Problems Starting

[scott.bryant]

Being having trouble this week with our 03 Galaxy not wanting to start. Turn the key and the car either starts or does not. When it doesn't the lights on the dashboard come on but nothing else happens. Car was recovered last week as the engine cut whilst driving and the garage had for 2 days and found not fault and it started every time, the say they tried at least 50 times. Did not start last night but a couple of tries later and it did, this morning same thing. Any ideas?

 

Thanks

[Triple Trouble]

Being having trouble this week with our 03 Galaxy not wanting to start. Turn the key and the car either starts or does not. When it doesn't the lights on the dashboard come on but nothing else happens. Car was recovered last week as the engine cut whilst driving and the garage had for 2 days and found not fault and it started every time, the say they tried at least 50 times. Did not start last night but a couple of tries later and it did, this morning same thing. Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

To enable a more useful response, can you tell us the engine type please!

[scott.bryant]

sorry, it is a 2.3 petrol

[mikej]

When you turn on the ignition have a look at the led on the drivers door and see what it is doing or how it is flashing and make a note of what it does when the engine starts and again when it doesn't, also can you hear the fuel pump buzzing in the rear when you turn the key, again when it starts and when it don't ?

[seatkid]

check the battery

[frogeye]

I'd check relay 30..

 

I bet that it was raining when your Gal cut out on you.

[ocr]

Mine's a 2001, 2.3, auto and I've had a similar very intermittent starting problem, only happens in the most inconvenient places, but always starts after a minute or two.

 

Follow frogeye's relay 30 check (shame I hadn't seen the link) and from behind each relay is a brown wire which heads off towards the loom. My brown wires all disappeared behind a piece of tape, 3 in 2 out! It didn't look like someones bodge, it looked like it had been there since new. Removal of the tape showed that the wires appeared to have been glued, not soldered, together. I soldered the connection and re-seated all the relays, I had been looking for a high resistance connection, which I appeared to have found behind the tape and tarnishing of the relay plug in connections was another possibility (re-seating cleans the connector). Disconnect the battery while you do all this!

 

Since doing this it's been fine, touch wood.