I have an 02 X Type, which occasionally fails to start, the dash board flashes etc. but the starter does not turn. From other threads usual cause seems to be battery but it has been tested and appears OK, and I can always start it by shorting 3 and 5 on the ignition relay socket. I'd really appreciate some advice on this one.

 

Nick, replace the relay that you are pulling to short pins 3 to 5. I am betting that the relay is developing a high resistance contact inside and causing your problems. If that doesn't fix things, let me know and we will take it from there.

 

I haven't managed to get a replacement relay yet, (dealer is out of stock!), but have swapped relays about and the fault stays the same. Some more news though If I short pin 2 straight to -ve she fires up fine. The ground I think comes from the ecm? Any advice on where I should go next?

Should mention that the Car has manual transmission

 

Nick, I would first try bypassing the clutch safety switch to see if that changes anything. If the car starts up every time with the switch bypassed, then you have a bad switch. It would not surprise me that the switch went bad. You could also try holding the ignition switch in the start position and then pumping the clutch a few times to see if that causes the starter to engage. Again, if the motor turns over, proving the fault is in the clutch switch.

If the clutch switch doesn't seem to fix anything, you will need to do some electrical checks of the ECM to prove where the problem is. If you reach this point, let me know and I will give you the checks to make.

 

I'm not 100% on the location of the clutch switch, I know there is a unit on the clutch pedal and that is working fine, I have shorted the wiring at the plug and this doesn't help.

 

I'm off to the west country (with my shorting link) for a week and won't have internet access. I'll let you know how I get on next weekend.

 

She played up quite a bit while I was away, but fortunately nowhere where popping the bonnet (hood) was too much of a problem.

Thermo, Could you run through the ECM checks I should try please?

Many thanks Nick

 

Just in case someone stumbles upon this thread with a similar problem, Change the battery!