[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

...it is absolutely essential that you ensure your own as well as others' safety by pushing the dead car safely to the side of the road.

The above advice may be only followed on narrow city streets or single-lane highways, where the speed of traffic is slow.

On access-restricted high-speed expressways such as the Yamuna Expressway, it is highly inadvisable to get out of the car and start to push if you are in one of the middle lanes - the risk of being run over by traffic, resulting in injury / death is extremely high. If your engine does happen to cut out at speed, shift to neutral and steer to the left (emergency) lane while the car is rolling. A phone call to the expressway helpline number (also see this link for a more comprehensive list of highway helplines: http://www.hivayking.in/blog/helpline-numbers/) should get you assistance within 15-20 minutes.

[COUGAR]

For the past 2 weeks, have been having trouble starting the Gypsy (2007 MPFI).

Sometimes the starter motor doesnt crank on turning the key. I need to leave it in the ACC position for some time and then start the car. Even then its hit and miss.

The mechanic says the starter motor is fine and the problem is with the AutoCop central locking system - apparently a blown capacitor (his words) causes this problem. The AutoCop service fellow came over just now and checked the now 7 year old system and gave it a clean bill of health!

Confused now!

[saket77]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

Sometimes the starter motor doesnt crank on turning the key. I need to leave it in the ACC position for some time and then start the car. Even then its hit and miss.

Confused now!

Check the ignition switch, if the starter motor is fine. At times, the problem may lie with the ignition switch itself which I suspect in this case with the pointers given by you. Get it checked and if found faulty, replacing the switch is the only option.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

For the past 2 weeks, have been having trouble starting the Gypsy (2007 MPFI).

Sometimes the starter motor doesnt crank on turning the key. I need to leave it in the ACC position for some time and then start the car. Even then its hit and miss.

The mechanic says the starter motor is fine and the problem is with the AutoCop central locking system - apparently a blown capacitor (his words) causes this problem. The AutoCop service fellow came over just now and checked the now 7 year old system and gave it a clean bill of health!

Confused now!

See, all you will be able to do is guesswork through mechanics. These guys know how, but never know "why".

get a digital multimeter, and connect it where power supply goes into the starter motor. you have have to open part of the housing.

Then, when you crank, see if you get voltage at the terminals. And also, when the starter motor actually works, whether you get voltage.

If you are always getting voltage, but starter motor works only sometime, your starter motor solenoid could be shot. You have narrowed down the problem.

However, if you do not get the voltage sometimes, this means, something is wrong in the switch or Autocop thingy.

Now, if autocop has an engine immobilizer connection, disconnect that. Then try. If problem goes away its autocop.

If it does not, its the switch itself.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

For the past 2 weeks, have been having trouble starting the Gypsy (2007 MPFI).

Sometimes the starter motor doesnt crank on turning the key. I need to leave it in the ACC position for some time and then start the car. Even then its hit and miss.

The mechanic says the starter motor is fine and the problem is with the AutoCop central locking system - apparently a blown capacitor (his words) causes this problem. The AutoCop service fellow came over just now and checked the now 7 year old system and gave it a clean bill of health!

Confused now!

You can also check the state of the starter cable connector. Once in my Esteem it was loose and would either start or black out. After a lot of effort identified loose connection between the cable and the big lug which bolts on to the battery.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

For the past 2 weeks, have been having trouble starting the Gypsy (2007 MPFI).

Sometimes the starter motor doesnt crank on turning the key. I need to leave it in the ACC position for some time and then start the car. Even then its hit and miss.

The mechanic says the starter motor is fine and the problem is with the AutoCop central locking system - apparently a blown capacitor (his words) causes this problem. The AutoCop service fellow came over just now and checked the now 7 year old system and gave it a clean bill of health!

Confused now!

