206 Starting prob

Electrical probably.....

Alternator... starter motor... check your fan belt - if it's loose the battery won't be getting charged properly.

-Rob

Check your battery terminals, over the last 50 years I have seen this problem many times and that was always the cause. Disconnect the battery leads and thoroughly clean the terminals and connections with emery paper or similar. Then coat the terminals with petroleum jelly (Vaseline) - do not use grease as it will insulate, whereas petroleum jelly will assist conduction. Reconnect and try it out.

It starts much easier once even slightly warmed and less current will be drawn from the battery, hence your experience.

.... if the lights are fine then it'll almost certainly be the starter motor. You'll get a replacement from any decent motor factors, often exchange. dead easy to replace, about 15 - 30 minutes work.

That was exactly my experience with a 305 a few years back, I got it going when it was feeling awkward by tapping the starter motor with the shaft of a mallet. As you say, if it's battery terminals the lights'll go off too.

djimbo.

Hi. There was no change to the lights, it was dark when it happened so I made sure I had the lights on. When I turned the key all I had was a clicking and the lights remained the same no change. The fault therefore I assume has to be the starter motor or the circuit

Almost certainly starter motor. It could also be the thick cable running to the starter/solenoid. On another car I had this cable crack inside the insulation. It was a right bugger to find and I replaced the solenoid once having refettled the contacts previously.