[Engine] Turning ignition key does nothing

[michael_askew@hotmail.co.uk]

Hi

Owner of a 2009 Berlingo First 1.6Hdi. First time posting.
Car won't start, turn ignition key and lights on dashboard come on, turning key fully to start engine does nothing, no sound coming from engine bay, as though no power getting through to starter motor. I checked all fuses in the engine bay hoping to find a blown fuse but did not. Central locking works ok so I'm sure battery is fine (only replaced last year).

2 events happened recently which I think are related as follows

1. Whilst driving the car, warning beeping started and the red S T O P on the dashboard was flashing, I slowed the car down to an idle and waited with the engine idling then the beeping stopped and the red flashing STOP went away. I was then able to continue driving without any problem evident.
2. On another day, the same problem described in the first paragraph above happened, a neighbour who is a mechanic took a look at it, took off the positive terminal from the battery and touched the engine block with the positive terminal then put the terminal back on the battery and then the car started fine. I was then able to drive the car for a few days.

My mechanic friend is not about just now for me to get advice, I tried his fix as described in 2 above but the car won't start.

Any thoughts on this will be appreciated.

Thanks
Michael

[brodfather11]

Hi welcome to the forum

Have you another key you can try in case the one you are using has went duff and the immobiliser has stopped it from working .?

Don't know about the red stop warning , a low oil/coolant/brake fluid warning maybe.
Earthing the positive battery terminal is a new thing to me and I don't known what it could do.

[Peter Palmer]

Obvious place to start is the solonoid on the starter motor, needs 12V bridging to it to see if it engages. We used to use a 50p piece to do it years ago. Top tip though, make doubly sure its not in gear when you do it, don't wan't to be running yourself over.

As for the immobiliser, I think the engine still turns over but doesn't fire if the immobiliser isn't working. It did with our Dispatch key before I'd programmed it up anyway.

[bikergraham]

What red light was flashing , this will be in your drivers handbook and could give you a clue as to whats going on .

[michael_askew@hotmail.co.uk]

Hi

Thanks for all your replies and apologies for this late update.

The problem has been resolved, when the starter motor was tapped a few times with a small hammer the engine started immediately. So it was assumed the start motor was sticking and needed replaced. I got a mechanic to replace the starter motor and since then the issue has not happened again.

Thanks again
Michael