Last year i had faced the issue of my Gypsy not starting. Called my FNG and he did some tweaking on the Ignition switch and it was done. However it was kind of a stop gap solution as the switch had become loose. At times even after turning the key, the tell tale lights wouldnt light up, i would need to fiddle / shake key to get those lights on (ACC Mode) and then start. Not sure if you are facing the same scenario.

[Raulspace999]

I would like to share an incident which happened to me yesterday. My Swift Vxi just refused to start. Later on had to call a local mechanic who used jumper cables. The car started but was soon stranded in traffic. Promptly changed the battery and bought a new one. The earlier one was stock and had completed 3 years. Just a question. Should I have recharged the old battery instead of replacing it with a new one or 3 years is the maximum time period for which it will suffice?

[SS-Traveller]

^^^
In these 3 years, did you ever personally check and top up the electrolyte level in your battery? Did you check and top up electrolyte and try to bench charge it before changing to a new battery?

[Raulspace999]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

^^^
In these 3 years, did you ever personally check and top up the electrolyte level in your battery? Did you check and top up electrolyte and try to bench charge it before changing to a new battery?

I didnt personally check the electrolyte level. I suppose they do it when the car is serviced. But strangely enough they didnt tell me about this when it was serviced at 25K Km. now the Odometer reading stands at 28K km something. I make it a point to service it every 5K kms. The MOS( Maruti Onroad Service) was of the considered opinion that 30K km approx is the maximum a car battery can last. which is quite debatable. The MOS guy was kidn enough to follow me till the end of my journey home.

P.S:- The services of batterybhai.com deserves a special mention which were shared here proved to be a boon. Right from delivery to installation in 3 hrs!!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Raulspace999

I didnt personally check the electrolyte level. I suppose they do it when the car is serviced. But strangely enough they didnt tell me about this when it was serviced at 25K Km.

Nice hopes you have they'll check the electrolyte regularly when you give the vehicle for service. I guess you should mention it in the job card so that they at least read it and have a look.


Why are you servicing the car every 5K kms?! It is on overkill IMO. 10K Kms is sufficient buddy. Don't visit MASS so frequently.

Anurag.

[Shwetank]

Originally Posted by Raulspace999

I would like to share an incident which happened to me yesterday. My Swift Vxi just refused to start. Later on had to call a local mechanic who used jumper cables. The car started but was soon stranded in traffic. Promptly changed the battery and bought a new one. The earlier one was stock and had completed 3 years. Just a question. Should I have recharged the old battery instead of replacing it with a new one or 3 years is the maximum time period for which it will suffice?

Battery life is not dependent on the mileage that you have covered. 3 years for a stock battery is good enough, anything more a bonus. A battery which does not retain charge is a case of replacement. It is best, however, to ensure that the charging sytem is in order before going in for a change.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Why are you servicing the car every 5K kms?! It is on overkill IMO. 10K Kms is sufficient buddy. Don't visit MASS so frequently.

Anurag.

Getting an oil change done every 5k kms is not a bad idea at all considering how much cars today are run while parked. Infact, Hyundai even lists out conditions which they consider severe, under which service intervals are reduced to half. A perusal of the list will indicate that our cars are mostly being used under these 'severe' conditions.

[a_myth]

Originally Posted by Raulspace999

I would like to share an incident which happened to me yesterday. My Swift Vxi just refused to start. Later on had to call a local m.
Should I have recharged the old battery instead of replacing it with a new one or 3 years is the maximum time period for which it will suffice?

I had a similar incident when I was traveling from Goa to Kolhapur. My car battery was approximately 4 years old. During those days the Punto would always display the airbag failure message during starting, and on discussing the issue in the forum I was aware that the battery was due for replacement.

On reaching Kolhapur, I had to stop to make a phone call. When I tried to restart the car, it would just crank but no ignition. A cousin of mine aware of my battery issue suggested the "Batmobile service". Half an hour later I was on my way to a battery dealer. Taught me a big lesson: Preventive maintenance is much better than breakdown maintenance.

