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MG3 not starting

12284 Views 14 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Paul50, 
Franno83
Wondering if anyone has thoughts on my MG3 not starting. Put a new battery in and it was ok for a few days then failed to start again. Battery has retained charge ok. At the 2nd ignition click all the interior check lights come on but on the 3rd click everything goes dead. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's a 2015 model. Thank you.
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M
Franno83 said:
Wondering if anyone has thoughts on my MG3 not starting. Put a new battery in and it was ok for a few days then failed to start again. Battery has retained charge ok. At the 2nd ignition click all the interior check lights come on but on the 3rd click everything goes dead. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's a 2015 model. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

Does the car attempt to crank or does all power just go off at this stage?

It could be that the alternator wasn't charging the new battery and the only way to test this is to get someone to give your car a jump start and see if the car can start with either the second battery connected or a using car battery booster.

It could also be that something like the starter system is draining all power/short circuiting and this will need looking at.

Assuming that the new battery has the necessary cranking amps (given that it is new) then a prime suspect would be the electrical systems.

Cheers..
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Franno83
Hello Matty, many thanks for replying. It doesn't crank at all. Goes completely dead, but battery is full of charge.
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gnu
It could be the battery connections or earth strap needs to be checked/ cleaned. Don’t know the layout in the 3, but earth strap is probably on the slam panel under the front of the bonnet. There will be other straps i.e. near the starting motor etc.
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Franno83
Thank you. Will have a look at that?
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gnu
Remember to be careful with spanner’s around the battery terminals. Safer to disconnect the -ve first if working on the +ve connection.
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P
I had a similar problem but manage to jump start the car and it started by itself several times until now all electronics work but the screen shows the AMT as being in 1 no matter how I have the speed stick.

I also read about a pink cable and ground connection but nobody has been able to pinpoint where these cables are ...


Starting Problems
The most common starting problem is when it goes through all the preliminary starting sequence but then the starter motor fails to engage.
This is usually caused by a poor connection at the thin PINK signal wire which connects via a spade terminal on the starter solenoid.
Try sliding the spade up and down a few times to improve the connection. Long term you need a new spade connector fitting or tighten the existing spade but this is a bit more tricky as not much space to work. There are other comments about this elsewhere in these blogs.
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LynnA
Franno83 said:
Wondering if anyone has thoughts on my MG3 not starting. Put a new battery in and it was ok for a few days then failed to start again. Battery has retained charge ok. At the 2nd ignition click all the interior check lights come on but on the 3rd click everything goes dead. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's a 2015 model. Thank you.
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LynnA
Had non-starting problem yesterday. Called AA, but much time later no solution, except to tow car to nearest MG garage. Today advised that in the well of the car, under the front passenger seat, is a 'DC something or other', but the well is full of water which has 'blown' the item and caused parts to be 'rusty'. Carpets, seats etc need to be removed to fully determine the problem. Advised that a window must have been left open (not to my knowledge) or the door seals have failed. Car is now close to four years old so not covered by warranty. Likely cost to be close to £500, probably plus VAT. Parts not easily available, but three days time is the hoped for solution to problem
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LynnA said:
Had non-starting problem yesterday. Called AA, but much time later no solution, except to tow car to nearest MG garage. Today advised that in the well of the car, under the front passenger seat, is a 'DC something or other', but the well is full of water which has 'blown' the item and caused parts to be 'rusty'. Carpets, seats etc need to be removed to fully determine the problem. Advised that a window must have been left open (not to my knowledge) or the door seals have failed. Car is now close to four years old so not covered by warranty. Likely cost to be close to £500, probably plus VAT. Parts not easily available, but three days time is the hoped for solution to problem
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It's a known issue with the door seals going hard over time and not stopping any water getting into the car.

See this video for more details:


Cheers..
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LynnA
Thanks for the video and reply. Talked it over with the garage preparing to do the repair and their response was that they hosed the car down but there was no water getting in to the car. They discounted the suggestion of hardening of the rubber seal at the point you indicated but as a precaution they still want to replace the seals. They also will only replace the new part in the original location, which surely means that this is a design fault and that if water is getting in other than through the seals then the problem is only going to recur. Just under four years old, 11,000 miles only on the clock but the warranty is for three years only, looks like I am stuck with a big bill. Will continue with this dialogue following a visit to the garage during the exposure of the item to be replaced.
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Waznik
Panalex said:
I had a similar problem but manage to jump start the car and it started by itself several times until now all electronics work but the screen shows the AMT as being in 1 no matter how I have the speed stick.

I also read about a pink cable and ground connection but nobody has been able to pinpoint where these cables are ...


Starting Problems
The most common starting problem is when it goes through all the preliminary starting sequence but then the starter motor fails to engage.
This is usually caused by a poor connection at the thin PINK signal wire which connects via a spade terminal on the starter solenoid.
Try sliding the spade up and down a few times to improve the connection. Long term you need a new spade connector fitting or tighten the existing spade but this is a bit more tricky as not much space to work. There are other comments about this elsewhere in these blogs.
Click to expand...
Hi
Panalex said:
I had a similar problem but manage to jump start the car and it started by itself several times until now all electronics work but the screen shows the AMT as being in 1 no matter how I have the speed stick.

I also read about a pink cable and ground connection but nobody has been able to pinpoint where these cables are ...


Starting Problems
The most common starting problem is when it goes through all the preliminary starting sequence but then the starter motor fails to engage.
This is usually caused by a poor connection at the thin PINK signal wire which connects via a spade terminal on the starter solenoid.
Try sliding the spade up and down a few times to improve the connection. Long term you need a new spade connector fitting or tighten the existing spade but this is a bit more tricky as not much space to work. There are other comments about this elsewhere in these blogs.
Click to expand...
Hi, Where is the starter motor located ?
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P
Is this thread all sorted now?
My MG3 2015 decided not to start on Saturday. the key will not turn to position 1. I have had to rig up another ignition switch so that I can get the thing to start and run.
To get to the starter motor you may need to remove the plastic panel under the engine.
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gnu
Paul50 said:
Is this thread all sorted now?
My MG3 2015 decided not to start on Saturday. the key will not turn to position 1. I have had to rig up another ignition switch so that I can get the thing to start and run.
To get to the starter motor you may need to remove the plastic panel under the engine.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a jammed switch, if you can’t turn it to a certain position. Lube (WD40) or replace?
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P
Tried WD40, electrical contact cleaner and tapping it with a hammer. All to no avail.
Have had 2 quotes for replacement. One was £374 for just the keyswitch and 2 keys, no mention of labour and the second was for £680 all in. Decided to leave it as is until I have time to remove it and see if i can free it off outside the car. I'm going to retire in September so I'll do it then. Thanks.
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