starter relay

G

glassjb

New Member
i have a rover (p6 3500 v8 mk1) and have been having some trouble with it
i went to start it after it had been stood for a while (due to my mother owning the
car then she died and i have shouted at solicitors for the last year to get it in
my name ) well ok stood for a very long while and it was -8 outside .
i put in the battery turn the isolator switch and turn the key the dash lights up
turn the key to start and nothing , not even a click .

i thought it was the starter motor so i take it off and its fine so at this point
i think it must be the starter relay .

is this right and is the starter relay the small metal canister with starter in red
on it (at the upper left hand corner when you open the bonnet )

john the official owner of the once great btb484j
 
Hi John, could be a couple of things. A: Is the battery charged? A fairly flat battery could have enough in it to light up the dash but not much else.
B: Is it in park? Try moving the gearlever while turning the key (keep one foot on the brake, just in case) and try it in neutral. The inhibitor switch could be faulty.
C: Check the two wires on top of the brake fluid reservoir. One of these is an earth for the starter relay and if corroded/broken, will stop the starter dead.
D: The starter relay is a small rectangular metal relay mounted near the steering box, that is next on your list. You could bridge the contacts on this which should trigger the starter.
E: Ignition switch. Possible corrosion or loose connections.
 
had to put it in drive and rock it and put it back into neutral and then the starter moter cranked
but it will not start i have no spark and no power to the coil can anyone help me even with a temporary soloution
 
Hello John,

Since your initial post have you gone through the list of possible causes that KiwiRover listed? What did you find?

To rule out the inhibitor switch, make up a suitable lead with connectors and bypass it. What happens when you do?

Ron.
 
I had this problem when I purchased mine, I traced it to the ignition switch, I stripped and cleaned it but no joy, its just worn out!

I tapped into it and tempory fitted a starter switch and she fired up!

I suspect the reason you are not getting any spark COULD be that the insides of the ignition switch not making a connection due to being dirty?

Obviously it could be many other things, Coil, Bad earths, etc.

Hope this is of some help.
 
i have checked for power to the coil and there is none
i think the wires when you pull up the carpet on the drivers side
of the center console leading the the gearbox are the wires to the inhibitor switch
how would i rig it so it just ran for now ,someone borrowed my Haynes and
are now avoiding me
 
Hello John,

You will need to access the wires directly at the inhibitor switch. You should have either a white with red stripe wire going to and another coming off your inhibitor switch, or it may be a white with blue stripe going to and a white with red stripe coming off. In either case these two wires need to be removed from the inhibitor switch and then using another piece of wire with suitable connectors fitted...join the aforementioned wires together. You have now bypassed your inhibitor switch so if the switch is the problem the engine should now start.

However, given that you have said that there is no voltage at the coil...that could point the finger at the ignition switch. When you turn the ignition key to poition 2, do the three red instrument warning lights come on?

Ron.
 
Hello John,

With your ignition turned to position two and the ign and oil lights on, that now rules out the ignition switch as a possible cause as both the dash warning lights and the coil are connected in parallel, provided at the same time you have no voltage appearing at your ignition coil?

If this is the case, then the likely cause is your ballast resistor which is between the ignition switch and the coil. Where are you measuring the voltage at the coil, between which points? With your dash ign and oil lights on...you have no voiltage at your coil...is this correct John?

Ron.
 
i check for power from the positive side of the coil directly to ground
and i have already ruled out the electronic ignition system and the
distributor cap
where is the ballast resistor
thanks
john
 
if you need to see a visual of the system it is on the owners club
under series 1 (the first three pictures on the screen) but the
air filter hose is in the way (this photo was from years before i owned
the car or my mum did and i only found out due to a keyring )
it sat for a year or so and ran for 9 months then it was back to sitting for
9 months
 
Hello John,

The ballast resistor is a length of resistive wire inside the loom behind the instruments..somewhere. I dare say you will never find it. The only option as far as I know is to bypass it altogether and fit another ballast resistor mounted next to the coil.

Have you measured the primary resistance of your coil? What reading do you get?

(Thanks John,..will take a squizz)

Being a series 1 car, is your ballast resistor a white ceramic block next to the coil?

Ron.
 
there is no white ceramic box near the coil but there is two wires that
have been crimped togeter and one of them started to melt the
insulation so i cut it but i tried re connecting it and still no voltage
 
glassjb said:
there is no white ceramic box near the coil but there is two wires that
have been crimped togeter and one of them started to melt the
insulation so i cut it but i tried re connecting it and still no voltage
Click to expand...

One of them started to melt the insulation? That sounds a bit like what happened to ours.

We had a 2000Auto, the ballast wire on that was a pink (if I recall) coloured insulated wire under the bonnet on the left hand side [when looking under the bonnet and facing the front of the car (i.e. the driver's side in the UK!)]. The same was true for a friend's 2200TC, but yours being a series 1 V8 may well be different.

The actual conductor part of the ballast wire was stranded and had a dull silvery colour. Was that the colour of the wire conductor part you re-crimped?

If it is the ballast wire faulty on yours, be careful. On ours (and the 2200TC) it had burnt through the insulation, earthed near the body and smoked a bit when the ign was turned on! :-S

I'm sure though on ours (and the 2200TC), the resistor wire was only in the loom and didn't reach the coil. The ballast resistor was terminated/wired between two 'normal copper' wires at both ends. (i.e. a normal wire from the ign switch feeding into one end of the ballast wire, then the other end of the ballast wire feeding into another normal wire which was connected to the coil).

Again, yours being a series 1 V8 may well be different, but the ballast is certainly a point that you ought to check!
 
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