mondeo not starting..any mechanics out there..?

so 9/10 times it starts 1st time, but now and again when the key is turned absolutely nowt happens, you can hear a 'buzzing/clicking' from the relay box if you put your ear to it, but no starter engagement at all.
relay problem do you think/solenoid it shouldn't be as the starter is only 6months old.
its a '00 diesel.
cheers

Sounds like a flat battery when it buzzes? Dead battery or alternator issue?

I had a Honda which did the same sort of thing every now and then and that was the immobiliser playing up.

(I had exactly these symptoms forever ago on a MkIII Escort, turned out to be a faulty rectifier on the alternator which intermittently emptied the battery for fun, but after multiple mechanics got nowhere it finally took a trip to Lucas directly to diagnose properly. They fixed it in about 30 seconds.)

When was the battery last replaced? Is it the original? I'd start there.

ooh i dont know about the battery i'll go get some testers on there.
will ask my olds as it was his car before he gave it to me..
i thought if it was the battery then it wouldn't start at all? whereas i can turn the key and get a click 8 times in a row then on the 9th turn it'll fire up no probs..?
nho immobiliser AFAIK

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061002181210AA1NKAi

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/car-battery-life-expectancy.html

Wear and Tear of a car battery:During the charge and discharge cycle, material from the battery plates (active mass) is in motion, through the electrochemical reaction that produces electricity. Every time the car battery goes through a charge and discharge cycle, a small amount of the active mass is lost from the plates. Because the ultimate life of a car battery depends on so many factors, it is impossible to stipulate a minimum/maximum life expectancy. This process of normal ageing through the charge and discharge cycle will eventually cause the car battery to lose capacity, and it will come to the point where the battery can no longer start the vehicle/equipment. This is not a manufacturing fault.

A car battery only has a finite number of cycles (x) it can go through before it loses its capacity to perform. Vehicles with high usage such as taxi’s, minicabs, trucks, and buses will often subject the battery to its x number of cycles but over a much shorter time. As a result, batteries on these vehicles can display the above symptoms after 12-24 months. This is not a manufacturing fault.

just spoke to the old man and he reckons around 5yrs old, i've a battery place nearby so will pop in tomorrow morning and get it checked over.
just one thing though, if the battery is failing then surely when it turns the engine on starting then it'd be laboured or struggling but it starts as though nothing is wrong (when it decides to!)

Could be a stuck starter motor solenoid – are you getting any whirring noises that indicate the starter motor is spinning but not engaging?

just one thing though, if the battery is failing then surely when it turns the engine on starting then it'd be laboured or struggling but it starts as though nothing is wrong (when it decides to!)

Since the advent of digital fuel injection, computer engine management and the use of lighter weight components it's more common to find a weak battery results in a complete shut down of the cars systems before the starter motor gets to turn the engine over.

It is worth checking the battery terminals are clean and tight as this would lead to occasional failure to start.

DMF failing, bit of flywheel stuck in starter gear & jamming.
Has it been making noises when pulling away?
££££.

I had a mk2 Mondeo -only did that when the battery was dying- dash on, nothing but a buzz or nothing at all-wouldn't even engage the starter like the old cars that turned slowly.

Once left the lights on for 8 hrs- would just engage relay only and not even turn the starter on those mondeos.

Check battery and once jump started check alternator is pumping out juice too.

Battery probably flat or dying.

Oh and let us know what you did.

Not the battery. It wouldn't work 9/10 then would it?

When it doesn't start, what do you do? Jump it?

Unlikely to be the flywheel, that normally shows via stubborn and laboured starting. My Transit is in the garage for a new flywheel as we speak…4 weeks of intermittent clattering, growling under power and a jumping clutch pedal followed by the clutch pedal travel reducing to 1" of movement was the sign mine was going.

I'd be tempted to change the battery first as a relatively cheap and easy fix, my Punto will go dead with no dash lights if you try and start it with a poor battery or earth strap connection. The starter won't even click. You could always take the battery straight back if it doesn't fix it, just say it was bought error!

batteries can do funny things and let you down intermittently. 5 years is not a bad life for a car battery. i would start by getting it checked. other possibilities could be faulty starter motor, bad earth connection to engine, starter relay or ignition switch. i would guess most likely battery

Poor earth or possible starter failure would be first to look at if battery shows ok.

HTH

I'd put a fiver on it being the starter. When it next doesnt fire, open the bonnet and clock the starter one with a solid object like like a small hammer. Try again, if it turns over you've got a sticky starter and it's a cheap fix.

Usually with battery problems you'll find the car just won't start, it will probably turn over in a laboured fashion but a modern ECU may set a lower cut-off voltage below which injectors won't fire etc but the starter circuitry is generally simple and high-power, direction connection stuff which will attempt to work regardless.

Batteries are cheap and easy fixes but can easily mask the real fault if it's a starter on its way out. Worth a try but don't expect the problem to not return.

yeah starter motor or something in the relay it is I recon. If you're doing *nothing* between turn attempts, it can't be the battery – if it was it'd crank too slowly, as you suggested.

It could also be an immobiliser issue – my '99 mondeo diesel has one, and right now all the alarm system is on the blink.

It's not a battery fault.
If a battery is too flat to start an engine for the first 8 attempts, it doesn't suddenly charge itself for the 9th.

"Buzzing/clicking from the relay box"
Take the lid off the box. Get someone to try to start the car while you hold your finger on each relay in turn to work out which one is buzzing. It's probably the biggest one and it will probably be marked "Starter".
Replace that relay.

All the best though. I always say try the simple solutions first. Some Garages tend to have an opinion on what it could be, stick with it. Put the part in, scratch their head then have another opinion, fit another new part…..all at your time and patronage.

My guess would be starter relay first, sticky starter second.

Buzzing from the relay box sounds like a relay in the relay box buzzing to me.

It was late, I missed the "buzzing" bit – I'd agree, relay first (and give a wiggle check to the wiring around it, relay/fuse boxes often have open bottoms that let moisture in to corrode contacts) then starter. Battery is not at fault here and replacing it will just mask the original problem.

There will be a lot of Mondeo owners on here who will interpret your symptoms as the problem they had when it turned out to be a problem with X. For example my first thought was the problem I had with starting which ended up needing a new dual mass flywheel. £££s. But it could be something much cheaper and easier to fix. I'm not sure how any of us can know for sure from your description…

…but I still think it is the DMF 😉

cheers chaps for all you rinput, battery/alternator not at fault had them tested this morning. i've found the cold start wire is loose/broken where it connects with the loom, this will need fixing but i don't think its the problem (unless earth fault).
so am thinking relay, or ignition switch fault. got it booked in tomorrow.

I don't think you can even see the starter let alone have any room to clock it with a hammer…with a Mondeo, if you can't see it at the top of the engine, you probably haven't got much chance of finding it let alone touching it.

£100 in labour just to replace a small coolant pipe on mine…it was only about 12 inches down the block at the front of the car but all sorts had to come out, including the oil cooler. I had to find a very long screwdriver so I could prod it to prove it was leaking coolant.