The £800 crap bag Megane... more problems

[Gentle Ben]

Basically car wont start, battery is fine, fuel pump is priming, just wont turn over. It's a 1.6e, K7M engine.

It started as an intermittent fault last week, happening the once and then it happened to me on a road trip to Telford in a lay-by at the weekend. I don't know if it actually cured it but I wiggled the main wiring loom next to the ECU and after I did that it started again and behaved itself the rest of the day.

However tonight it failed again after my other half was picking our little boy up from nursery.

Bizarrely when I started towing it out of the nursery gate, the towing eye on the Megane gave out but I got out to find the car had started despite being in neutral?

Once running the car got home fine with no issue but since switching off it now refuses to start again.

My obvious suspicion (assuming wiring and terminals are in good order) is the starter motor, bearing in mind battery is fine, fuelling is okay and the fact that once it's running it's fine.

Just want to make sure there are no other problems that it could be i.e. crank sensor that could manifest in the same way?

Also, what's the easiest way to change it? From above or below?

And any clues as to which starter motor I need, as per usual being a Renault there are two options listed, 1.1kW and 1.4kW... is there any rational way to work out which one I have before getting the spanners out to find out or is it literally luck o' the draw?

Thanks in advance!

Ben

 

[Chris H]

its the solenoid wire super common on the meganes. And also why it works after moving the thing or wiggling the loom.

Thats how i got ambers one so cheap years ago,

 

[Gentle Ben]

I will have a look one evening this week, my plan was to clean up the wiring and the terminals and re-do them as a matter of course, hopefully that will be it then, it aint having any more dollar thrown at it if I can help it, as title says, £800 in the last month and counting!

 

[Gentle Ben]

Right got a look underneath it tonight.



White wire which slides on was a bit loose, cleaned up the lug as best I could and shoved it back on firm, since then the starter seems a lot keener to turn over, when it was starting before it sure lacked a bit of oomph by comparison.

Typically it started first time before I drove it round to my garage so can't be 100% that it's cured, but it's certainly improved, and taking that white wire off re-created the problem we've been having.

Fingers crossed it's sorted, and thanks to Chris....

 

[Chris H]

thats very clean.

That earth to the right of the pic is notorious for breaking so keep an eye on it