MTH Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Ok, I know this subject crops up all the time but I'm one of those Caterham owners who only looks under the bonnet to check the oil... I tried to start the car (1.8k Series, factory built in 2000) at the weekend for the first time a few weeks. All that happened was a series of rapid clicks from the ignition system; nothing at all from the starter motor. Bump starting, and rocking the car in gear whilst turning the ignition key are not options (the car is facing forwards in a garage up a steep slope so if I roll it out I can't push it back in). Removing and stripping down the down the starter motor and/or solenoid are probably beyond my mechanical ability. The only other suggestion left seems to be to check the relay, but where is it? How can I tell if it's working? Should I get all those rapid clicks? Sorry if these are stupid questions, but Caterham built the car and didn't supply ANY documentation whatsoever. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Failing that can anyone recommend a good mobile mechanic in the High Wycombe area. Thanks in anticipation. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manxseven Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Mark, Have you checked the battery? Caterham Fireblade here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 The battery doesn't keep charge very well so I use a tricklecharger to keep it topped-up & the LEDs suggest the battery is fully charged. However I suppose it's worth trying to jump start with a 'proper' battery charger. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 It sounds like the symptoms of a low battery to me too. WARNING: you cannot jumpstart with a battery charger as you seem to suggest you want to do in your last post. You will blow the fuse in the battery charger at best and blow it up at worst. Use another battery to jumpstart. Chris 2003 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Edited by - Chris W on 5 Jun 2006 11:30:20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 My battery charger is supposed to have the ability to jumpstart, although I've never had to use it for that. I'll clear out the other half of the garage tonight and try it with some jump leads and one of the tin-tops. If that doesn't work then are there any other suggestions? Thanks again Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Ah, that's because there's actually just another car battery inside it in the guise of a battery charger OR, and read the label carefully, it will charge your original battery quickly so that the ORIGINAL battery can start the car. I have noticed a few makes of "battery charger" recently using wording that suggests you can start the car from it, when in reality that's not the case strictly. Chris 2003 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted June 5, 2006 Author Share Posted June 5, 2006 Haven't tried jumped starting - can't get the cars close enough together. There's 12.6V across the terminals and even after several attempts to start it has dropped very little. There's also 12.6V at the brown wire leading into the rear of the starter motor. That's the case whether the key is in the ignition or not. I've tried rocking the car backwards and forwards in gear, but no success. I've found the relays; the top 3 were the same so I've tried swapping these around, but with no affect. I haven't done anything with the large relay at the bottom yet. Please can someone tell me what the 4 relays are, as I don't have any manual of any sort. If the large relay at the bottom is part the ignition/starter system then is it worth replacing? Finally can anyone recommend a mobile mechanic in the High Wycombe area as I'm running out of things to try. Thanks once again Mark Edited by - MTH on 7 Jun 2006 08:44:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul McKenzie Posted June 5, 2006 Share Posted June 5, 2006 Battery's knacked Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTH Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Managed to do a jump start last night - took 3 attempts before it would catch though. Thanks for all the advice - it was a dead battery as predicted. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manxseven Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Mark, Nice easy fix then. Glad to be of help. Caterham Fireblade here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The 3 (identical relays) are: Horn, Headlights and a (so-called) "Hazard" relay. The large 4th one is the indicator flasher circuit. The "hazard" relay really should be better named an "indicator" relay because its function is to detect whether the ignition is ON or OFF and to allow the indicators to function if the ignition is found to be ON. It actually has nothing to do with the hazard functionality. The hazard switch simply bypasses the "indicator" relay and applies power to all 4 indicators regardless of the ignition status. Chris 2003 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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