Fiesta Starting prob, Think it might be electrical

Doesn't sound good, does it? Put it in second gear (ignition off!) and see if you can turn the engine by pushing the car forwards.

Si

"Mungo \"two sheds\" Toadfoot" wrote in news:c03995$11lbmm$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-74687.news.uni-berlin.de:

Will give that a try in the morning. Howcomes that it doesnt sound good? Just went to have a look and when you turn the key there is like a "clik" but no movement in the engine.

Seem strange that it would turn over twice and then just die.. :-(

you may have drained the battery with your stereo applications ;) oritmight just be a coincidence that the starter is feked if you can get it bump/jump started then go from there in the meantime, just unplug the same wire you plugged in as it could be that you've shorted something else out while fiddling wit that speaker

Could be battery or alternator, try charging the battery overnight if you can. Often an old battery will continue to work with virtually no reserve capacity as long as it's kept fully charged and starts up first time, the first sign of a problem is when a) it doesn't fire first time, and there's no reserve for a second go, or b) you use something powered off the battery for a bit and there's nothing left to start the car. When you do get it running, check that the alternator is charging correctly - should be in the region of 14 volts.

Because it "stopped dead" which often means something mechanical. However, bearing in mind that you say you are new to cars, it's probably just the battery.

Did it turn over at the normal speed? Was there a "clonk" when it stopped or did it just not make a real effort? Do the headlights/wipers still work properly?

Si

It was very strange when it had just started to start. It turned over twice and then just stopped dead, no noise, no clunking no nothing.

The only wire that I was adjusting was a wire on the speaker, Took it off and re seated it.

Cant really be sure about the battery, checke the terminals and they are on sound, no idea how old the batt is.

Am I right in thinking that although its not turning the start motor that it could stil be bumpable? Becaue its got EFI (so i was told) would that make a difference?

Had you been testing the radio or whatever before hand - might have just drained the battery.. Try and get it recharged and try again - or see if bump starting works.

Graham

"Graham" wrote in news:c03oub$13a088$ snipped-for-privacy@ID-106950.news.uni-berlin.de:

I had been testing the radio but only for a few mins before I had tried it. Would it really drain it that much?

Surely there would be a "click" from the starter motor if the batt was slightly flat?

Basics

Switch on the headlights. Do they light? If not the battery is dead.

Modern batteries can collapse. My dads rover started and drove fine one day. Next day completely dead. They will give enough to turn the dash on but that's it.

If the battery is ok check battery leads and then the starter motor.