kyepan 291 Posted May 23, 2008 Hi there, the situation where you turn the key nothing, turn, nothing, turn nothing, turn then it fires... can't find Anthonys post from ages ago is that the comutator or the solonoid wire, or both? as it's not started playing up when cold. Cheers J Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,542 Posted May 23, 2008 (edited) Most usually the connectors in the poxy brown multiplug have turned to green furry cheese, and so are not so effective at passing electricity any more. I got fed up with the remains of the brown plug on my 205 and cut it all out and soldered and heat shrinked the wires up a few weeks ago, since then it has started faultlessly every time. Before it would occasionally do the turn-nowt-turn-nowt-turn-nowt-turn-crank thing. The starter wire is the thick blue/grey coloured one in the multiplug, is it noticeably larger than all the rest of them. Also check the spade terminal onto the starter motor is OK, after having done the above repair I still had some erratic gauge readings, replacing the original spade terminals with the hard black plastic casings with new ones cured the fault. Edited May 23, 2008 by Tom Fenton Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyepan 291 Posted May 23, 2008 hmm, thanks for that, i've previously rewired it with a new spade connector, and length of wire, but not shrink wrapped it. As i was having hot start problems. will have another look to check that the wire's not dirty and the connection is good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fenton 1,542 Posted May 23, 2008 Have you got rid of the crappy brown plug? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_the_Sparky 9 Posted May 23, 2008 It could be either or both is the correct answer - symptoms are so similar it is not usually possible to clearly point to one or the other. It is generally cheaper to sort the electrics though, although I've measured one that had a wiring problem and it certainly wasn't the multiplug. My current GTi also has a starter problem, initially a new starter solved the problem (for a couple of years) but it has been re-occurring so probably the wiring at fault as well. I hope to be able to measure this properly to find precsely where the problem is as last time I just bypassed everything to make it work. Suffice to say that the measurements I took indicated a problem after the ignition and immobiliser but before the brown multiplug. All of which seem to be commonly blamed, I suspect the problem may have been the tachy relay but TBH that is just speculation until I can get a meter on another car with similar symptoms. I hope my current car will present that opportunity, but getting a gearbox in and ignition sorted are higher priorities. If you really get stuck then as a trial (or a get me home technique) haver a length of with with a connector. Take the solenoid wire off and put this on in its place and touch other end to the battery to turn starter. If the ignition is on then this will start the car but also if starter fails to turn then it is the starter at fault. N.B. if starter turns then doesn't prove that the starter is not part of the problem Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyepan 291 Posted May 23, 2008 If you really get stuck then as a trial (or a get me home technique) haver a length of with with a connector. Take the solenoid wire off and put this on in its place and touch other end to the battery to turn starter. If the ignition is on then this will start the car but also if starter fails to turn then it is the starter at fault. N.B. if starter turns then doesn't prove that the starter is not part of the problem Rob Have done this previously, always worked fine, will double check thanks for reminding me. also it's an MI conversion with no multiplug.. i think the wire comes straight from the fuse board to the starter! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_gti 0 Posted May 24, 2008 Can anybody tell me which 'brown plug' you are referring to? I'm having the same problem y'see Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gti_al 1 Posted May 24, 2008 I had these exact symptoms when my ignition barrel went... just something else to consider. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GLPoomobile 958 Posted May 24, 2008 If you really get stuck then as a trial (or a get me home technique) haver a length of with with a connector. Take the solenoid wire off and put this on in its place and touch other end to the battery to turn starter. If the ignition is on then this will start the car but also if starter fails to turn then it is the starter at fault. N.B. if starter turns then doesn't prove that the starter is not part of the problem Rob I've done a whole new section of loom for the sensors and starter solenoid, which will be wired in with a new Superseal connector. At the same time I will be wiring in a 2nd cable to the solenoid via a piggyback blade on the starter. The 2nd cable will be tied up in the bay with the end wrapped. Should I have any future starting problems it will be nice and easy to get to the 2nd cable, unwrap the end and touch it the +VE on the battery, and Bob's yer uncle. It'll also be handy if I need to start the car from the engine bay, such as when doing a compression test or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
