S2 Battery, Starter?

[cjm]

Occasionally getting a click click click rather than the starter spinning up when restarting the car if it is hot. Is this the battery dying, a bad earth, starter motor, common problem? Rather see if I can sort it before it strands me somewhere! It normally starts fine when I try again 10-15secs later.

[robin]

If it's going click-click-click while you're holding the key in the crank position then it is a lack of voltage at the starter, probably. Could be caused by a seized starter, or more likely, some cabling/earthing issues around the starter.

If at the same time as it going click-click-click the dash flickers and perhaps the lights turn themselves on too, then it is a general battery problem, either the battery being shagged or the cabling at the battery needing some attention.

Batteries tend to perform better when hot and recently charger than when cold and left alone, so if your car starts reliably when cold, I would guess the battery is just fine and the problem must be cabling/earthing or the starter itself.

Cheers,
Robin

[cjm]

The previous owner didn't use the car much and the battery had gone flat a few times, so I'm assuming the battery is not in the best condition!?

What is the best battery to get and where is the best/cheapest place round Glasgow to buy one?

[robin]

If it starts OK normally, and it starts OK after 15s when it didn't start, it isn't the battery. So by all means replace it, but it isn't going to fix the problem (unless you happen to fix a battery lead problem in the process).

I cannot remember battery type - best taking it to a tyres & exhausts type of place and get them to quote your for a replacement - they'll tell you the battery type at the same time, and if the price is OK, you can just get them to fit it (063 springs to mind, but maybe that's the S1 battery).

Cheers,
Robin

[thinfourth]

Sounds identical to the caterham K series click

Probably the MFR unit which causes most issues in a caterham

just never heard of an elise suffering from it

[cjm]

What is the MFR?

[tut]

More Fecking Rubbish.

tut

[robin]

MFRU (Multi Function Relay Unit) - it's a black box the size of a large box of matches or so, with two large bundles of wires hooked up to it. It contains three relays IIRC - the master relay, the fuel pump relay and, err, one other

Cheers,
Robin

[cjm]

The car been running ok and not had too many problems but it wouldn’t start this morning so called the AA out and they tested the battery and said it needed replaced. It does seem to start up a bit more readily now, but I'll see if any of the starting problems continue.

[robin]

If the AA man says the battery was bust, having tested it, I would be inclined to say he's right

Cheers,
Robin

[cjm]

Yeah, meant I've replaced and it seems to start more readily, will see if any other problems pop up now the battery is ruled out.

update - the new battery seems to have cured all the issues!