Various Electrical Gremlins

[HarryW]

Hello All,

Been quite happily using my 51 plate d2 4.2L for a couple of years as my main car between London and the midlands. Last week I encountered a strange set of issues.

- initially on cranking everything went dead…- wiggling the battery terminals seemed to cure that.
- a couple of start ups later, it would crank but wouldn’t start…so that was fun getting it pushed away from the petrol pumps.
- I had a spare fuel pump relay (that and the pump were renewed a couple of years back) and replacing that got me moving.
- last time I fired it up I had no indicators (hazards ok).

Could this be the botang’s hole issue? The car has been in the dry for a couple of years so rarely gets wet but I’m pretty reluctant to use it now.

I know the hazard and fuel relays are in similar spots.

Also, does any one have experience of specialists in Warwickshire or near. My usual garage (RSD daventry) are ceasing trading shortly sadly.

If anyone has comments or suggestions that’d be great. Maybe using a 23 year old car regularly is wishful thinking and it’s time for something else…


Cheers!

[steamship]

A couple of pointers to consider.

Check out the following thread about drainage points. Every possible source of water ingress is covered there. It's worth going through them all to eliminate possible sources of ingress:

https://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthre...088#post174088

Battery - If the wiggle cured it for now, remove the cables and give the terminals a good clean using a bit of wire wool. Then just snug down the terminals.

Fuel pump relay - Did you check the terminals on the one you removed? Is it possible that there was a little corrosion on it, which caused the issue. That would confirm your water ingress concern about Botang's hole. If that is the case, it would be worth spending some time ensuring that that area in the passenger footwell is as dry as possible (the back of the floor mat holds a lot of water as it has a thick foam backing), and going through all the relays, removing and checking them one at a time.

Indicators - I believe the actual hazard switch can cause issues at times as the relay is inside it. You don't mention if you've had no indicators since, or it was just a one-off.

Originally Posted by HarryW

Maybe using a 23 year old car regularly is wishful thinking and it’s time for something else…

Mine is a daily driver, and apart from the odd long journey (annual meet or a Donegal run), it's primarily all short runs of less than 10 mile return once or maybe twice a week. One of my longest drives is to get LPG for it and that is a 40 mile return trip every 300 miles. It also sits outside 24/7. Others have said that these cars need to be driven and don't like to sit around, but so long as you look after them, they're a pleasure to drive.

[sarg]

Originally Posted by HarryW

My usual garage (RSD daventry) are ceasing trading shortly sadly.Cheers!

Can't say this is a surprise, they've been nothing but bother to deal with recently. I'm aware Danny injured his leg, but that should not be an excuse for the poor customer service the last few attempts. Am now doing most of work myself other than MOTs of course

[HarryW]

Thanks both,

Very helpful. I’ll work my way through the link. To be honest the relay wasn’t particularly corroded. The hazard one definitely was when that was replaced a few months back. I had to manually wiggle the stalk otherwise they’d just stay lit without flashing!

I’m usually now only by the car for short periods once a week. Today it started fine and I moved it round the block. Even the indicators were working!

The footwell seems pretty dry.

However enthusiasm quickly exhausted when afterwards it just refused to fire and just cranked. Tried replacing the fuel pump relay and still no joy. Can’t think the pump is bad after just a few thousand miles?! Is there much else easy to check? I’ll get a different relay on the off chance.

Have to agree with the points about RSD lately. It has been harder to get a satisfactory response. Sadly it might make me give up on it as a car sat outside my parents on the street is no use and I’m definitely not mechanically minded enough for endless fiddling…confidence in it’s a bit knocked for smart motorways and central London!

[steamship]

Does this 'crank no start' only happen if the engine is hot, or even when cold? If only when hot, then there might be something amiss with the wiring. e.g. aftermarket wiring somewhere.

Something to check if you can. Check the earth strap underneath the driver side chassis leg to make sure it isn't corroded badly. Here's a photo from one of MikkiJayne's threads of what it looks like:

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1603399388

Something to try the next time you have the no start issue. Switch on the ignition and move the gear selector to N(eutral). Turn the key to start the car whilst wiggling the gear lever in the N position.

Final point. It may be the starter solenoid failing.

[HarryW]

Thanks again!

Come to think, it has failed to re-start when at least warm. I'll have a go over the weekend hopefully...and try neutral wiggle and check the earth strap!

No knowing modifcations done to wiring during my tenure at least. The whole thing is very original I think.

Would be nice to have it move again certainly!

[steamship]

Another one that popped into my head as I was trying to get to sleep last night. Has it ever refused to move out of Park? If so, it might be the brake switch, as it has two sets of contacts in it, one for the lights and one for the ECU.

[HarryW]

Always been okay moving in and out of park actually. So can hopefully cross that one of the list. Appreciate the late night brainwave!

[HarryW]

Tried to start again today and it was fine. So I guess it’s a hot starting issue and not a fuel pump or relay problem?! Seems odd though. And not sure if it’s related to all the other odd electrical happenings.

[steamship]

Originally Posted by HarryW

So I guess it’s a hot starting issue and not a fuel pump or relay problem?!

It would be worth monitoring this to see if it is indeed a hot start issue. If your testing confirms that, one possibility if the crankshaft position sensor failing (although I've only heard of this on the D3).

Should you decide to follow up on this, I came across a video on how to check the sensor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvuzZJqQDf4

As for the sensor itself, on the D2 it's referred to as an inductive sensor. Part number is 077905381F. I can't the exact location on the D2, but this video shows its location on the D3. If nothing else, it will give you an idea of where to look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmh-cKryjDA