lit up. I thought that was normal. Only when we went back tonight and turned it to ignition that sign didn't light up. (Still, that might simply be that the ecu doesn't know whats going on cos the battery is so low.) What a minefield eh!

I think you have an intermittent fault in the fuel pump or ignition systems. The fuel pump is relatively easy to diagnose....locate pump and listen...does it whine or make a noise with ignition on? Ignition is similar...pull off king lead to dizzy...hold near with insulated pliers block and spin motor...do you get a spark? Basic AA man checks really... My money is on the fuel pump...probably a dodgy relay. You cant be prosecuted for breaking down and going for help. Jonners

Gave up on the starter motor change as I've not quite got the tools, hopefully a mate will do it. However, there's something else I've discovered. I've checked the fuel pump relay and the relay is fine, however it's not clicking when I try to start the car. I don't know how this system works at all. Also the K light and check engine lights are illuminated See I've got a theory now: the above relates to the original intermitant starting problem I've gone on about for months and that made life hard for the starter motor and I nailed the lid shut on the coffin so to speak by my moving the car in gear using the starter alone. Trouble is now I'm stuck. The wires on the fuel pump relay, where do they go to and from?

The various 405 16 valves all had different types of injection. Might help if you said which one you have.

But the Haynes Automotive Engine Management book would be a good buy for fault finding.

Half an hour ago I managed to bump start the car! Bad news is: IT'S RUNNING ON 3 CYLINDERS.

1. Does anyone know all the things that can cause an engine to do this?
2. Can a dodgy Ignition Amp cause this?
3. Or a coil?
4. Or the ECU?

Also when I was trying to remove the multiplugs from the injectors the other day I swivelled the injectors about a bit, could that have wrecked the seal?

It's the motronic ML4.1 I managed to get the car bump started last night. Now I need to change the starter motor. That'll get me going again but really I still need to get to the bottom of my intermittant starting problem that I suspect will still be there. (Unless the dodgy old starter motor was the cause of it).