My Elise won't start when warm/hot

[elisemark1]

Hi There, I am new to this forum and well... not very good with cars! I bought an Elise 7 years ago as my dream car and use her everyday no matter what!

She runs fine and starts from cold without ANY problem (she just sat in my drive from 23rd Dec to 4th Jan and then started without any complaints - but - if I run her for 20 mins or so (the time it takes me to drive from my office to my daughters nursery to collect her) she then won't start, I am in the nursery for about 10 mins and my elise has power (radio, lights etc) so it's not a battery issue but she just won't turn over or even try.

Has anyone come across this and if so is there a solution?

Thank you in advance for helping me!

[Elizard]

I would start with a lot of simple checks. Check the earth cable between the gear box and the chassis, it's a loop of thick cable which you can reach from behind the rear passenger side wheel. I doubt its this though or the battery would be getting weak. There is another earth strap in the front somewhere.

Look for coolant leaks, especially around the inlet manifold (between the engine and the boot).

Check the dip stick, inside the cam cover by taking the oil cap off and also look inside the coolant header tank (careful of pressure) and look for any oil on the coolant or mayo like substance in any of the above places. If you find this then don't drive it as it could be head gasket failure which you should get fixed asap.

It could be a dodgy starter motor but it seems strange it's totally fine in the cold.

When you turn the key for the *first time* to the second position, just before you turn it for starting, do you hear the fuel pump priming, like a buzz coming behind you for a second or so. It will only happen once unless you turn the key back to complete off position for about 30 seconds.

Its sounds more electrical to me.

[elisemark1]

Thanks for your comments, I've gone through 2 head gaskets (through no fault of my own but both down to water leaks) so it's not that but I will try the others.

My mechanic thinks it could be the brushes on the started motor but I always thought it was the immobilisor not turning off.

I do hear the pump behind me when I turn the key - does that change anything?

Thanks

[Elizard]

Yeah, fuel pump priming noise is correct. Could well be the starter motor. Sounds like the right place to start, but it'll
be trial and error I suppose. May be the heat of the engine is killing the starter if it's worn already. It's a difficult one.

I believe the starter motor is pretty straight forward to change, just a bit fiddely.

Not sure what else it could be really. Not sure why the immoibilisor would be effected that way. Check fuses are in solid. Check under the fuse box for sheered cables as it can rub under there. Check cables around the starter as well, all stuff that you think makes sense really. After that it's down to the mechanic to find I think.