Hello to all, thank you in advance for any responses to this tricky little number.

I'm currently working on a colleagues 95' L+K Felicia estate, with the 1.6 AEE mpi engine. It's got 64k on the clock and is a little belter to drive.

Problem began with a lazy starter motor, turning really slow and stoppy and then bursting into life. Then it just wouldn't start at all, winding and winding but no fire up. Did the usual checks and put a new coil on it. Sorted, but still the lazy starter. the guy takes it home and in the frosty morning turns the key and the starter is soo lazy this time it doesn't fire. So he bumped it and got to work. I had another gander, charged the battery, checked it for charging of the alternator, all good. Checked the starter with the dizzy lead off and....no lazy starter and it would turn the battery flat. So i thought, timing. Checked the valve timing, no probs and checked the ignition timing, no prob. Took off the dizzy cap for a clean and the bloody rotar arm was melted. New rotar arm, and still the lazy starter.

Next day, i'm scrathing my head and having a poke about and the bloody alternator has stopped charging the battery. AAAARGH. Used alternator on, sorted that.

This is where i'm up to, and i'l be going in tomorrow screaming ECU ECU! I've trawled over 100 forum pages for any info on this for a "this happened to me and this is what i did" but to no avail. Thank you Thank you Thank you for any replies.

Might be a good idea to have a diagnostic check done on it if you know anybody with the tools...

Have you actually tried changing the starter motor? Dont think you said you had done this... makes sense that if the starter if gefunked to change it?!

Starter will turn the engine over fine with the dizzy lead off. But i did try a starter anyway and it was bloody worse!

try putting a jump lead between the battery negative pole and a good earth point on the engine, this will point out if you have an earthing problem

try checking the hall sender inside the back of the dizzy, sometimes the o-ring goes and allows oil into the sensor, if you have a melted rotor arm it's obviously tracing very badly...

it doesn't matter how hard you try, the engine will not start with this sensor unplugged

Took the dizzy off today to check the seal, the seal was o.k and no traces of oil. I thought the rotar may have been caused by the dodgy coil when the guy was winding it over and over.

The car is having problems starting from cold, it's a combination of a lazy starter and a noise like a snap like the dog on the starter retracts and then flicks back out again and it fires up!

Starting think a match is the only solution to this.

Thanks for having a think, i'm gonna try a different dizzy tomorrow after that i'm calling in a spark.

It's a bit strange that it cranks over normally when the dizzy cap's off, yet as soon as it's on, it becomes lazy. What does it run like when it does get going? Has the timing belt been changed recently?

It's also inadvisable to continue cranking the motor for more than 10 seconds at a time as it floods the CAT, which then burns out once the motor fires.

Its the hall sender i was disconnecting. I used this to check the battery and the starter. Turns over quickly disconnected, then when i connect it, it's lazy and fires up, and then proceeds to run and rev normally. would the hall sender cause this?

I changed the cam belt 24k ago it's still got the writing on it and the timing is **** on. Thanks again

The Hall sender works on 5v stepped down in the ECU to provide the signal pulse for both ignition & injection timing, so I doubt it's that causing the problem directly.

What it sounds like is the ECU sending the wrong timing signal for starting the motor, which needs to be relatively retarded compared to normal running.

Get the ECU VAG tested & adjusted I reckon