Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Immobilizer 4/4 (2011) ?

Friday afternoon I collected my 4/4 from the annual service at the Mog-Garage. Besides standard service work a wiper relais had to be replaced. I drove home for some 1 &1/2 hours and parked the car in my garage. Because of rainy conditions I did not use the car over the weekend.
When I tried to start this morning the starter did not react at all. Battery OK, lights OK, instruments OK but no reaction from the starter, not even a slight click.
I got the immobilizer ring in the starter key area replaced some time ago for similar symtoms. Is it likely to have the same problem after two seasons again?
The Garage is closed on Monday so I can not reach any specialist there.
Can I check the function of the immobilizer myself?

HI Hannes,

Try the earth connection from the gearbox bell housing to the chassis, the same thing happened to me earlier this year.

I thought it was a duff battery as with you all the other lights etc worked, it was just that the starter didn't seem to engage.

Good luck mate.


Rob...

Many thx!
I'll try tomorrow morning.

If you have a jump lead connect it from the engine to the chassis to test the earth

This morning I wanted to test the connection to earth.
Before doing anything else I turned the key and the engine started immediately.

The car was not moved since yesterday, the air humidity is identical to Monday, the temperature in the garage is nearly the same too.

How to identify problems when they just disappear?
I'm sure the problem pops up again when I'm far away from any service support option

I was told the starter's magnet switch could be a reason for such "funny" starting habits too.

Carry a soft hammer with you Hannes. You will need some help but have someone tap the piggy back starter solenoid whilst you turn the start key if it won't start normally. This will likely free the partially stuck solenoid armature which causes the intermittent problem.

Only a temporary cure of course until you can replace solenoid, but it will get you home.

I think that the immobiliser ring is the most likely, even though you had it replaced 2 years ago. Some have had this problem repeatedly and others not at all. So, it seem to be an unreliable component. I believe Dave W has given advice in the past about first holding the key against the ring for a few seconds and then starting within 30 seconds.

Hi Hannes,
I had exactly the same problem a few weeks ago. For details see here: http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthread...-although-indicator-light-off#Post706450
The cause was apparently a defective insulation of the immobiliser ring.
Since the replacement, the problem has not reoccurred (I have driven approx. 3000km since then).
My suspicion: on the left-hand drive Morgans, the space at the ignition lock is very tight. Possibly the ring is damaged over time by the bunch of keys when starting.

My very low mileage 2013 Mini Cooper S suffered the same issues - it has stop start which was a real concern when the starter refused to play its part in busy traffic. Removed the starter ( has the solenoid built onto it) , dismantled the solenoid part, lubed it and popped it back on the car. It may have been a connection issue, I just don't know because its never played up since.

Oh thats likely tempted fate! Back to the 4/4 - I think I'd remove the starter connections, clean them up with emery paper and reconnect just be sure. With the battery disconnected!

- Worth checking the main fuse by the battery too - these can corrode and give issues as well.