Micra wont start

[chrisb]

Hi everyone,

My 98 micra has been running fine since I purchased it a year ago, and today it has decided not to start :down:. It turns over and I have checked the battery and it is fine. I can also hear the fuel pump working when I turn the key. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what it might be? I have been told it might be the coil, and that I should get a spark plug and see if it is sparking when I turn the ignition?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Chris.

 

[wilsonian]

i've had problems like this before. was it raining near you? maybe cold as well?

i had a problem before christmas where if it had been raining over night and the air was cold, the car would fail to start and in the long run flatten my battery. in the end it turned out to be duff HT leads, but i changed the dizzy cap just to be sure.

if you haven't changed your spark plugs in a year try changing those as well.

try taking out a spark plug and sniffing the end to see if there is any petrol there, if there is and it's a really strong smell it could be the engine flooding - so it would be an ignition problem.

When i had my problem i could get a spark from the plugs but it just wasn't strong enough.

like i said try changing those - it shouldn't set you back more than £30 for HT leads, plugs and a dizzy cap - might as well get a new rotary arm as well as they cost peanuts and fitting is really simple.

 

[chrisb]

Thanks for the help,

I am going to change the leads and spark plugs tomorrow. One thing I have noticed is that the interior light flickers when I try to start the engine. Is this a sign that there might be a battery problem even though it checked out ok with the battery tester. I was also wondering if it might be the starter motor?

Thanks Again,

Chris.

 

[kneival]

Does the engine turn over? If so the starter motor should be ok.

Its more than likely a flooding problem as this is very common. You can try cranking the engine with the fuse to the fuel pump removed, this should remove most of the unwanted petrol from the engine...

Also try the idea above and give the area a good wipe over to remove moisture, you can get a can of something to assist you or I think WD40 should work.

 

[chrisb]

Fixed it by removing the fuse for the fuel pump and running the starter motor for a while.

A million thanks for the help!