C3 Mk2 1.4Hdi Starting issues

[rosnail]

Hi Guys..

Newbie here and need some help please.
Bought this c3 couple of yrs ago as a little run around, done alot of suspension work on it, lovely little car but..
it started having sporaddic non start issues where when you turn key sometimes it turns over and sometimes nothing!

I can hear relay clicking but wont turn over, we changed the battery, ive run a lead from battery to starter solenoid & it cranks, irt was blowing the F8 Starter fuse but now it stopped doing that a while ago but my mrs keeps breaking down.
if we pull any fuse under bonnet then re-insert it will sometimes start.
it bumps ok & pretty sure starter ok, any ideas before i just run a momentry button on the starter cos its pissing me off.
Thanks

[Paul-R]

How many miles has the vehicle done?
Why do you think the starter motor is OK?

[BarneyRubble]

I wonder is this a loose earth connection? It might explain the sporadic nature of your starting problems and explains why the relay clicks (because the bad connection can deliver _some_ current), but the starter does not (bad connection cannot sustain 100+ amps), however the starter works when directly connected.

I suggest checking all the C3 earthing points (6 total) in the engine bay. This article (viewtopic.php?t=72542) shows all the earthing point locations and satisfy yourself that the cables/connectors/copper braids are present, clean and corrosion free, ticking each one off in turn. Where you mention pulling any fuse under the bonnet, that _feels_ like the failing earth / connector is very nearby, no?

One other possibility is the relay is beginning to fail, so it may be worth your while testing that too. Test it by swapping it with a matching relay and see if the fault moves to the swapped relay location (and the engine starts on the key!) or using a tester or check youtube for easy ways to test relays.

Also check the connections to the starter motor are corrosion free and solid.

Be aware too that the C3 has an issue where water damage in the fuse box is possible because (I believe) clogged drains / faulty washer bottle etc spills water into the fusebox area. intermittent shorts because of this might also be the root cause of the starting problem.

Either way, good luck.

[rosnail]

Thanks for replys..
Yep pretty sure starter ok, surely the starter just earths through the engine but i will check all other earths and take a look to see if theres any water ingress in the fusebox.

[rosnail]

so if i run a cable from this circled cable to batt + this is the starter solonoid & should work the same as getting under car?