andyr

Sister-in-law bought a 10yr old-ish 1.4 auto clio. Various problems so far inc timing belt snapping but recently it's had starting issues.
She drove to our house and on the way up a light on the dashboard started flickering then stayed on. she has no handbook so can't check what it indicates but I'd describe it as a square with 2 wavy lines in it (like 2 sine waves on an oscilliscope)
She says that if that light comes on the she knows that she she parks up it will then fail to restart.
This was the case : arrived at our house, car won't start.
When the key is turned the starter makes a noise like a small hammer repeatedly quickly hitting : quite loud ! Engine isn't being turned at all.
We attached jump leads after I'd had a few attempts at hitting the starter with a hammer (which had no effect) : car then started immediately and runs fine.
She had the RAC out to the same problem a week ago and they also resolved the issue by jump starting : bloke said battery was iffy.
Puzzled as to :
What the dahboard light is and
How come the battery seems to power the lights etc fine and seems happy to turn the starter over yet it's only when a fresher battery is conneected up does it engge and actually fire the engine up.

andyr

Car broke down again this evening : RAC reckon it's the alternator that's at fault.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

If it is an electrical fault, it could be anything to some corroded connectors, rusty earth point, dodgy earth strap or a duff alternator. The noise that the starter makes does point to the battery though (solonoid going mental) - a proper load test will rule that out (not a voltmeter).

A new battery or alternator probably just masks over the root cause of the problem...but if it works...