Have had a couple of rough starts over the pst couple of mornings. Now when I turn the ignition nothing happens for a couple of seconds then the engine turns over slowly and then springs into life. Is it just the battery needing a good charge??

Sounds like the starter motor is failing to engage / taking its time to engage. I believe the rack (and pinion?) on them can get dirty, but generally this causes it disengage slowly, although I see no reason why it should not cause a slow engage, and thus give the problems are you seeing.

Others on here have cleaned them up quite sucessfully.

I hate the cold wheather. All my cars charateristics change during the cold spells.

Grrrrrrrr

My car simply will not start in cold weather; no click, just silence!

All dash lights are fine as it's just had a new battery. I turn the key, hold it for a few seconds, then release again.

The last time this happened, it read -3.5C on the dash. I kept trying every half hour until it sprang into life - and the dash still read -3.5C! Yet it's fine in any temperature around or above freezing.

The wiring was checked for play, and a 1\4 turn was achieved on the + wire......let's hope it's enough otherwise a new starter beckons.

I purchased a new heavy duty battery yesterday and intend to fit it this morning. I'll report back one fitted. BTW I phoned around several 'large' motor factord for the battery and was quoted between £99 - £65 for the same battery. Went to my local car shop and got it for £52.85, it pays to phone around..!

My car simply will not start in cold weather; no click, just silence!

All dash lights are fine as it's just had a new battery. I turn the key, hold it for a few seconds, then release again.

The last time this happened, it read -3.5C on the dash. I kept trying every half hour until it sprang into life - and the dash still read -3.5C! Yet it's fine in any temperature around or above freezing.

The wiring was checked for play, and a 1\4 turn was achieved on the + wire......let's hope it's enough otherwise a new starter beckons.

have you checked the 409 relay under drivers side dash??? could be faulty

Got the battery on and she fired up straight away. The replacement battery is considerably larger than the old 'dud' battery so I'm thinking the old battery might not have been the correct one?? Anyway, all seems OK at present...phew.

Have had a couple of rough starts over the pst couple of mornings. Now when I turn the ignition nothing happens for a couple of seconds then the engine turns over slowly and then springs into life. Is it just the battery needing a good charge??

Sound's like the battery's on it's way out, :( or a bad earth connection?

have you checked the 409 relay under drivers side dash??? could be faulty

How does one go about checking a relay for faults when it only happens when the temperature is in minus figures - my freezer isn't big enough!

And from what I can gather, isn't this the fuel pump relay? How would that affect the starter motor?