Vauxhall Carlton intermittent problems

Honest John Back Room » The Back Room Archive
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Tue 5 Jun 2001 18:41
Vauxhall Carlton intermittent problems - Alan Taylor
I'd welcome any suggestions on the possible causes of two intermittent but distinct problems with my Vauxhall Carlton Auto Estate 2.0, neither of which the local Vauxhall garages can create in order to identify:
1. Failure to start - invariably in hot weather after a run, sometimes as short as 5 miles but usually longer. No power to the starter motor and ignition switch has been tested OK; no panel warning lights functioning. Car always starts with no trouble if left alone for a while.
2. Very uneven running (kangarooing), sometimes very severe - usually occurs in colder weather, either early morning soon after starting (when the problem does not last too long) or late at night (when the problem tends to persist). Occasionally can be eradicated by high revving; however, on one occasion the problem occurred after 100 miles of motorway running then persisted for the remaining 75 miles but the car was fine next morning.

Alan
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Jun 2001 19:21
Re: Vauxhall Carlton intermittent problems - Adrian
The two problems could well be related. The first one is obviously a total power failure and if nothing works even the warning lights then its going to be near the power source e.g the battery.

Considering the conditions that you experience the problems i.e after a long run, at night and in the cold weather when the battery is either under heavy load or charging then I would suspect there may be an intermittent internal breakdown of the battery, either a disconnection or short circuit.

Also worth checking are the Battery and Earth Connections for tightness and cleanliness.

Now I'm sure the experts will put me right!

Regards

Adrian
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Jun 2001 21:02
Re: Vauxhall Carlton intermittent problems - Mark
I had a Peugeot 405 which used to fail to start in this way, ie
intermittently there'd be only a slight glow form the ignition light
and nothing at all the starter motor (not even a click from the solenoid)
when the ignition key was turned. Wiggling the earth lead at both
its battery and earthing point end usually effected a cure.

Regards Mark
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 5 Jun 2001 21:18
Connections. - David Woollard
Mark may well be on the right track.

It is possible for connections/circuits to test out OK with a meter but under heavy load they can fail to pass any current.

When this happens the offending terminal or earth is usually hot, often very hot so take care looking.

David
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 6 Jun 2001 20:17
Re: Connections. - richard turpin
Battery cells can short out if the plates touch. They warp with age or sometimes with over/too quick charging. Presumably heat will affect this. They can also short if some gunge is floating about. Borrow a battery and see if that cures it.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance