Technical intermittent starting problem

[marko65]

My wife has an 06 Doblo 1.3 multijet Diesel. She bought it 2nd hand about 6 months ago, and is very pleased with it.

Recently she's been having a starting problem (with the Doblo, not herself, though that's another story....).

I've just spent a couple of hours trawling through this forum looking for the same problem, there are similar but...

At first we thought it was the battery, and we seemed to be able to start the car if we turned off the radio and fans.

The problem is getting more frequent. The car is used as a delivery vehicle some of the time, so the engine is running for a few hours with a lot of stops (40 to 50); she usually leaves the engine running.

Sometimes, when it has stopped, the engine will not start again, its like the key is not connected to the starter motor: we turn the key and nothing happens. The battery appears fine, because it will eventually start.

A couple of nights ago, after a long afternoon delivering, the car refused to start at all, when my wife was about 25 miles from home. She eventually resorted to the AA on one of thier busiest evenings (something to do with it being a hot day). They sent a local mechanic, who thought it was the starter motor and managed to bump start the car. The next day I helped her bump start the car so she could drive down the road to our local garage, who then promptly managed to start and stop it several times with no problems. If we'd checked whether it would start I wouldn't have been pushing the car down the road!

The garage couldn't find any problems at all. The battery has been checked and is OK - a new one was fitted when we bought the car.

Today (2 days later), the car died while she was driving it, as she was on a downward slope she tried bumping it to no avail and had to stop at the bottom of the hill. 5 minutes later she was able to start it.

So, we appear to have this problem after the engine has been running for a couple of hours or more, on a very hot day (hot as in weather not engine).

I should also mention that we are occasionally getting a "Generic Failure Indication" amber warning light (a ! in a triangle). Which according to the owners manual can indicate one of four things:
1. Engine Oil Pressure Sensor Failure
2. Speed Limit Exceeded (which we haven't set so it can't be this, not to mention being statioanry at the time)
3. Diesel Fuel Filter Sensor Failure
4. Water in Diesel Fuel Filter

Could any one of these problems lead to our starting problem? That way we can point the mechanics in the right direction....

Any other thoughts?

Many thanks
Mark

 

[T14086]

i'd be checking battery cables and terminals first.

 

[marko65]

We've checked the battery terminals and everything is secure there. Haven't been able to check the starter motor end yet.

It happened again today, we were able to bump start it. Again, when the key turned nothing at all from the starter motor, just a click (like a relay).

Hope to get it on a computer in the next day or so to see if we can find out more.

 

[johnhififan]

(It happened again today, we were able to bump start it. Again, when the key turned nothing at all from the starter motor, just a click (like a relay).
)
Well thats the sound of the solenoid operating. Had this problem once on a mirafiori 131. Could be the solenoid not switching on the starter motor or the starter motor having worn brushes(which no longer or intermittently contact the comutator).
Suggest get an auto electrician to investigate. How many miles has it done?

 

[marko65]

Thats interesting: the car has done about 70,000.