Renault Kangoo starting woes Update, fixed!

[spartacus]

I'm going to have to tackle this job this afternoon, so any quick replies gratefully received.

Over the last few weeks, every now and then I'll turn the key and it'll turn really slowly, like the battery is flat, but it's not. The last couple of days when it's done it it's not turned fast enough to start it, I leave it 10 minutes and it'll recover enough to start. Today it wouldn't start and it's got to the stage where there's no reaction from the starter when I turn the key, the dash lights stay on, so there's no current being drawn.

I'm thinking starter motor/solenoid, any ideas?

[ruffgeezer]

We had one on a 2005 Kangoo dci where the cable to the plug on the crash switch had corroded causing occasional non starts.

 

It is located on the passenger side near the battery.

[spartacus]

Cheers, that'll be my first port of call!

[Joey spud]

The Gearbox to chassis earth is a braided effort on these that rots and causes slow cranking or no cranking.

And if the earth lead is duff the alternator will not have been charging the battery very well either.

Also the trigger wire terminal on the starter solenoid gets cruddy. That just needs the spade terminal cleaning and making secure again

[barefoot]

Could the ignition be too far advanced?

[spartacus]

Diesel barefoot, thanks though.

[dollywobbler]

Being French, I'd be wondering whether the ignition switch has gone all iffy. Can you bridge straight from battery to starter? If it's still sluggish even then, engine earth would be my next port of call.

[spartacus]

I got my dad to sit in with the ignition switch held in the start position, there was voltage at the solenoid terminal. Then I tried bridging the solenoid terminal to the starter, no dice, so I reckon the starter is knackered. I hope so because I've just taken it off and ordered a new one. It's been noisy for some time and had a very hard time when the glow plugs were shagged in the cold weather, sometimes churning over for a minute or so... Which would possibly explain why it's thrown the towel in.

[Guest]

Maybe the braid between the motor and solenoid then. These turn to dust after a few years..

[pilninggas]

Have you checked the battery terminals?

 

I've had two renners where the positive terminal clamps got 'lazy' [the bolt must have stretched] and the bloody clamps were slightly loose, not enough to see, not enough to stop dash lights illuminating, but enough to make starting haphazard.

[spartacus]

Many thanks for all the suggestions, I wasn't here when this place was what it used to be, but it seems fine to me how it is!

The starter was shagged, I phoned my local motor factors, (Minorfern, Chesterfield), and they told me they could get one for today at 11.30. I turned up there at 12.30 with the old unit in my hands and they relieved me of £70 or so for a rebuilt AC Delco unit. I drove back to my folks place, had lunch and then took advantage of the weather and cracked on, at 14.00 it was all done!

A major surprise really, as it looked like a pain to get at, being hidden at the back of the engine, above a driveshaft and below the exhaust manifold.