Alhambra 2.0 2000

[BobNandra]

I have an Alhambra, the poor cousin of the Galaxy! I am having troble with it starting. I went to start it and it would not. I noticed as I crancked the engine, I heard beeping. Five beeps to be exact. This kept happening each time I tried starting it. I have never heard the beeps before. Could these beeps be an error code? I asked the Alhambra Garage, but they said this is not the case.

 

I then used the spare Key, I got the same condition but the beeping has now stopped. When I use the old key again, the beeping is no longer heard. Have I corrected the Immobiliser ? The LED on the door seems to be OK. ie, it is not flashing rapidly, but goes out when I turn the key.

 

Anyway, I checked for a spark at the plugs but got nothing. How do I check if the coil is OK. There seems to be only one coil. I asked the garage and a new coil is

[BobNandra]

I have had a look at the coil. I have a completed circuit on the coil between the two outer pins, so I am assuming this is the Primary winding. So this must mean the middle pin and the HT lead is the secondary winding. I have an open circuit on this winding. So would I be correct in assuming the secondary coil is open circuit or just a high resistance?

 

Bob

[El Dingo]

Coil secondary should not be open circuit. Are you using a multimeter or a 'continuity tester' (bulb and wire)?

[BobNandra]

Using a multi meter. When I said it is open circuit, I meant I think it is blown, or the resistance is too high to measure. I set the meter to 20K Ohms and lower.

 

On the connctor which goes into the coil, the black wire has 12V when the ignition is switched on, and 1V when it is switched off.

[Triple Trouble]

I am sure that I have read somewhere on this forum that if the voltage drops off on the battery, this is the way of leeting the driver know that it is low (apart from not starting of course ;) )

 

Have a quick search to confirm, definitely in the last month.......

 

Cheers,

 

Chris

[El Dingo]

Resistance would only be a few ohms...

[Guest radioman]

try seatcarclub.co.uk for a alhambra forum. Very good/helpful site.

[dipsomaniac]

experienced 5 beeps recently - mine was due to a duff battery. was told that 5 beeps can also indicate a faulty crankshaft position sensor.

[dipsomaniac]

i am not an auto electrician but i would think that a faulty crankshaft position sensor could explain why you have no spark

[BobNandra]

PROBLEM SORTED..

 

I suspected the coil. I did the classic test of removing the centre distributor cable, holding the cable with INSULATED pliers, held it close to an earth point, while someone cranked the engine. No spark was visible. So now the problem is either the coil or the ECU. On 2ltr models, Ford and VW, the switching for the coil comes from the ECU. So the problem is either

[El Dingo]

Good stuff - thanks for the feedback.

:D

[BobNandra]

Details pictures of burnt coil and labelled connection points for testing.

[NikpV]

Details pictures of burnt coil and labelled connection points for testing.

 

please post tia - doh they have just appeared

Edited May 1, 2006 by NikpV

[SwFsnapper]

Many many thanks for this great post - checked my coil using a multimeter and straight away confirmed the coil was u/s - saved me a bunch of time messing about... GSF have reduced the price of the coil... now down to Edited July 13, 2008 by SwFsnapper

[BobNandra]

Same problem again !! I have a 2001 Seat Alhambra. I initially put up this post in 2006 when the coil failed, which means the original coil failed after about 5 years. I replaced the coil with an after market one; BERU , made in Germany. Now it is 2011, and amazingly, THE COIL HAS BLOWN AGAIN. After exactly 5 years !!! Again, the case was craked as per the pictures I posted before. What can we conclude from this? These coils are designed to last for about 5 years, or rather, they only seem to last for about 5 years. It does not matter if it is an original or an after market. This time I replaced it with an original. cost me

[seatkid]

Common reasons for premature coil failure are either faulty plug leads (with open circuit cores), worn plugs with extra large gaps or distributor caps/rotors that have worn contacts (i.e. extra large gaps) or a combination of all three.

 

This means the coil sparking voltage is far larger than is normal as it has to jump all these gaps. The higher voltage stresses the insulation in the coil and it eventually breaks down.