I went to start my micra this morning as usual and all i got was a 'click'. The lights on the dash came on as usual and the sterio works but no life in the engine.
It is the automatic 1.3 gx (K11) so as far as i am aware i cannot 'bump' start it.
Anyone out there got any ideas?
I have looked around and have come up with the idea that the starter motor may be 'locked' but am hoping this is not the case as i have had no problems at all starting her before this morning and would not have thought it would just 'lock' up like that. Also it could be very expensive to fix if it was that.
Am hoping it is something like an immobiliser kicking in that can be easily solved.
Someone pleeeeease give me some good news.
Thanks
Maddy
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The lights on the dash came on as usual and the sterio works
Did they dim down or go out when you tried to start the engine? The starter motor needs a lot more power from the battery than the lights do. Try putting the headlights on as well and see if they dim right down or go out when trying to start the car. That should confirm whether the battery is flat or not.
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Thanks for replying Dave.
When i turned the key there was no dimming of the dashboard lights and the remote central locking works fine. As far as i am aware it had a new battery 3 months ago when i bought it.
Edited by madwoman1973 on 02/06/2009 at 12:08
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i had a similar problem on my 1.6 corsa two completly differant cars i no but same basic stuff, if you can take it somewhere to get a free battery test you should do that first.
if you can get a good view of your starter from under the bonnit or if you can get undernieth the car get a hammer and giv it a good wack! it may just be sticky but if still no joy just replace it its a fairley easy job especially on them micras dont be put off if you want to tackle it your self just keep a note of which wire goes to where ect.
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they normally give warning that they are about to expire ,especially on autos because the flywheel always stops at a particular place,not saying you are wrong lee just that i dont think its applicable in this case
one final word of warning if you hit the solenoid by mistake they can disintegrate (got the badge see :-( )
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No offence but have you checked its in Park or Neutral, have you tried moving the gear lever up and down a few times, might just be a sticking inhibitor switch..
Assuming this is correct then a click is most likely to be solenoid which on most cars is part of the starter motor. You can just replace the soleniod but a garage labour bill would not make that worthhile and I would think they would want to replace the whole thing.
You could try and see if the starter is drawing much current. Try to start it with the headlamps on, do they dim on start up. If yes then current getting to starter and starter needs replacing, if no then solenoid fault.
A more technical wayis if you have a voltmeter, ( you can buy a cheapie for about £5). Put it across the battery and observe the voltage, should be about 12.5 ish, then try to start. If voltage drops to less than about 10 volts than starter is drawing current and need replacing. If voltage stays at 12 ish then soleniod or imobiliser fault.
Good luck ..
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all good points above
another thing to add assuming your battery is good and your alternator is alternating is to take the battery terminals off and clean bright them and the battery where the fairies jump across because if they arent clean then they build up a high resistance and can cause your problem
cover them in petroleum jelly afterwards to keep the bad witch away
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Just a note of safety if you are going to remove the battery terminals. ALWAYS take the negative off first and put back on last.
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