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        General >> Problems >> Ongoing Electrical problem bit of a mystery/puzzle
        
(Message started by: Geoff_W on Mar 29^th, 2009, 5:26pm)

Title: Ongoing Electrical problem bit of a mystery/puzzle
Post by Geoff_W on Mar 29^th, 2009, 5:26pm

So listen up folks, any bright ideas appreciated.

From time to time my 12valve will not start. Usually it has been performing well, no indicated problems no warning lights.

Can happen when the car has been on a short run, sometimes after a couple of hundred miles continuous, has happened four or five times when I have been towing the caravan. (Has also happened before I had the towing electrics fitted)

What happens is that when I try to start the car, which was running fine up until a couple of minutes ago, I get a very soft click from the glovebox (fusebox), if I check voltage battery often indicates 12.3 up to 12.8 or 12.9 has been as low as 11.9 volt.

Sometimes the needles will flicker and sometimes the computer resets into metric.

So far some of you are thinking that I have a battery on the way out. But having had a new battery and had several subsequent checks that does not seem to be the problem.

It will start straight away if I use a starter pack or a jump start. But here is the funny thing if I leave the car for about 30 minutes to an hour it will start first turn of the key. The important thing is that I just have to resist the temptation to keep turning the key and listening to the soft click (NOT A STARTER SOLENOID)

I had a problem outside an auto electricians last year and they said battery and sold me a new one but the car then did its party trick about an hour later and I took it back in.

They spent the best part of a morning checking out the electrics, discovered a minute piece of verdigris under the box and said box problem. Cleaned it off and car behaved itself for several months but the problem is back and has happened a couple of times in the last couple of weeks.

When they checked it out they did comment that they had seen Fords with the immobiliser fitted where a function of the immobiliser stops current to the starter.

Apart from this problem, it runs sweet as a nut.

I have a tentative idea. In addition to the usual options.

These symptoms of a won't work, leave it and it then it will could be an electrical component heating up, failing and then cooling down (30 minutes or so) and working once more, and the car starts.

I am wondering about one of the relays in the passenger side fusebox overheating and not closing to make the circuit(hence the soft click) anybody got any thoughts ideas or experiences to share?

What do you think?

Title: Re: Ongoing Electrical problem bit of a mystery/pu
Post by sierra20 on Mar 29^th, 2009, 5:55pm

i had a similar problem with my 2.3, and it turned out to be a dodgy earth somwhere, was cleaned and tightened and it been fine,