Hi Guys,

Hoping some of you could give me a bit of advice.

My 52 1.9 SDI has always been a bit finiky to start when its v cold. I get that struggling starter motor sound ( similar sound to when the battery is almost dead) when I turn it over initially before it would then jump into life. No such problems when its warm by the way. Yesterday morning, nothing I did would get it to start. I decided it may be time to get a new battery. So I picked a new one up last night (£100 from Halfords .. I almost fainted :p ) and set about installing it in the freezing cold with a crappy torch and the wrong tools. Finally got it installed and set up and turned the car over .. Same struggle BUT it started .. I left it warm up and turned it over a few times.. I noticed that on some of the starts nothing happened ( as in NO sound at all) .. but then after removing key and reinserting it would start up again.

I locked it up and went out to a v frozen v cold car this morning and guess what ?? No start , not even a noise from the Starter motor turning . I know the battery is fine as all the lights came on and was a new battery. I opened the door to see if I could hear anything and I could hear a "tick" noise from the bonnet but other than that nada.. Not sure what else to check at this stage.. I am not a mechanic and like most people, am trying to keep the bills down, so am willing to carefully try some tips from the experts

As a side note, I did slam the door in frustration as I got out and a bit of plastic fell from the front bumper ( fog light placeholder) .. Swearing loudly, I then picked said piece up .. opened the door threw plastic bit in the back and slammed it again ( am cold and wet by now and late for work as well) .. THIS time, the bloody sunroof decided to pop open ??? I had to laugh at that stage.. It felt like I had "Herbie" the beetle in front of me ..

Anyway, your help is appreciated.

Kind Regards

m0nk666

I have a bit of an update on this, so thought I'd share my experiences with you.

I purchased a haynes manual ( dangerous I know) to find where the relevant parts were located and tried some of their more basic tips on troubleshooting ignition problems. No luck there. What I did notice however was that If I removed the connector to the solenoid on the starter, the "tick" noise I was hearing when I tried to start the car dissappeared. I assume from this ( maybe wrongly ? ) that all is fine with the electrics and that the problem is most likely the starter motor itself ? I think at this stage, I am a bit out of my depth as removing the motor looks like its only 2 bolts, but can be a real pain to get to ..

I also remebered years ago, someone (family or friend ) tapping their starter motor with a hammer and that getting them going .. I did try this as well.. but nothing .. just that "tick"

Regards

Have you checked the battery voltage? Perhaps the alternator is not charging the battery?

You should check (remove, clean, and refit) the battery connections, the really thick lead from the battery to the starter, and the engine earth strap at each end of each cable. They need to connect to clean, bright metal. Once they're done, protect them with grease (NOT before fitting them). It sounds like you have a bad connection in the starter circuit.

Removing the thin lead at the soleniod just stops the solenoid triggering, so the starter will not turn. Other than that check the battery as suggested (get a cheap multimeter), other than that, maybe the starter is screwed.

Thanks for that advice guys. Will look into it further.

Regards