Occasionally won't start !

  • Thread starter Thread starter Half a Bee
  • Start date Start date
H

Half a Bee

I have a '99 V70 SE, 20 valve, automatic. Just occasionally (twice now)
I turn the key and ... nothing happens. I hear the click of the fuel
pump relay and the starter relay, but the starter doesn't jump into life.

I've tried to be methodical about a diagnosis. Like, shift the
gearstick back and forth in case it's the Park/Neutral interlock. That
worked once, or seemed to, although since the starter relay clicks it's
unlikely to be the cause. Then yesterday, I tried that again and
nothing. Then I took out the relays and gave them a whack, just for
luck. No change. Then pull and shake the connections along the way to
the starter motor. No luck. Then 2 minutes later - it's working again.

Anyone know if this is a "feature"? Common enough that there's a known
fix? I know if I take it to the dealer, they'll mess about with it for
3 hours, replace all the relays, charge me $200 and tell me they can't
find the fault.

Cheers

Chris
 
Half a Bee said:
I have a '99 V70 SE, 20 valve, automatic. Just occasionally (twice now)
I turn the key and ... nothing happens. I hear the click of the fuel
pump relay and the starter relay, but the starter doesn't jump into life.
Click to expand...
snip

remove each end of the wire going to the starter and check for corrosion.
closely examine the battery connections for corrosion. The "sealed" wire
connectors at the battery can corrode under the insulation.

good luck

chuck petterson
73ES
 
Check the resistance in the starter/battery cable, and the battery/ground
cable with an ohm meter. Then after cleaning and assuring proper battery and
ground connections hopefully it will be OK.
That was my problem anyway.
Hope this helps.
Rich
 
Thanks guys.

damn thing did it again this morning. A quick wiggle of the wires to
the starter fixed it. One of them felt quite flimsy and loose. I'm
going to take the cables off, check the connections and hopefully that's
the end of the story.

Cheers

Chris
 
OK, a little while fiddling with things and I think I have it solved.

There's a flimsy little yellow wire that slips onto a little spade lug
on what looks to me like the starter motor solenoid. This was loose and
wobbled about quite a lot. I tightened it up by squeezing the female
spade with long-nose plyers. The effect of removing the wire is the
same as the sporadic no-start symptom. And the effect can be duplicated
by reconnecting the wire but putting the car in R or D before starting.
Without consulting a wiring diagram I can't be 100% sure, but I'm
guessing that the yellow wire belongs to the park/neutral interlock.

Connection tightened and fingers crossed...

Chris
 
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