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Fabia VRS won't start


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When I tried to start the car this morning the engine wa completely dead. Lights etc all worked but the engine would not turn over at all. When you turn the ignition the lights dim but the engine does not turn over. When the AA came out the battery booster did not start the car but it could be bump started.

I have seen in posts about thecable breaking from the loom that goes to the starter motor but wouldthe headlights dim if this wire had broken or is it more likely to be a duff starter motor?

Any help with this would be appreciated, don't want to fork out for a startermotor if I don't have to.

Also, would any faults show on vagcom?

Thanks

Duncan

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Check your earth cable - Connections

Get battery tested at a battery test centre - ask a lift of somebody

Starter motor- Cant see it failing unless high mileage

Glow Plugs -Hard starting

Check fuel

Most likely sounds like a duff battery..

Edited by REDFABVRS
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Just had mine back from the dealer's today for a similar sounding problem. They checked the battery, all ok. Carried out bench test on the starter motor, all ok. Located fault on live wire to starter. Cost £90 + VAT.

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Thanks everyone. Spent an hour tonight stripping out the battery and filter housing etc to get to the starter motor and found the positive wire had snapped. I took the plug out and soldered a new length of wire and connector, put it all back together and it fired up perfectly.... What would we do without Briskoda! Saved quite a few pennies for a fairly straight forward job.

Duncan

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Thanks everyone. Spent an hour tonight stripping out the battery and filter housing etc to get to the starter motor and found the positive wire had snapped. I took the plug out and soldered a new length of wire and connector, put it all back together and it fired up perfectly.... What would we do without Briskoda! Saved quite a few pennies for a fairly straight forward job.

Duncan

Nice one! Glad you got it sorted..

Please can you advise if there are any signs that the cable is loose/broken other than failing to start? as im a little worried about this happening at any time,.

If you spare 5 mins please could you type up a quick DIY procedure.

Is the cable going to the battery from the starter like a thick battery cable connecting to the + or is it one of those thin wires that just connects to the battery terminal.

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Nice one! Glad you got it sorted..

Please can you advise if there are any signs that the cable is loose/broken other than failing to start? as im a little worried about this happening at any time,.

My cable must have just been loose as it would start eventually. Sometimes it would take 2 or 3 times to start. It would often cough a bit and then stall on startup. Also, when it did start, it would make a kind of grinding sound just before it would fire up (thats when i first realised something was up). I think you would know if you have the problem. Even early on I could tell there was something not right about it and it just got worse over a week or so. I didnt have any problems once it was going though, ran as normal.

Edited by cheesebox
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Nice one! Glad you got it sorted..

Please can you advise if there are any signs that the cable is loose/broken other than failing to start? as im a little worried about this happening at any time,.

If you spare 5 mins please could you type up a quick DIY procedure.

Is the cable going to the battery from the starter like a thick battery cable connecting to the + or is it one of those thin wires that just connects to the battery terminal.

I had no warning at all that it was about to happen. It had always started perfectly before this (touches wood), one minute it worked the next it didn't.

I wish I had taken a couple of pics as it would have been a lot easier to understand what I will try to explain.

1. First off, I detached and removed the battery along with the battery casing.

2. Before taking the base that the battery sits on I detached the Maf Sensor from the air filter housing and removed that as well.

3. Once the filter housing is off the base that the batter sits on easily comes out and you can see the starter motor.

4. The cable that caused the bother was fairly thin, a little thinner than a mouse cable and runs from the loom (left side of the car) towards the starter. The cable attaches to the starter motor via a small plug and the wire managed to severe itself inside the plug.

5. I removed the plug from the starter, picked out the silicon plug that stops damp getting into the plug and used a junior hacksaw to remove part of the plug to expose the point which the wire was attached to the connector.

6. Using a soldering iron I attached a longer piece of wire (slightly thicker) and prepped the cable that came out from the loom. I attached a female connector to that wire and a male to the new piece of wire that I had attached to the plug.

7. Re-attached the plug to the starter motor and the male connector to the female connector and applied a healthy coating of electricians tape to all newly exposed connections.

8. Put everything back together again..... held breath and turned the key..... hey presto, worked again :-)

It took about 45 minutes and that was taking my time and it is a fairly straight forward job if you are used to servicing you car. Of course, if you are not sure it is best to get someone who likes mucking about with these things.

If you replace the section of wire like I did, make sure you cut a fresh section that is a good 2-3 inches longer than the old bit, the cable must have been quite tight and the vibration would have eventually snapped it as a result. A bit extra length on the cable would have prevented this from happening.

Hope this helps anyway.

Cheers

Duncan

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  • 6 months later...

Hi, I have a similar problem. Mine wont start if the motor is warm. In the mornig it will start normaly and after 20km(aprox.15miles) when I turn it off and than try it back on it wont start.

I have mesured the batery and it seems ok so now I ll try too check the starter.

Did anyone else had the same or similar problem and knows the solutin?

