- My model of MX-5 is: __NB 2000 Jasper Conran
- I’m based near: __Glasgow
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Non-starting issue
Had a look through the forum first and I’m judging by what I read in the threads I read, but would appreciate if anyone could advise/confirm my thoughts or suggest something else.
Car has been running fine, no lumpiness no nothing, all fine, then on Friday after about a 1/2 hour run I stopped for a bit, got back in the engine started then cut out straight away, tried to restart it and nothing - it cranks OK but just won’t catch.
Fuel is getting delivered, battery & security light on the dashboard come on when I turn the ignition on.
I’m thinking either cam sensor or coil pack,
MX5 Parts are a “joke” if it’s the coil pack +£300 - can get for less than 1/2 price elsewhere, Cam senor I don’t know as only came across that as another potential fault. I changed the spark plugs and HT leads about 3-4 years ago, not sure how or if relevant that may be.
It was dropped off at the garage Saturday morning, not heard from the garage yet, though know they’re very busy
Bearing in mind how suddenly the fault occurred, it might be something relatively simple such as a crank sensor alignment fault, or a build up of dirt on it. Or then again, a whole range of other possibilities.
It’s WELL worth investing (around £30) in an OBD II code tester, whichever car you own. I bought one (eBay) quite a few years ago and it’s been worth it’s weight in gold, having been used on a whole range of cars owned by family and friends. My own NB is a very early, pre OBD II car but I still use an LED type tester on it and it helped me diagnose a faulty TPS unit, which saved me no end of messing about trying to diagnose why it wouldn’t run properly. In fact I used it again yesterday on my son’s Alfa Romeo which had the engine warning light come on. It gave the code for a cooling fan control warning, which we have since cleared.
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Hi
Had a similar issue on my first MX 5 a 99 NB 1.8.
This ran fine then one day would not start, it turned out to be a blown fuse in the cabin, but I cannot remember which one.
It has been very wet recently, have you checked under the carpet on the passenger side, the ECU lives there and any water can cause a world of pain.
As stated an OBD reader is worth its weight in gold to help diagnose the issue.
Good luck
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Two things that need to be ruled out first , is there any water/damp under the carpet in the passenger side footwell ( lift the main carpet up) and have you ran a flash code test from the diagnostic box( a OBD II reader cannot be used on a Mk 2 or MK 1, OBD II came in 2001 so MK 2.5 onwards) just in case she can tell you whats wrong or the area to view.
When was the last time she had work and what was it?
M-m
Thanks for the replies - it was the coil pack. No underlying reason for it going, they do just sometimes go as my mechanic said, the car is 21yrs old and now sitting at 92k miles (34k when I got her), so I suppose not unexpected - but unexpected.
The garage does have equipment that can plug into the diagnostics box, but that is a £12k bit of kit! The diode with flash codes is “old school” as the mechanic said - I’ve got one of them and the booklet but have never used it - not overly keen on sticking things in sockets - nearly killed myself as a kid doing that!