BXProject

[Terry]

Hi all ........I need to pick your collective brains.
I've got an intermitant starting prob with my '92 1.7 BXtzd.
Four times in last 5 months,I've come to start it........
Turned the ignition on.
Wait for "glow plug" light to go out.
Turn key to start.
And all the lights go out,but nuffin happens.

The first three times it did this,I was on my own.
The first time I got a tow start.
Second time two passing 'biker type blokes must've taken pity on me for "one of their own ilk" and gave me a push start.
Third time was on a hill .....[I'd started parking downhill by now,getting paranoid about it] but again,I was on my own,so there was naff all I could do but bump start it to get home.
It did it again today ..........I had wifey in the car with me.
With the bonnet up,as she was trying to start the car,there was clicking noise coming from the L/H side of the engine bay ......I could'nt make out if it was coming from the "large block with loadsa pipes going into it" mounted on the L/H inner wing or the relay box just below the windscreen.
It finally started easy enough ........with a push [on level ground]
But its bloody irritating .......I was getting paranoid about it after the second time [looking for a hill to park on in case it does it again] ........it caught me out again this time ......on the level.
After its been bump started,everything is fine,maybe for a month or so ...........until the next time
The first three times were between August and Chrimbo last year,so its not a regular occurance,today is the first time its done it this year.

What do reckon guys ..........
Starter Motor probs?
A dodgy relay?
or could it be the ignition switch?
I dont think its the switch,'cos it works OK after being bumped...for a few weeks.
I dunno about it being the motor sticking ..........'cos I gave it a couple of hefty sharp pokes with a socket extension bar today [all to no avail] ..well,it worked on my 2CV starter motor when I tapped it with a hammer when the starter used to "stick"
Help ........
Tel.

Edit .........I cant read your answers tonight,so if you have a reasonable theory as why its happening I shant be aware of it until mid morning tomorrow [unless they are explained in full with the aid of a diagram drawn on the back of a soggy beermat in the Milton Arms,Rotherham] ............In other words .........I'm off to the pub tonight to get "good & rat-arsed"

[David]

slightly duff starter solenoid would be my guess.

strip*, clean and rebuild.

*The starter. That was not an instruction to be taken literally.

[mickey taker]

could be well off here but check your battery terminals are tight ,

we have had an intermittent problem with the camry ,

sometimes it would start fine,

other times there would be nothing but a couple of rapid clicks then it would be dead ( no dash lights etc )

we would have to get out of the car , lock it and unlock again on the remote,push the shifter forwards and backwards , all of a sudden it would start

theres me thinking starter motor , immobilizer , gearbox inhibitor switch
( its an auto ) etc

then I remembered the guy had removed a sub and amp from the boot when I bought it which would have meant disconnecting the live terminal to remove the power lead.

guess what he hadent retightened the live terminal properly .

tightened it up and no more problems ( its been over a week now )

[Bx Bandit]

As David...dodgy solenoid..they seem to pull in - which is the clicking sound but don't make the contact to pull in the motor. Damn annoying...

[mickey taker]

you could still check your fucking terminals while youve got the fucking bonnet up

[docchevron132]

As David...dodgy solenoid..they seem to pull in - ...

Or Pre-Engage as it's otherwise known!

Also agree with David.
Other possibilities worth considering are:
The trigger lead to the starter, if it aint getting full voltage then it struggles to engage the dog gear.

The dog gear bush could be sooo buggered the dog is jamming in the ring gear (very unusual but I had it happen to me, although the starter had been on the car for 300,000 miles).

The ring gear is fucked. Also VERY unusual, but again can happen.

But I'd say David is on the money.

[Bx Bandit]

As David...dodgy solenoid..they seem to pull in - ...

Or Pre-Engage as it's otherwise known!

Ooooh...hark at him! Pre-Engage my arse!

BTW, like the new avvy, you should use that one over on the BXC

[Bx Bandit]

Oh, to keep MY happy, check your fucking terminals!

[Philhod]

Hiya Tel.

I think everyone has covered most solutions
I`ve never had any problems of ths type with any of my Cits
But with other models presenting identical problems, as well as cleaning and greasing all the connecctions,it usually turned out to be the link,(as Doc mentioned) from solenoid to motor that caused the problem to be so intermittant .

Hope that sorts it for you mate
l

[mickey taker]

Oh, to keep MY happy, check your fucking terminals!

to keep your what happy ?

[Philhod]

Welding set?

[Terry]

I've just checked the terminals .......the + one was "loose" enough for me to pull it off by hand.
I've cleaned the battery terminals & tightened it up,the only thing I can do now is wait & see ............if the car aint done it's "non-starting trick" again in three/four months time,I'll assume its cured.
The next thing [if that aint cured it] will be to replace the starter motor with a new 'un [the one thats on is a scrap/breakers yard "used" item]..............'cos tbh,if I'm gonna spend two hours removing "stuff" to get at the darned thing,and another two hours putting all the "gubbins" wot I have had to remove back .........well,for the sake of £73 [GSF Price] I might as well bung a new one on.
Reading Phils reply,it might not be a bad idea if I clean all the plug/socket/connectors with a dose of electrical cleaner too .........I'll do that tomorrow.
I'm afraid that in the meantime, I'll still be parking on hills "just in case" ....although if the car settles right down I'll prob'ly have fcuked it anyway,cos my exhaust is about a cig papers thickness from the floor when the car has been parked for more than a couple of hours....at least if it goes like it in my garage I should be able to nail the problem,instead of fcuking about by the side of the road or on a car park with no tools with me.
A mate in the pub last night tried to convince me it was the ignition switch,I'm still not convinced ..............'cos tbh,although he's a good mate,he knows sweet diddly squat about Citroens [the poor fcuker has run Fiats for years ...........he thinks anything that aint "Turin Tin" is second rate .........poor deluded twat]
FIAT = Fixing It All t' Time .......
This is Citroen City .......on a quiet night,you can hear the Fiats rusting

Anyway,Cheers guys ....watch this space
Tel.

[Bx Bandit]

Get a Valeo one...sometimes a Valeo one is refurbed by another company (e.g. Bosch) but 'insist' they get a Valeo one in a Valeo box. I've had probs with refurbed items from GSF and went through 2 before the 3rd one, that came from Valeo, was faultless....

Also, count the number of teeth on the gear as GSF fucked that up too

MT:...MY=Milton Yokel...i.e. you!

[mickey taker]

I've just checked the terminals .......the + one was "loose" enough for me to pull it off by hand.Tel.

Ahem , just as well I'm not the type to say

I TOLD YOU SO

I hope that has sorted it for you it is the cheapest fix and I wouldent have suggested it if it hadent of just happenned to us