hi guys, went out to start my x type today, ignition lights come on but then nothing ? tried and tried in vain to start the car but nothing . eventually it did turn over and start once, but then as soon as i turned the ignition off, it wouldn't start again. anyone any ideas what the problem could be ?
please note, im not very technially minded so you may have to explain in depth- sorry! and thanks.

 

Ben, I would recommend first seeing if you can start the car following putting the battery on a charger and get it back to 100%. From there. drive the car to a local auto parts store and they should have the tool to test the battery for you. If you are having any sort of heat wave like what hit the east coast of the US, your battery probably gave up and now has a failed cell. I have been seeing a lot of this lately.

 

thanks chris, but i think i have sussed it now, rocked the car back and forth in 2nd gear, then turned key ( in nuetral ) and it fired uop every time i tried it. so must be starter motor im thinking.

 

Ben, if it starts every time in Neutral, but has a hard time starting in Park, it is your tranny position switch that is giving you problems assuming you have an automatic tranny. Essentially the car is not seeing the car sitting in Park or Neutral, which tells the computer that the car could move forward if the engine was started, which therefore causes the computer to block the signal going to the starter.

But then, thinking about it, if the car is a manual tranny car, then you have a single switch which sees the clutch depressed. Then there is a second switch which sees the tranny in neutral (would need to double check this, but don't have my diagrams with me, so, won't be able to verify until tomorrow late). So, it could be the clutch switch.