1999 Corsa 1.2 16v Ecotec not starting - HELP!

[corsabscotty33]

Hey guys,

First off, I apologize if this has already been discussed in previous topics/threads - I had a quick look and couldn't find anything related so please feel free to move this to the relevant section if need be...

Okay, so this morning I was on my way to work and was running quite low on petrol so called in at the petrol station and put some fuel in. When I went to start the car again however, it wouldn't start - just a clicking noise as though the starter was jammed and all the usual lights came on on the dashboard (but dimmed when turning the key.) At first I thought maybe the battery was dead, so my brother arrived in his car and we tried jump starting the car to no avail. Stranger thing is, when the jump leads were attached, I got no lights and no response from the car when trying to start it. The car will push-start which is what I'm having to revert to in the meantime (as I work some 12 miles away and need the car to get there and back) but no amount of driving/leaving the car running seems to fix the problem. Since this morning also, I have noticed that the car seems to idle higher than normal (between 1200-1500rpm as opposed to the usual 800-900 rpm) and also seems to "rev-on" when I lift off the accelerator (ie I lift the accelerator and the revs stay the same for a couple of seconds before dropping and engine braking kicking in.) I thought it could be the starter which had packed in but I'm starting to doubt this now, especially with the other faults it seems to have developed overnight, of its own accord!

Has anyone had any similar issues and/or experience with this fault and if so what would you recommend in terms of diagnosing the problem and ultimately fixing it?

Many thanks

[corsabscotty33]

Can anyone help me with this?

[stanc3w0rks]

If it was me i would replace the starter as a start, and cleaning the throttle body could fix your revving issues. If not check breather pipes are not blocked. And a problem with mine was a crack in the red skinny tube going from the back of the breather box to the airbox (sorry dont know the name for it)

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[Blackie_No1]

I'd say the idle control valve or tps

[stanc3w0rks]

Good shout Blackie forgot about the idle control. But first thing i would do is spray carb cleaner down the top of the throttle body. A mates car was idling at 3k rpm and this was the fix.

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[corsabscotty33]

If it was me i would replace the starter as a start, and cleaning the throttle body could fix your revving issues. If not check breather pipes are not blocked. And a problem with mine was a crack in the red skinny tube going from the back of the breather box to the airbox (sorry dont know the name for it)

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Thanks for the reply pal, I'm thinking it is the starter as I've read that if the lights dim when turning the key it is usually a fault in the starter system (and that's what mine is doing - lights dim, dashboard lights almost go off altogether and I can hear the starter solenoid clicking every second or so around the passenger footwell area in the engine bay.) It bump-starts first time and runs well once it is going - except the over-revving issue. Thought it may have been a power/alternator/earth problem so I whipped the battery off the other night and plugged it into my charger and straight away it showed that the battery was fully charged. I'm fairly sure that if there was a fault in the alternator or earth then the battery would be discharged (or partially) but it still holds charge and the battery indicator is showing it in good health also. Would the starter affect the idling and over-revving though?

This couldn't have come at a worser time - I'm moving house at the end of March so the ££'s are a little tight this month!

[stanc3w0rks]

Im nearly sure its the starter sticking on you. And carb cleaber is only a few pound i cant stress enough how much i think you should try cleaning the throttle body before cashing out on other parts.

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[corsabscotty33]

Cheers guys, I'm changing the starter tomorrow (got one from a scrapper for a tenner) and I'll get some carb cleaner sprayed in the carb as well just to be sure. I'll keep you posted but if anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to add your 2p's worth!

[Blackie_No1]

It could be that the brain is registering incorrect info after the bump start causing the high revs

[stanc3w0rks]

Is that possible Blackie?? I never would have thought that

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[Blackie_No1]

Well they normally advise not to bump start or jump start modern cars as you can damage the brain, I've yet to see it happen myself, but it's one possibility, especially if the car was fine before this. Could also be a bad earth causing both problems?

[stanc3w0rks]

I've never heard that but guess you learn something new everyday

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[johnny]

It's highly unlikely in the corsa but in the pugs for example the brain is alot more sensitive and a bump start can confuse it and possibly fry it's self

But even the brand new vauxs this is unlikely to happen as the ecu just isn't as sictish

[stanc3w0rks]

Damn Ecu's thats what i like about corsas, if something goes wrong its usually easy enough to figure out what it is

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[corsabscotty33]

So update time: fit the other starter and same problem was there - just a click from the solenoid and lights dimming etc. Thought I would test the old starter from my battery with some jump leads and although it was trying to turn, it was definately struggling. So I then attached the jump leads from my mate's Nova valver and it cracked up pretty much first time! Gotta love Vaux's for reliability!! The erratic idle is still there though, tried the carb cleaner and that didn't do anything (except make the revs drop almost to the point of it cutting out) but still seems to be idling at around 1100 rpm :/ At least it's running now though

Damn Ecu's thats what i like about corsas, if something goes wrong its usually easy enough to figure out what it is

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I know exactly what you mean about the pug's - I had a 205 1.9 Gti that I bump started and after that the idle would fluctuate between 500 - 2000 rpm