No start

[kcbart]

Got in car tonight to come home from work. Started fine. Switched on headlights - they popped up, engine died. Tried to start it again, turns over but won't start. Too dark and cold to look into tonight so borrowed spare company car. Can only think that the headlights have somehow disturbed one of the coil wires, unless anyone's got any better ideas.

 

[robwright]

Quite possible the coil sits right behind the drivers side headlight.

 

[alwigley]

Mine used to be badly affected by turning on headlights - would drop the idle speed to stalling point, and always worse when cold. Replacing the dme temperature sensor fixed the worst of it, but I would also check the grounds very carefully - there is one down the side of the offside headlamp, on the engine side near the coil etc which is hard to get to, but I suspect can easily get corroded and give problems. Idle speed on mine still drops with the lights on, but not enough for me to care too much - I will get to that ground point one day, but WD40 has to do for now........

 

[kcbart]

Had a look today and found that the ignition lead to the dizzi has been pulled out from the connector on the coil. When I had the leads replaced recently this one must have been left dangling near the headlight mechanism and eventually got caught up last night. Presumably, this should have been tied out of the way somewhere. Is there anywhere in particular to fix it so I can make sure it's done right this time.

 

[zcacogp]

OP, the king lead should be out of the way of the headlight mechanism but there is nothing in particular to hold it in place. There is a very heavy-duty waterproof cover on the coil which directs the king lead in the right direction tho' - is this missing?

ORIGINAL: alwigley Idle speed on mine still drops with the lights on

It will, slightly. Lights = more electrical juice needed = more load on alternator = slower engine speed. Oli.

 

[robwright]

The idle stabilisation valve should compensate for that and other loads such as air con.

 

[zcacogp]

It should, but the dip in speed is usually noticeable, particularly when you first apply the load. Oli.

 

[kcbart]

Oli, Checked and yes the coil cover is there. Held the lead in place and it loops down past the headlight mechanism. You can see marks on it from where it has been rubbing. Looking at pictures of engines on Pistonheads it appears that most have a lead going straight across to the coil, which would avoid this problem. The lead on mine must be about 2 inches longer. I will be making an irate phone call first thing tomorrow! Many thanks for your help,

 

[zcacogp]

Keith, Go slightly easy - the lead does have a good length of slack in it. Are you sure the photos you are looking at don't simply have the slack taken up elsewhere? It could be just that the guy who fitted the leads put the loop of slack down by the lights when it should have been elsewhere; it doesn't necessarily mean the lead is the wrong one. Oli.