newbie with a 2001 2.2 petrol fronty

hi first let me introduce myself im graham and live in the north east of scotland, i bought the fronty after the village i live in was cut off by the floods last month up my way thes 2 roads into my village 1 was flooded n other i dont think the roads department have touch it since it was build yrs n yrs ago(potholes could swallow a car lol) took my lexus up it and never again so told mrs i was gunna get a 4x4 as a means off getting out of village wen roads flood again
ive search the site but havent got a proper answer to a problem ive now got let me explain
fronty was ok starting first thing but once used n parkt for a short while the mrs was complaining of it hard to start again(engine turning over but not catching) for 2 or 3 attempts(i was away south so could investigate straight away) my first thoughts wer spark plugs etc etc
wen i drove it i had no problems(me starting to think mrs making things up lol)
well this morning went to drive out of garage and on turn off key nothing(all dash lights radio etc all ok battery is less than a year old and 100% ok) just no cranking over tried for 10 mins still nowt went in to hoose in a stroop lol came bak out and hey presto starts, so i move it onto drive stop it and go into house 5 mins later tried to start it NOTHING AGAIN,now thinking starter motor, so off to motor factor get motor and eventually get new one fitted(why vxhall put it wer it is god only knows) any way guess what NOTHING AGAIN so me havent the foggiest now,
has anybody had this problem before or know what it could be im now thinking immobiliser but hayho been wrong b4 and no doubt gunna be again
kinda lossing the plot with my fronty now ive spent a bitty on it already pimping it up lol ie chrome side steps and spare wheel covers new chrome alloys and was booked in for tinting nxt week(ive cancelled this coz it not running)still to get chrome A bar n spots
going to fone vauxhall garage in morning and see if they can recover it to there workshop n diagnose and fix this week or nxt unless someone can point me to a diy fix(fingers crossed

Hi Graham

Dont worry too much about this problem it shouldnt be a major problem. Could be something as simple as a loose battery terminal or an engine earth connection. :wink:

Good luck with it and welcome to FOG

Wotcha mate, and welcome to FOG... :dance:

thanks i can only hope it is a small prob as this is not expierience of being a fronty owner i was hopeing for, and want to finish pimping it(mrs's saying that lol)

could be an imobliser fault,

Sounds like a bad connection or a faulty starter relay. Dont worry about it being the immobiliser mate, as the immobiliser stops the engine firing, not turning over.
You may have a dirty ignition switch. Might be worth giving it a spray with switch cleaner.
Check the engine earth lead is clean and tight. Also, although you have fitted a new starter, did you clean the the battery lead before fitting it to the starter?
A common fault with Fords is the solenoid wire connector. Used to find that if you cut off the spade and fit a new one, the problem wa ssolved. I think they put it down to getting weathered. To test this theory, connect a long wire with a spade on it to the solenoid and touch the battery live. If it turns, replace the spade connector.

Yeah the 2.5 is a job and a half too mate.
Let us know how you get on.

well well after spending ages thinking it was a startermotor fault n purchasing and fitting it guess what not the starter DOH
thanks to rifleman advise i went and checked engine earth connection which is bolted on right next to power steering fluid res which has leaked at some point so cleaned connection up and relocated strap to another point on bulk head and as by magic a turn of the key and the beast LIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVES lol
well at least i wont need a new starter for a whiley lol
BUT i know have airbag warning light on constantly now, not a major issue at moment mot not due for a few months yet but will need to sort it ...... any advise anyone
once again big THANKS to you rifleman.....for steering me away from thinking it was a major immobiliser problem and thinking off letting vxhall steallers at it lol
now to carry on buying and attaching goodies to da fronty lol

Hi and welcome to FOG!

Well done on a cheap fix (apart from the starter) and with regards to the airbag light its a fairly common problem. First place to check is the wiring harness under the front seats, deffo one under the drivers seat somewhere and I think there is probably one under the passenger seat as well.

They are prone to working loose, take them apart, clean out any dust/debris and push them back together, a cable tie can be used to keep them firmly together ;-)

If that doesnt work we'll look at the next thing.

P.S. As this is the Introductions page could you post future technical questions in the relevant sections please. It helps to keep the forum tidy and makes it easier for others to find relevant info.

Regards
Phil

yes ok (me bad) lol
ps airbag light sorted now so alls well for time being
thanks for the welcome

Graham &

To The World Of FOG! :dance:

Enjoy

Hi Graham
welcome to our band of Foggers great place to visit and the info gained on here is exellent enjoy

Your very welcome, thats what we are about, helping out. Good to hear its fixed mate, well done.

Welcome to FOG matey!!!!

Welcome to FOG

Chuffed you saved a few bob

its what we are all about

Hi and Welcome to the Gang. Glad you are all sorted now