Thanks

p.s.sorry for my english

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Sounds like the coolant temperature sensor?

Located on the right side of your engine bay £20 approx easy DIY

Info from ehow

Engine Shutdown

•a malfunctioning temperature sensor will often send incorrect information to the vehicle's on-board computer. As a result, when the vehicle reaches a normal operating speed the sensor may relay an incorrect signal to the computer that the engine is overheating resulting in engine shutdown. The vehicle will not be able to start again until the engine has completely cooled and will need to have the sensor replaced in order to prevent the recurrence of the problem

Read more: Bad Temperature Sensor Symptoms | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6325575_bad-temperature-sensor-symptoms.html#ixzz13m1QwJ97

Edited by REDFABVRS
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  • 1 month later...

I had the same problem car not starting but it was on main road at traffic lights after the mrs had stalled it she couldn't get it started luckily enough it broke down pretty much right outside my work I called the AA and I told them it was the something to do with the starter they took 3 hours to diagnose the fault apparently my starter had packed up I wasn't sure about this as there were no clicking noises to indicate starter was at fault I googled it and this thread appeared and have me a little insight as to the most like cause I ripped my battery tray out and hey presto the live wore had snapped a trip to the local motor factors and about £4.50 later my car was sorted thanks to this thread

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  • 2 years later...

Sorry to kick off an old thread!

Had this today leaving me stranded!!!

Ended up bumping off!!!

I have since repaired the broken wire and lengthened it as recommended!!

Question now is coil/ plug warmer light is flashing and the engine light is on with ignition??

Just need switching off you recon!!

Briskoda to the rescue again!!!!

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Glow plug light could be a blown bulb or a knackered brake light switch.

IMO if the engine light persists, get the code read soonest. Also IMO most likely is either coolant or fuel temp sensor. Neither are infallible.

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Thanks Vindaloo!

The light only came on as the car was bumped off but is still flashing and other light still on!

Blown bulb as in head light brake light or something to do with plugs??

Thanks again

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Sorry to kick off an old thread!

Had this today leaving me stranded!!!

Ended up bumping off!!!

I have since repaired the broken wire and lengthened it as recommended!!

Question now is coil/ plug warmer light is flashing and the engine light is on with ignition??

Just need switching off you recon!!

Briskoda to the rescue again!!!!

I'll hazzard a guess at this being a Crank/Cam sensor or implausable voltage from the alternator.

I had the same issues, anyone with VCDS should be able to read the codes and clear them. :)

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I'll hazzard a guess at this being a Crank/Cam sensor or implausable voltage from the alternator.

I had the same issues, anyone with VCDS should be able to read the codes and clear them. :)

Thanks for that!

Checked lamps and all ok!

I know someone with vcds so will hopefully try that tomorrow!

Should just need switching off or could it require new sensor??

All suggestions greatfuly received!

Cheers all

Edited by R4NDY
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Thanks for that!

Checked lamps and all ok!

I know someone with vcds so will hopefully try that tomorrow!

Should just need switching off or could it require new sensor??

All suggestions greatfuly received!

Cheers all

They could have been thrown on from the bump start, so clear them 1st then see if they come back.

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I had no warning at all that it was about to happen. It had always started perfectly before this (touches wood), one minute it worked the next it didn't.

I wish I had taken a couple of pics as it would have been a lot easier to understand what I will try to explain.

1. First off, I detached and removed the battery along with the battery casing.

2. Before taking the base that the battery sits on I detached the Maf Sensor from the air filter housing and removed that as well.

3. Once the filter housing is off the base that the batter sits on easily comes out and you can see the starter motor.

4. The cable that caused the bother was fairly thin, a little thinner than a mouse cable and runs from the loom (left side of the car) towards the starter. The cable attaches to the starter motor via a small plug and the wire managed to severe itself inside the plug.

5. I removed the plug from the starter, picked out the silicon plug that stops damp getting into the plug and used a junior hacksaw to remove part of the plug to expose the point which the wire was attached to the connector.

6. Using a soldering iron I attached a longer piece of wire (slightly thicker) and prepped the cable that came out from the loom. I attached a female connector to that wire and a male to the new piece of wire that I had attached to the plug.

7. Re-attached the plug to the starter motor and the male connector to the female connector and applied a healthy coating of electricians tape to all newly exposed connections.

8. Put everything back together again..... held breath and turned the key..... hey presto, worked again :-)

It took about 45 minutes and that was taking my time and it is a fairly straight forward job if you are used to servicing you car. Of course, if you are not sure it is best to get someone who likes mucking about with these things.

If you replace the section of wire like I did, make sure you cut a fresh section that is a good 2-3 inches longer than the old bit, the cable must have been quite tight and the vibration would have eventually snapped it as a result. A bit extra length on the cable would have prevented this from happening.

Hope this helps anyway.

Cheers

Duncan

Just had the same issue with a broken starter wire, thanks for the writeup :thumbup:

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