Lude Generation

Hi all

Rescued a 2.3 i auto 4th gen destined for the scrap yard.

Had no key also steering lock jammed wouldn't start due to what was thought to be an immobiliser problem and Stuck in park.

Fully charged battery got her into neutral. Drilled off steering lock as I have a replacement. Bypassed immobiliser via joining the two green wires at the rear of the key operated override switch. But still wouldn't start. Finally diagnosed faulty ignition coil and replaced it. Hey presto she runs (well she did).

Started up every other day for 2 weeks no problems. Moved her to work on one day and she didn't start up. The starter engaged and the engine turned the first couple of times I tried. Checked battery and gave her fresh fuel before trying again. This time I noticed no fuel pump prime noise. Tried again and lost dash lights and power to roof and windows still the engine turned but wouldn't fire. Checked all fuses and replaced the 15 A in the footwell even though it seemed fine. Again she turned but would not fire.

Had a brew break and a ciggy then said some four letter words before I tried again. However this time nothing ... no power no dash lights no fuel pump prime no roof or windows and now no starter thus she won't even turn over.

Apologies for waffling. How do I diagnose / rule out possible causes. If I'm honest i don't know where to starthe but thinking maybe ignition switch or relay as all of the things that get power when turning the ignition on are obviously not getting power.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Bov

Sure the battery is ok?
Could be the main relay?
Or a another fuse, I forget which one but I'm sure one under the bonnet fuses can trip and prevent any electrics

Bovril1987 wrote:Hi all

Rescued a 2.3 i auto 4th gen destined for the scrap yard.

Had no key also steering lock jammed wouldn't start due to what was thought to be an immobiliser problem and Stuck in park.

Fully charged battery got her into neutral. Drilled off steering lock as I have a replacement. Bypassed immobiliser via joining the two green wires at the rear of the key operated override switch. But still wouldn't start. Finally diagnosed faulty ignition coil and replaced it. Hey presto she runs (well she did).

Started up every other day for 2 weeks no problems. Moved her to work on one day and she didn't start up. The starter engaged and the engine turned the first couple of times I tried. Checked battery and gave her fresh fuel before trying again. This time I noticed no fuel pump prime noise. Tried again and lost dash lights and power to roof and windows still the engine turned but wouldn't fire. Checked all fuses and replaced the 15 A in the footwell even though it seemed fine. Again she turned but would not fire.

Had a brew break and a ciggy then said some four letter words before I tried again. However this time nothing ... no power no dash lights no fuel pump prime no roof or windows and now no starter thus she won't even turn over.

Apologies for waffling. How do I diagnose / rule out possible causes. If I'm honest i don't know where to starthe but thinking maybe ignition switch or relay as all of the things that get power when turning the ignition on are obviously not getting power.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Bov

The 15A fuse you replaced, was that for the PGM-FI? If so, its your fuel relay under the dash that's gone hence why the fuse blows and you cant hear the fuel pump prime.

I had this problem not so long ago, I replaced the fuel relay and fuse and fired up instantly.

Firstly, welcome and we'll done for saving a lude
It does sound like your main fuel relay could have been some of the cause (when starter was working but engine not firing due to no fuel) that's a relatively common problem and can usually be fixed by opening the relay and re-soldering. I would definitely advise doing that (also check condition of coil etc while you have it open of course)
However that doesn't explain the current problem with no power to anything.
For that, I would suggest checking the battery, the battery terminals (check they are tight/makong good contact) then going through all fuses in the engine bay fuse compartment, then the ignition switch. Sorry don't have the wiring diagrams to hand right now so can't be more specific than that right now.
The oem service manual containing the wiring diagrams for the car can be downloaded for free - link is in the wiki pages of the forum.

Main earth ponts?

also try checking the wiring you dealt with under the dash when you cut out the immobiliser

welcome to the forum , i have been going threw some similar issues with the same model of lude as yours i traced my non working fuel pump back to the main relay not getting a trigger feed from the ecu looped a feed to the relay and hey presto all running fine , another thing to check is mine had an alarm fitted which i removed this was spliced into the main relay wiring feeding the fuel pump so if you have diconnected the immobliser on yours make sure its not spliced into this wiring which will now be dead causing the relay to have no power , as a side note always check fuses with a multimeter