Could have been worse if it had happened in remote area.

[arvind71181]

I think I will have to check my car's battery right away as it has been 5 years 63kms and I have not even checked it once . I think I might have been extremely lucky

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by Shwetank

3 years for a stock battery is good enough, anything more a bonus.

One can eke out a little bit more than 3 years, in case one takes good care of the battery though... I have consistently managed 5+ years on every battery I have owned.
1) Ensure there's no leakage in the circuit
2) Maintain the right sp. gravity by topping up with battery water - you can get this done when getting the car serviced.
3) Don't put heavy load on the battery when starting the car. i.e. headlights should be off.

Here's a relevant thread on this topic:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...dos-donts.html

[nik0502]

Note :- Humble request to the Mods, please do not merge this with any existing thread. This is the 3rd time I am posting about my problem and not getting much help.

Hi all,

Background of the car :-

it's a 2005 model Esteem Vxi. I bought this car 4 months back. The odo was at 53k Kms when I bought it and I have driven the car for 8k kms approx. The car was fitted with CNG by me. The whole purpose of buying this car was to save on my fuel expenses as my daily running is 60 + kms and my other car is a Fiesta petrol.

The car was in good shape. I consulted my mech also before buying. The car was butter smooth with no smoke coming from exhaust and great pick up. But the very first time I drove it for a diatance I realised that the car was losing water and was overheating. Got it checked by my mech and after checking radiator and fan we figured out the problem with the head gasket. I gave a go ahead to my mech to change the gasket. The car was returned to me in the evening. But the car was still loosing water and was overheating. Now my mech said he will have to face the block as well as esteem has an aluminium block and in case of overheating at times the block is also required to even out. Gave him a go ahead got the car two days later. But this time with a new problem. After driving the car for few kms the engine oil light on the dash would start glowing and if I shut down the engine the car would not crank. It would try to but would not start the car and looked like there is load on the engine. And if i leave the car for few minutes it will start just fine.And to my horror the car was still loosing water. I drove straight to MASS who advised me to take my car back to my mech and ask him to put original gasket as he had used a local one. I confirmed with the mech. And he confirmed that he had actually used a local one. So this time fed up with this guy I gave my car to one of my old mech which is a bit far from my place. He also got a duplicate gasket fit in the car and I returned the car to him asking for a genuine gasket. He did take the responsibility and took the car back. I also got the armature changed for the self. Got the original gasket fit and returned the car and he told me that the head of the car has been repaired in the past. And if I still face the problem the head would need to be repalced. And my bad luck the problem did come again. So the mech arranged for a head from an accidental car and fit it in my car. And the problem was resolved. The car was not overheating anymore nor it was losing water. The engine oil light was still there. After few days I spotted engine oil marks below the car. Took it to Mech to realize the car has hit from the bottom and is leaking oil. Gave the car to him and he returned the car and told me that he has got the sump welded as he could not find a new one. The very next day when I checked engine oil level and it was showing the oil very low. Took it to MASS who replaced the sump and told me the car only had 1.5 L to 2 L oil approx. And about the engine oil light was told that it is because of the oil pump which needs to be changed.


Current problem-

Just few days ago the problem started again. After driving for few kms the engine oil light starts glowing and if I shut down the car after that it won't start. I took the car to MASS and was advised to get the oil pump changed. Left the car at MASS got a call from them stating timing belt also needs replacement. Got the car the very next day with a bill of 4k. To my horror the Engine oil was still glowing after driving for few kms and the cranking problem was still there. Went back to MASS they adjusted the timing. Deleted all the error codes and returned the car and as expected the problem was still there. I went back and now MASS wants me to get the engine rebuild which will cost 25 k to 30 k because as per them the engine has become very noisy.

I have no clue what I am supposed to do. Can you folks help me ? The car is excellent otherwise. The pick up is great. It returns exceptional FE. There is no engine oil consumption.

nIk