[dvsea]

I was driving on a highway (about 100 Km/h), then all of a sudden the car's engine stops and all I could do was use inertia to steer the car to the right and stop on the road side. The mechanic that was dispatched by the insurance company gave up after about half an hour. He could not find the cause of the problem and thus he was not able to fix the problem, not even restart the engine. The battery is fully charged (almost new), all subsystems are well maintained (plenty of fluids of all sorts), but the car's engine would simply refuse to start.

I purchased this car from the original owner about 2 weeks ago. It drove perfectly until this incident. When I described to him what happened, he said it happened to him once only, 7 months ago, then the mechanic replaced "crank sensor" and disabled the car's "immobilizer", replaced the battery and since then the problem never returned.

He also added that troubleshooting was somewhat weird as even the county's main distributor's service could not pinpoint the exact ROOT cause of the problem. This puts me in a very difficult situation since the car is parked dead now next to my home (towed eventually) and I would like to have a clue about the nature of the problem before deciding where to service it.

Has anyone seen this problem before? Is this a known issue? What could be the ROOT cause of the problem? What do I do to avoid something like this in the future?

I am attaching here 2 snapshots that I have been able to take while attempting to start the car: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Thanks so much in advance.

[Dazzler]

 

Very sorry to hear of your experience. Hopefully some other members who are more mechanical can come up  with some ideas.

Certainly not common (thankfully) It was good the previous owner was honest enough to admit it had happened before.

I have got to go out very shortly so will have to look at your attachments a bit later. They might give me some ideas.

Please be patient for replies as some don't come on very often. 

[eye30]

I know obvious but does it have fuel and the correct fuel?

Does it crank over when turning the key?

Fuel pump ok?

Is battery ok, test by putting headlights on and they should not dim or go out within say 2 minutes?

Just a few ideas to start.

Ps
Sorry to hear and whatever it is it is a quick cheap fix.

[Shambles]

Have you got something plugged into your OBD2 port?

[dvsea]

I know obvious but does it have fuel and the correct fuel?

Yes.

Does it crank over when turning the key?

Yes

Fuel pump ok?

Yes

Is battery ok, test by putting headlights on and they should not dim or go out within say 2 minutes?

Yes

Thank you all! The more I think of it, I suspect the immobilizer... The car is in almost perfect mechanical condition. I will plug an OBDII later this evening.

[Dazzler]

OK, I looked at the images, for some reason I expected video.. 

From the images it appears to be a petrol auto, 1.6 or 2.0?

Did you only get one key? If it was just a starting issue I would suspect the immobilizer but the fact it stopped while driving makes that much less likely!

@cruiserfied where are you mate?

[dvsea]

From the images it appears to be a petrol auto, 1.6 or 2.0?

Yes, petrol. 1.6.

Did you only get one key? If it was just a starting issue I would suspect the immobilizer but the fact it stopped while driving makes that much less likely!

Only one key. After it stopped while driving, it refuses now to start. I am at work now, away from the car. Later this evening, I will try to take a video.

[Dazzler]

Sorry we are not much help. Sometimes a 2nd key will get around the immobilizer issue. Try tapping the ignition lock with a small hammer or the handle of a screwdriver or something. I have alerted our Super Techie Tim to this thread. But, he may be busy.

[CraigB]

As the original owner mentioned it happened before and a crank sensor replacement fixed the problem I would suspect it might again be the sensor

[cruiserfied]

Im here, sorry Daz lol.



Righto first of all, bugger.

Going off the pictures the first one is ignition on but not cranking. Second picture is while cranking. My comments will be based on this being correct.
The immobiliser light is off in the second picture so immobiliser is operating normally.
You can see that the tacho looks to have moved up in the second picture, if the tacho is registering rpm then the crank sensor is ok.
How did the roadside assist test the fuel pump? Did he remove a line or just listen for the pump? Sounds alot like the fuel pump died.
Did they do a code check?

What is the keypad on the dash?

[Phil №❶]

What about testing high tension volts while cranking. Be careful performing this test. No spark no go 

[dvsea]

Going off the pictures the first one is ignition on but not cranking. Second picture is while cranking. My comments will be based on this being correct.

Yes, you are correct. Amazing how you were able to spot something that I missed mentioning. I hope to actually take a short video of the process.

The immobiliser light is off in the second picture so immobiliser is operating normally.
You can see that the tacho looks to have moved up in the second picture, if the tacho is registering rpm then the crank sensor is ok.

Wow. Good to know. This brings a new direction to the mystery solution (will save me of unnecessary expenses in false paid diagnostics).

How did the roadside assist test the fuel pump?
Did he remove a line or just listen for the pump? Sounds alot like the fuel pump died.

