Mondeo-bad starter

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Sat 9 Oct 2004 19:43
Mondeo-bad starter - roda
Hi
I have a mondeo 1.8 1995. with 130000 on the clock. Recently it has started misbehaving.Sometimes when i start it nothing at all happens - the other - it will turn over but not fire until about the fifth attempt. Sometimes it will fire immediately but then the idle speed drops and it stalls. This is quite random, and can happen at any time - even stalling at junctions.I have taken it to Ford who wish to charge me an arm and a leg to put it on a computer. Can anyone give me any suggestions as so what the fault could be.My local ( not ford) garage cannot replicate the problem and therefore cannot fix it.

Thank you for your help
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Sat 9 Oct 2004 22:11
Mondeo-bad starter - Pete F
When you say 'nothing happens' does this mean the engine does not crank? I would take a look at the battery terminals to see if they are tight. Has it ever been serviced? New plugs fitted?
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Sat 9 Oct 2004 23:51
Mondeo-bad starter - roda
Thanks Pete. When i say "nothing happens" i mean absolutely nothing! no sound - nothing. Occasionally it may "whine" though- It doesnt turn over at all. Hope this helps
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Sun 10 Oct 2004 14:12
Mondeo-bad starter - John S
Roda

You may have a combination of problems here. If, as you say, sometimes absolutely nothing happens when you turn the key this sounds like a battery or starter motor problem. I recall that starter motor failures, giving just this intermittent fault, were a fairly common problem on Mondeos of that vintage.

This is, I would think, unlikely to be linked to the poor starting and stalling problem when it does turn over - that's more likely to be ignition system or engine sensor related. Check around for competitive quotes on computer diagnosis as you could spend some time and money trying to isolate the problem. That said, given the mileage, a new set of plugs and plug leads (if they've not been changed for a while) may be worth trying.

JS
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Sun 10 Oct 2004 16:23
Mondeo-bad starter - roda
Thanks John.
I check the starter motor and take it from there. I believe the plugs/leads were changed recently.As for the stalling/failing to fire,i daresay i will have to get it put on a computer for diagnosis but where i live they are charging almost £100 - and thats just for diagnosis - no fix! - i shall shop around for somewhere cheaper. Wish me luck!
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