Not sure what the problem is, so not sure which forum to put this, so went for the general, apologies if its not exactly the right one!

Bought a Gen1 2lt SE recently as a present for my daughter (passed her test last week!)
so generally, everything is good with the car, has a fishtnak in boot and flashing clock, but they seem common issues and easy to fix....the MAIN problem i have is that the damn thing doesnt like starting.

So when i try to start the car, the engine turns over and over, but just will not fire....eventually, it does, but it takes a lot of cranking, turning off/on and trying, and im thinking somethings just not right here.
I had the battery tested, and it was a bit duff, so replaced that, but it hasnt resolved the problems.
Anyone got any ideas on what the issue could be? electrical..fuel related, im just not sure.
The cars had 1 owner from new, has full service history and approx 90k miles (on a 2000 plate) so im thinking its been pretty well looked after in general.

Once the car starts, it runs pretty sweet, the only problem seems to be the starting....or lack of

ideas?
thanks

Moved to engine section ... Macker

dirty injectors, or poor earths which are stopping the starter from gettin enough juice to crank strong enough. it could also be the crank shaft sensor or camshaft sensor. It should be in mechanical really but meh not the end of the world, no doubt one of the mods will move it for you

hiya and thanks for the reply!

earths wise...i assume theres a main earth strap somewhere in the engine compartment....but what others are good to check
sensors.....point me in right direction as to where they are?

im good mechanically (modded a volvo 480 upto 480bhp AND got all its electrics working lol), but this is the first coupe ive had so not familiar with the layouts etc
are there any online manuals around that anyone has links to?

Odds are it'll be a sensor fault - dodgy injectors would cause it to run badly the entire time. Likewise the coil pack, plugleads etc. The camshaft sensor is located at the rear of the cylinder head, at the timing cover end. It is a black module that bolt into the head, roughly in line with the camshafts, and is about the size of a 10p piece. As for the crankshaft sensor, God knows... Could be worth checking the condition of the fuel lines, fuel may be evaporating from the hoses overnight. This would cause a delay in starting, until the fuel makes it to the injectors.

Only online manuals I know of can be found at http://www.newtonnet.co.uk - compiled by mjnewton, a moderator on here.

480 from a 480 eh? Was that from the origional 1.7 turbo - some extreme modding there

could also be the plug leads, spark plugs or battery

volvo 480, yeah it was the original renault 1.7 block, but the head was a modified 2ltr one, uprated the turbo to a garret one off the sierra (T3?) added a super charger ...rewrote the software for the ECU, complete re design on the exhaust, modified quaif 6 speed gear box with a RWD output plus lots of other bits like saab injectors, ceramic coatings on the pistons plus 'finning' the bottoms....was a lot of work, but fun....i kinda love the look of them, so just thought why the hell not lol

anywho, back on topic....
its not the battery, i got a new one the other day, and have just had it on charge for a couple of hours to make sure its full, and its still doing it.

ill change the plugs and leads cos they look a bit old (and the cheapest option....im a yorkshire man lol), make sure its earthed well etc and see what difference that makes before worrying about the sensors and coil pack.

thanks again!

yep, always start at the cheapest and work up

HT leads
Plugs
Crank sensor

these 3 cause the most problems and are common things

however, it it poor at starting from cold, or mainly just hot? If hot then i'd skip straight to #3 as thats the 2nd cheapest option

Sounds like you've got the same problem as me... Had this now for the last 3 months or so.

Changed battery about 6 months ago.
New Plugs and Leads within the last 2 months.

So not either of those...

Crank Sensor is the next thing i'll be replacing, hopefully thats the problem.

same problem here although i think mine is down to the tunning on the emerald ecu.
i have loads of trouble cold starting. thought i solved it when i found the coolent temp sensor was busted. replcing it helped a lot but hasnt fixed it. you may want to try this your self if its cold starting your having trouble with.

people have to dump more fuel in at idle on cold map to get it to start properly... so ive heard

Bit like pulling the choke out - all the other old buggas'll know what I mean :

Got man flu and feeling old and achey...

ok, bit of an update

still got the probelm, but im now more perplexed than ever
ive swapped out everything short of the cps and the little switch on the clutch, so could be either or both i suppose
switch on cluth is easy enough, but the cps....now am i right in thinking that this is the sensor bolted into the back of the block just below and behind the oil filler cap?
if so, i unplugged it the other night to try, and the damn car would fire straight up everytime!
plugged back in and the same intermittent stuff, so am pretty sure thats the culprit....
i havent changed it yet though because i dont seem to be able to get a socket on the bolt.
its a 10mm bolt yes? my sockets just wont fit for some reason, they wont go far enough over the nut to turn it.
is there a special tool needed, or maybe a smaller socket set (mine ARE rather chunky)

thanks in advance

On the upper side of the head right near the timing cover do you mean? Thats the camshaft positioon sensor. IIRC, it is a 10mm bolt that holds it and you can just pull it free when undone. My Draper EXPERT set located ok, maybe a 1/4" drive would be better - doesn't require a special tool.

I have one of these I can send you in perfect working order for £8, if it's any good to you...

No worries - either PM (I have alerts all set up) or eMail rikthornton@hotmail.com

Hope you get it sorted

i had the same problem with mine n it was starter motor it was loose some how. After a while it totally knacked up. Got a second hand 1 for 20 quid put it in myself piece ov p*ss runs like a champ. Jus the bas*ard clutch slipping tryed alsorts still no good.