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Non-starting issue.

S

Sandy Langlands

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Location
Salisbury
Can anyone recommend so first-steps to trouble-shooting my non-starting R4.

I replaced the fuel pump this weekend as the diaphragm in the old one had given up the ghost. The car had been sat for about two months without starting but with the new pump on, she roared into life. I ran her for about twenty mins to get her to temp before shutting her off. I immediately then tried to start her again and nothing. Absolutely nothing. No click, no dash lights, nothing.
She's a 1969 - so has the old wiring circuit without the four fuse box - so I am rather at a loss of where to start. I have all the early wiring diagrams and a circuit tester - just need someone to get me started. . .

Thanks for your help!
 
Have you checked and cleaned the battery terminals? Take them off and sand them clean, then re-tighten. Hopefully its just that!
After 2 months you might have used the last bit of power when you started.
 
It was the battery. It had run flat. I was a little surprised by this as it is relatively new and I'd had it on charge a few weeks before. But I've been suspicious of my dynamo. Can anyone tell me what sort of voltage it should be kicking out when the engine is running idle? I'm recording about 5.5v . . . I have to run at, i suspect, around 1.5k rpm to get a charge of 12v+. So this can't be right can it? I suspect I need a service on the dynamo so have bought new brushes.

But I am wondering how difficult the conversion to an alternator would be? Any suggestions?
 
Hi Sandy, I don't know anything about converting to an alternator, but I'm pretty sure that your car has a 6 Volt battery, also 3 speed gearbox perhaps?
New brushes would definitely improve matters and you should expect about 6,50-7,00 volts when idling.
 
Last edited:
More likely voltage control box faulty
Not sure if 6v in 1970 or 12 v
 
I've always gone to the battery with such symptoms. Back in the late 50s I was a passenger in my Dad's Bond Minicar (who remembers them?) when she came to a halt on the Sturry railway crossing. We pushed her off the railway lines and called for the AA. It turned out to be a loose lead going to one of the battery terminals. I wonder how embarrassed my father was after his elementary oversight?
 
Paul Narramore said:
I've always gone to the battery with such symptoms. Back in the late 50s I was a passenger in my Dad's Bond Minicar (who remembers them?)
Click to expand...

I do! [Anorak ON]Weren't they powered by a Villiers 2-stroke engine, that used a "dynastart" system? [Anorak OFF]
 
So do I my dad had one in the 70s immediately before switch to R4 and starting me on a love of renault s
 
mojobaby said:
Hi Sandy, I don't know anything about converting to an alternator, but I'm pretty sure that your car has a 6 Volt battery, also 3 speed gearbox perhaps?
New brushes would definitely improve matters and you should expect about 6,50-7,00 volts when idling.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure whether the 12v system came as standard in the 1969 model - but my one has been 'updated' in various departments - including the electrics. But it has still got an early circuit type - the one without the fuse box. It's got a more modern engine - type 800-05 (no. 76512) - I don't know the date of engine. And it has the square-topped gearbox - the 354-type. And yet, whoever replaced the engine didn't upgrade to alternator . . .

So its a bit of a hybrid really. I'll test the voltage control box though - it looks antiquated so may very well be part of the problem. Thanks for comments though.

Ps does anyone know of anyone in south wales area who does R4s?? I've got a replacement gearbox I need putting in.
 
Easy to see which electrical system your car has; take a look at the battery! If it has THREE caps then it has the 6 volt system (each cell is approximately 2 volts) whereas if it has either 6 cells (or none visible!) then it's a 12 volt one. It's vanishingly unlikely to have an alternator if it's a 6 volt one (although 6 volt alternators are available in the U.S.A.) Changing the engine doesn't mean the electrics have necessarily been uprated at the same time, either!

Perhaps some photos of the battery and other electrical items might assist.......
 
Yes the Bond Minicar was a flimsy three-wheeler with the Villiers 2-stroke engine at the front attached to the wheel/suspension so it moved when the steering was turned. When the cat failed to start, the driver needed to lift the bonnet, climb into the engine bay (there was no 'floor' to the engine bay) then kick start the damned thing. After a few of those, he moved up-market to a number of Reliant Regal vans. Class. He also had an early Reliant/Raleigh van, much loved by bakers, with motorcycle-type girder front forks. We also ate gravel for breakfast. The kids of today..........
 
Dynamos don't put out much voltage at idle speed. Not enough to charge a battery. I've seen batteries go flat with an engine idling for a long time - like stuck in heavy peak hour traffic. One of the reasons for changing to alternators. Not sure if this is better or worse with 6 or 12 volt systems.
 
Geoff in the Gully said:
Dynamos don't put out much voltage at idle speed. Not enough to charge a battery. I've seen batteries go flat with an engine idling for a long time - like stuck in heavy peak hour traffic. One of the reasons for changing to alternators. Not sure if this is better or worse with 6 or 12 volt systems.
Click to expand...
If the car's fitted with a dynamo and it's working correctly the "not charging" warning lamp should just be glowing when the engine is idling, assuming the tick-over is correctly adjusted. This is the same on either a 6 or 12 volt car. Once the engine is revved up the "not charging" lamp should extinguish and the voltage produced should be about 6.8-7.1 volts for a 6 volt system and 13.5-14.2 volts for a 12 volt system. Both systems should function perfectly adequately if adjusted properly, with the already-stated proviso that dynamos don't charge on tick-over. If the car's fitted with an alternator the "not charging" lamp should NOT be lit once the engine is running, as the alternator charges all the time and does not have a "cut in" setting in the same way that a dynamo does.

I hope all this helps!
 
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