The roadside took off the back seat, unscrewed 4 screws and removed a small plate covering a hose. He toyed with it a little, some liquid (smelled like gasoline) started to splash, then he quickly returned it and covered everything back. Then gave up and said it should be towed. I was concerned about the gasoline being trapped in that little back seat box, but he said it is all internal and OK. I don't know whether he was right or just tried to hurry to his next roadside assitance mission.

Did they do a code check?

I did not see him do any code check. This evening I will do it myself (I just borrowed an OBDII plug from a friend).

What is the keypad on the dash?

The keypad on the dash is for the alarm and/or keyless entry system. I guess it was put after the previous owner disabled the immobilizer?

[Asterix]

I would start with removal of the aftermarket immobiliser....

I find it strange the original immobiliser was disengaged. To my best knowledge, once the car is allowed to start, the immobiliser will not interfere before next start.

[eye30]

From the images it appears to be a petrol auto, 1.6 or 2.0?

Yes, petrol. 1.6.

Did you only get one key? If it was just a starting issue I would suspect the immobilizer but the fact it stopped while driving makes that much less likely!

Only one key. After it stopped while driving, it refuses now to start. I am at work now, away from the car. Later this evening, I will try to take a video.

Have you changed the key battery?

[Asterix]

From the images it appears to be a petrol auto, 1.6 or 2.0?

Yes, petrol. 1.6.

Did you only get one key? If it was just a starting issue I would suspect the immobilizer but the fact it stopped while driving makes that much less likely!

Only one key. After it stopped while driving, it refuses now to start. I am at work now, away from the car. Later this evening, I will try to take a video.

Have you changed the key battery?

Key batteri is only for remote, not immobiliser... 

[eye30]

You say the pump was checked under the rear seat and fuel ok there, did he check whether fuel  was flowing within the engine area eg from filter to engine?

[dvsea]

Have you changed the key battery?

What battery in the key? My key does not seem to have a battery (see photo here: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet). Do you mean the keyless entry remote's battery? If so, it works fine (unlocks and locks the doors perfectly).

BTW, I finally got to taking a video, as was suggested earlier: VID 20161006 192937 - Sendvid Does this provide a better clue as what's happening? i.e. is it an electrical (including immobilizer) problem? or a mechanical (e.g. fuel pump) one?

Thank you so much again.

[cruiserfied]

Im very wary of the immobiliser work that has been done. Would love to know how they disabled the factory system as it involves the engine computer and immobiliser module.
I think removing the after market immobiliser and testing vehicle without it is the first step i would take.

[elantraelite]

My Old Excel had an aftermarket immobiliser that just cut power to the ignition switch (key barrel) and wouldn't start sometimes. Eventually I got rid of thing and no issues. Definitely look into the aftermarket immobiliser

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[dvsea]

Well, I don't know why I thought that the fuel pump was OK. Perhaps because the roadside assistance was horrible and did not communicate well in addition to his incompetence. I finally managed to find a reasonably reliable car repair shop and the owner there diagnosed the problem as... FUEL PUMP!

At first, I was relieved to find a reasonable explanation for why the previous owner had no luck in truly getting rid of the problem once and for all (remember, it happened 7 months ago).

But... after discussing this with a friend who understands cars better than I do, he said that if it were truly the fuel pump at fault, the engine would have "coughed" until stopped (and not stop immediately as it did).

What do you think?

[The Gonz]

I disagree. If driving on a highway it can stop quite suddenly due to fuel pump not keeping up.

[eye30]

Result

 Now enjoy the car and many k's of carefree motoring

[cruiserfied]

As Gonz said, at highway speed the engine can stop without noticing.

[nzenigma]

Well, I don't know why I thought that the fuel pump was OK. Perhaps because the roadside assistance was horrible and did not communicate well in addition to his incompetence. I finally managed to find a reasonably reliable car repair shop and the owner there diagnosed the problem as... FUEL PUMP!
What do you think?

Mate, hate to be a party pooper but... I think you are going to have this problem again.
These fuel pumps rarely fail. Why did it fail 7 months ago, then it is perfect until now? ( Assuming it was the same fault 7 months ago).

Im with cruiserfield in his dislike for that aftermarket immobiliser.
 Moreover, your problem sounds like an electrical fault ... probably an intermittent connection that has been disturbed when the mechanics have been at work, now and 7 months ago.

Just to clarify the battery/key/immobiliser. The battery only locks or opens the door. The key contains a chip which is read by an always active coil surrounding the lock barrel on the steering column. In other words, the key battery is irrelevant. With an open circuit coil or the loss of the chip, the car will not start.

anyway its going, good luck.