HC Viva,won't start or turn over

[MikeOC]

well as is always the way,i have a show on tomorrow and i've come to start the new 2 door GLS to give it a wash etc,and its totally dead first thought was battery so put one on from the orange car that i know is fine as i've had that running today,but still nothing.

there is power there as everything is working,dash instruments,lights etc,but on turning the key there is absolutely nothing,no clicking,nothing....
any ideas please on what i need to be checking as i'm new to these cars.
i'm thinking it must be an ignition problem,or starter solenoid maybe?? the car hasn't been touched since driving it into the garage last weekend when i picked it up,so seems weird it should just be dead like this...

cheers,mike.

[droopsnoot]

All you can do is follow the current, grab the Haynes wiring diagram and test light and see where the current stops. Is there a loose connection on the bulkhead connector at the fuse box, for example, that just stops it hitting the starter?

[bluemoontezza]

If youve found soliniod remove white /red tracer wire,give this a seperate temp wire loom,flash this wire across something live+(the soliniod termil not the wiring)if it cranks now its a wiring fault from here back to the switch,if still nothing poss earth to solinoid if it still dont crank/solinoid make noise---i own a 2300 so not sure if yours is inertia type system(seperate soli and starter)but above info will still help terry

[oli8925]

If there's no clicking it might suggest the solenoid isn't being pulled in. So it could be a stuck solenoid (try giving it a sharp whack to free it, otherwise they're about £12 new) or possibly wiring before the solenoid or ignition switch. Should be able to single that out using a multimeter to check voltage.

[MikeOC]

ok thanks for the ideas...hopefully summat simple then like new solenoid,rather than getting an auto electrician in to dismantle the ignition switch wiring etc
i think i'll remove the solenoid from the car first off and clean it up and the wiring/earth etc as its a bit grubby/oily,then give it a tap and refit and see if that makes any difference..otherwise as you say there not too expensive for a new one.
last time i had a classic with a separate solenoid was a '71 Cortina 1600 OHV,that was easy to get at with 2 screws holding it onto the n/s inner wing with nowt else around it,the viva one is a little more crowded in by the battery/master cyl

when looking for a new one on ebay,are there any other cars which use the same solenoid,to make it easier tracking one down,cheers.

and i take it that its not too likely to be the starter motor itself then from the symptoms i've described? as current would have to go through the solenoid unit first i'm guessing??

[oli8925]

You can get Viva HC solenoids on ebay from a guy that only live 10 miles away from me in Wadhurst. He was helpful and had good service, but the solenoid seemed a bit cheap and didn't work. I never go around to sending it back though so could have been a one off. Think his name is Jumblemaster or something. In the end I went to a local auto electrician called Curd Bros and surprisingly they got one off the shelf. Worth trying the old school auto elecs, it was cheaper too.

I think ADRIAN on here might be able to supply you with a new ignition switch too. Before you go to the expense of calling out a guy I'd give the switches and wires a check with a multimeter and have a look at the wiring diagram in the Haynes. You can also mock a circuit on your solenoid with a battery to see if it actually pulls in or not.

[MikeOC]

managed to win a new solenoid on fleabay for a quid,so will try that once it arrives.
got absolutely no idea when it comes to using test meters or making up circuits and stuff though
wiring diagrams in the haynes just look like a foreign language to me LOL
so i will have to leave anything like that to an auto leccy if new solenoid doesn't do the trick.
another weekend of shows missed for me

[oli8925]

I would give you some of my spare time but it's a bit of a trip good luck with the solenoid, bargain!

[MikeOC]

well its still no good i've spent several hours this afternoon messing about with the car but to no avail..still just the same as before...have swapped solenoid and cleaned up all wiring/battery straps/earths etc,had column shroud and wheel off but can't see any wiring problems from switch,looked everywhere under the engine bay for any wires off anything but can't see nowt,so i'm fresh out of ideas now

looking like i'm gonna have to find an auto electrician to come and take a look,see if he can shed any light on it.

and while i had the column shroud off i swapped the stalk assembly for a spare one i had as the indicator stalk kept drooping and turning in its housing,after a fiddly time getting that done and refitting the shroud,the flipping main beam flash doesn't work on the replacement stalk so its all gotta be done again and put the old one back on!! oh dontcha just love old cars hey!!

[hbpeter]

Wonder if its the ignition switch itself?

Peter