Engine not turning and immobiliser light stays on.

[CBR Benjy]

Hi everyone, I know this has likely already been covered but I couldn't see anything that exactly matches. My father in law has a 1.2 '03 Clio. The other day it wouldn't start. He thought it was just the battery so bought a new one. Same fault. I've had a look and here's what I can see. Locks and unlocks fine, before you put the key in the ignition the red light in the binnacle flashes steadily. Put the key in and turn to position 2 all required dash lights come on, however the fuel pump (normally runs) seems to pulse likes its trying to prime along with frequent clicking from the relays under the bonnet. On the very odd occasion it will prime properly. At this point the red led is solid. Turn key to crank and nothing happens, red led stays on. We have tried with both keys and the results are exactly the same. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?
Thanks Ben.

 

[ScottL]

Try jump starting it, also check all the engine earths on it. If I remember correctly they are:

Passenger side wheel arch
Front of the gearbox
One from the battery to the bodywork

 

[Adam D]

I had similar with one of mine, jump starting it did nothing if the immobiliser light will not go out.

Checking the earths and then cleaning up all the relays (WD40, give them a little tap just incase ones stuck too) seemed to sort the job out.

 

[Sunglasses_Ron]

Mine used to do this a lot. Since replacing the battery it's not happened once. Coincidence? Maybe.

 

[CBR Benjy]

I personally thought I sounded like a bad earth. He tried jump starting it before replacing the battery. Ill have another look at the earths when I get out tomorrow:up:. He seemed pretty convinced it was an immobiliser issue and asked me to post for him.

 

[ScottL]

I didn't see that he had purchased a new battery sorry.

I had this problem for about a month before I got it sorted and I only came across finding the fault when I jump started the car. Turns out the battery was knackered.

Defiantly do what Adam has said and check all the earths though

 

[CBR Benjy]

Lol. No worries. Will do and thanks for the replies though.

 

[ScottL]

Out of curiosity where are you located?

 

[CBR Benjy]

Just south of Glasgow.

 

[GrahamS]

Small black relay in engine fuse box. Swap them around. Give them again. Come across this problem loads

 

[CBR Benjy]

Thanks guys. It's going to be the weekend now before I get a chance to look at it again. I can get an earth strap for £4 so I'm going to change that anyway. I'll have a look at the small relays and update later. Cheers.

 

[Chris04-182]

Thanks guys. It's going to be the weekend now before I get a chance to look at it again. I can get an earth strap for £4 so I'm going to change that anyway. I'll have a look at the small relays and update later. Cheers.

CBR Benjy - did you get sorted? Was it the earth strap? I've got a similar problem on mine. What earth strap did you buy and where from?

Thanks
Chris

 

[CBR Benjy]

s**t, sorry. I totally meant to update this. In the end it was the earth strap between the gearbox and the near side chassis. I got a generic one from halfords pretty cheap (£8ish). The only issue is that the 2 bolts are different sizes and the larger one is too big for the new earth strap. A large drill bit and a reamer soon sorted this though. The other issue I came across was one end of the old cable was quite thick and the bolt at this end fairly long. To avoid bottoming out the bolt I just cut off the end and used it as a packer. All surfaces cleaned before rebuilding and it started like a dream first turn. Hope this helps you and isn't too late Chris.
I was informed this is a recognised issue at Renault and they have a modified strap but it would cost you and I found no one else that sold them. Let me know how you get on.

 

[Chris04-182]

s**t, sorry. I totally meant to update this. In the end it was the earth strap between the gearbox and the near side chassis. I got a generic one from halfords pretty cheap (£8ish). The only issue is that the 2 bolts are different sizes and the larger one is too big for the new earth strap. A large drill bit and a reamer soon sorted this though. The other issue I came across was one end of the old cable was quite thick and the bolt at this end fairly long. To avoid bottoming out the bolt I just cut off the end and used it as a packer. All surfaces cleaned before rebuilding and it started like a dream first turn. Hope this helps you and isn't too late Chris.
I was informed this is a recognised issue at Renault and they have a modified strap but it would cost you and I found no one else that sold them. Let me know how you get on.

Thanks Benjy,
I did check the earth strap and although it was obviously not brand new it did appear to be in intimate contact, plus I tried using a jump lead from the battery to the exhaust hoist point to see if the cause was down to a bad earth but to no avail!
The old dear is booked in with Mick on Monday so I'm sure he'll figure out the cause of the problem. Hopefully it's not an expensive fix!

Thanks for the reply. Much appreciated
Chris