it doesnt start right :(

-gem- · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:16

hey all, new girl here, my smashing little ford fiesta

refuses to start properly consistently- for example, i can take it out all day with no problem, and then for no apparent reason, it doesnt start up properly (takes far longer than it should for the car to actually start). Has never cut out, and i can turn it off and start it up again and its fine- it just chooses to threaten me with cutting out every so often!
any ideas?

Freefaller · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:21

Do you mean it takes the starter motor a long time before the engine engages? Is it diesel or petrol? Is the idle lumpy?

-gem- · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:26

Freefaller said:
Do you mean it takes the starter motor a long time before the engine engages? Is it diesel or petrol? Is the idle lumpy?

long time before engine engages....tis a petrol, makes a whining noise when it runs too but i think thats the cambelt so probably not related...
but wait a sec, i forgot, i know nothing!!!

Dandle · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:53

What year and engine is it and has it been serviced recently?

Zip · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:59

-gem- said:
long time before engine engages....tis a petrol, makes a whining noise when it runs too but i think thats the cambelt so probably not related...
but wait a sec, i forgot, i know nothing!!!

Ummm, if you suspect a problem with the cam belt you might want to get it looked at

Enfield · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:59

Sounds like the battery is duff.

-gem- · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:01

Zip said:
Ummm, if you suspect a problem with the cam belt you might want to get it looked at

it had a new cambelt in february....

its '98 but i dont know enough about them to tell you about the engine

it has 16v written on the back, that any good???

Freefaller · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:02

Could be the battery is a little flat - most likely IMO.

Dodgy starts sometimes happens when the engine is a little flooded. It could be the spark plugs aren't sparking properly but that could be a result of duff battery.

Can you hear the engine trying to engage, or is the starter motor just turning itself over?

Firestar_3x · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:05

When the engine is hot and you stop driving then come to start the car again the hot engine evaporates all the fuel out the carb and can give starting problems.

-gem- · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:14

uh right... well thats news to me!

you can hear the engine trying to engage (i think thats the sound im hearing) i was suspicious of the battery to begin with to be honest, only takes the lights left on for a little while and it refuses to start properly again...
i think my car needs to see a doctor? or can i do it myself?

Freefaller · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:33

Firestar_3x said:
When the engine is hot and you stop driving then come to start the car again the hot engine evaporates all the fuel out the carb and can give starting problems.

'98 Fiestas have carbs? :confused:

Gem - worth trying another battery, they're cheap and if it hasn't been changed since the car was new it may well be in need of new one.

Rwac · 23 Apr 2006 at 19:55

If you have no luck it, could be worth popping over to somewhere like ukfiestanetwork.com or fiestaturbo.com.

If it has 16v on the back, sounds like its a 1.25 Mk4 Fiesta (unlikely a 1.4 as they were quite rare).

As said above battery sounds like an obvious suspect. Unfortunately i owned a 1.3 8v Endura so had a very different, even worse engine than you :cool:

Firestar_3x · 23 Apr 2006 at 20:02

Freefaller said:
'98 Fiestas have carbs?

Carb / throttle body its the same thing for arguments sake,

the point still stands though

-gem- · 23 Apr 2006 at 20:28

thanks ''goatyman'' and you were very much right about the 1.25 fiesta etc etc.... SOMEONE checked it up on google...

in that case, i shall poke the battery and see if it works

thank yous!

Sagalout · 23 Apr 2006 at 21:24

I'd have thought it unliklely to be battery problem. If theres enough charge to keep the starter turning over theres enough for it to fire. Probably either flooding or starvation. Do you put your foot on the accelerator when starting? If so try it without and if you arent then try turning the ignition then progressively push the accelerator down. If it doenst work dont repeat it though, as it could cause flooding.

richyfingers · 23 Apr 2006 at 23:23

-gem- said:
hey all, new girl here, my smashing little ford fiesta refuses to start properly consistently- for example, i can take it out all day with no problem, and then for no apparent reason, it doesnt start up properly (takes far longer than it should for the car to actually start). Has never cut out, and i can turn it off and start it up again and its fine- it just chooses to threaten me with cutting out every so often!
any ideas?

I had what sounds like a very similar problem to you with my fiesta, turned out the battery was on the way out, was all sorted with a new one.

Phantom · 24 Apr 2006 at 00:19

-gem- said:
uh right... well thats news to me!

you can hear the engine trying to engage (i think thats the sound im hearing) i was suspicious of the battery to begin with to be honest, only takes the lights left on for a little while and it refuses to start properly again...
i think my car needs to see a doctor? or can i do it myself?

we can only make a guess as to whats wrong going by your description of what its doing. my suggestion is that if youre unsure as to what youre doing take is to a garage

-gem- said:
in that case, i shall poke the battery and see if it works

thank yous!

poke it?

make sure you be careful

(did poking it work btw?) check to see if the battery terminals are secure and not rusted/loose.

if you want to go down the battery changing route - pop down to halfords and pick one up, theyre fairly cheap and the most you'll need is a spanner/screwdriver to release the current one from its holding clip and fix the right one in position. (make sure you connect the terminals up correctly!

Ultra_Extreme · 24 Apr 2006 at 00:36

amazes me that people get so much more helpful if its a girl, maybe i should get a second account! your all politer too! Would that make me a forum tranny? lol

As for this problem, fiesta, intermittent starting, no cutout, get the boyfriend/dad to sand down the battery terminals/lead cons. Or do it yourself and really impress me

-westy- · 24 Apr 2006 at 00:45

Ultra_Extreme said:
amazes me that people get so much more helpful if its a girl, maybe i should get a second account! your all politer too! Would that make me a forum tranny? lol

As for this problem, fiesta, intermittent starting, no cutout, get the boyfriend/dad to sand down the battery terminals/lead cons. Or do it yourself and really impress me

Its not intermittent starting, it starts first time, every time.

There's just a small delay starting, it turns over a couple of times before firing. Its going in for a full service on Tuesday so that should sort it, i think the spark plugs might be a bit knackered.

Bit of info: Its a '98 Mk4 1.25 16v.

Phantom · 24 Apr 2006 at 00:55

a dying battery would cause it to fail to start..if you say its not doing that i doubt its the battery then. a garage should be able to check the charge for sure. it could be the spark plugs easy to check and clean yourself with the proper tool.

bf to the rescue, we can all sleep peacefullt tonight knowing she isnt going to do herself harm

(reminds me of those ZOO adverts

)