My TL has just begun to have an intermittent starting problem. It will start and then immediately stop. If you leave it for 30 seconds it will start and drive no problems. Anyone had the same problem? What is it?

Sounds like it could be an immobiliser issue. It's not uncommon, and I presume the TLs are affected by it too. There's an article here (http://martybugs.net/articles/magna-stall.cgi) to give you some info about it.

I had the same problem on my TJ and was told it was the battery. Didn’t think it was as the battery seemed ok.
One day the battery gave up so had to get a new one.
Have had no problem starting since the new battery.

you need a new battery , its on its last legs

Sounds like the battery. Same thing kept happening to mine. It'd start then die.

Never found out why till I ran the battery flat one night by accidently leaving the nav light on.

Well, had to get a new one and it's never done it since.

you need a new battery , its on its last legs

Can't be the battery, just replaced it with a good quality, high capacity one about 3 months ago.

Sounds like it could be an immobiliser issue. It's not uncommon, and I presume the TLs are affected by it too. There's an article here (http://martybugs.net/articles/magna-stall.cgi) to give you some info about it.

Excellent article,will give the fix a try. Thanks!

Batteries can drop cells, they appear charged when a multimeter is applied, but when load tested, tells a different story.
Happened to mine6 months old and dropped a cell, got a new one under warranty.

Happened to me quite a few times, i tried that imobolizer idea and fiddled with the brown wire or what ever one it was, didnt fix it...got my battery tested (not just Volts but cca) and it was the battery was kapoot. New batterys can fail so dont assume its not that. I was told that when you're cranking over because of the high amperage draw the ECU reads this and determines theres not enough power to keep the car running so it stalls it to stop damage, true or false im unsure...sounds plausable

Battery.

If it will crank and not start it is most likely to be an immobiliser issue.

Take the car back to where you bought the battery and get them to do a load test.

$10 it will be a cell down in the battery.
Gerry

I have exactly the same thing happening with my new TL, and I don't believe it's what everyone is saying about battery. Mine, it will cut the engine a second after it has started the first time (and yes, starts straight away). If I try the ignition again straight away, it will start and hold first time every time.
If I add a bit of accelerator on the initial start, it will hold. If no accelerator is added, it kills the engine. Note, this is not an ISC issue of revs dropping too low, as it kills the engine as the revs are increasing initially.
There are no issues with cranking, it starts first time every time, but unless I add a bit of accelerator, it will kill the engine first time every time, and the second time I start straight away it catches immediately and always remains running.

I might try reseating the BEM wires, though it seems highly strange that it exhibits this behaviour only on the very first start.

I would get it checked , its probably got a blown cell , it should be still under warranty then

as spud said about the immobilizer

I have exactly the same thing happening with my new TL, and I don't believe it's what everyone is saying about battery. Mine, it will cut the engine a second after it has started the first time (and yes, starts straight away). If I try the ignition again straight away, it will start and hold first time every time.
If I add a bit of accelerator on the initial start, it will hold. If no accelerator is added, it kills the engine. Note, this is not an ISC issue of revs dropping too low, as it kills the engine as the revs are increasing initially.
There are no issues with cranking, it starts first time every time, but unless I add a bit of accelerator, it will kill the engine first time every time, and the second time I start straight away it catches immediately and always remains running.


what you described there is exactly how magnas behave with a failing battery.. ive had 9 magnas now..ive had your exact issues more times than i can count on one hand...

Battery.

If it will crank and not start it is most likely to be an immobiliser issue.
I've had the immobiliser issue on and off for a while now, and the first time it happens, it starts fine, the revs will rise as usual, but it'll completely die after a second or two.

It's definitely not the battery as I've had it tested to rule it out, although magnificent 1 I would agree that you should get it tested regardless of age/make. Battery World does free battery testing.

+1 with battery.

I had the exact same issue. Car starts and revs to about 2000rpm, then I hear a click (from a relay in the fuse box on the driver side footwell) and the engine cuts out. Sometimes im lucky and it would catch itself before the engine drops to 0rpm... (was rare it did though)
Then 2nd start was fine...

I played with the immobiliser but made no difference.

Changed battery and problem gone. Problem been gone for several years now and still using same battery :)

I have exactly the same thing happening with my new TL, and I don't believe it's what everyone is saying about battery. Mine, it will cut the engine a second after it has started the first time (and yes, starts straight away). If I try the ignition again straight away, it will start and hold first time every time.
If I add a bit of accelerator on the initial start, it will hold. If no accelerator is added, it kills the engine. Note, this is not an ISC issue of revs dropping too low, as it kills the engine as the revs are increasing initially.
There are no issues with cranking, it starts first time every time, but unless I add a bit of accelerator, it will kill the engine first time every time, and the second time I start straight away it catches immediately and always remains running.

I might try reseating the BEM wires, though it seems highly strange that it exhibits this behaviour only on the very first start.

As gremlin stated, this is exactly what happens when the battery is failing.

I vote battery as well..Did it for several weeks then never again in 18 months after battery replaced..

Thanks everyone for all the comments. Will get the battery load tested, etc and go from there.

had a same issue twice in 9 years and I vote for battery.

I currently have this issue as well. Might look at a new battery.

This problem was a big one in my TJ Advance. It has been rectified for now and is still running the same battery as it was when it would stall nearly half the time it was started.
for a similar thread see: http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9208

I can't remember exactly how the issue was fixed but the problem wouldn't occur again for a month or two and then it was every other day it would start stalling. Every single time the bloody car wouldn't stall at the mechanics too so it was frustrating as hell, it did do it the last time it was there but it's been a while so I can't remember what he did to fix it. (I'll try to remember and post what it was another time)

Sure it cranked and fired the first few goes but then it would just crank and crank and crank, left it for few mins and still cranking.
I had NRMA called out to get it started twice when this happened. One guy belted the fuel tank and she started, the other gave it a portable jump start and yep started.

Thank you so much; this is exactly what i was looking for and, i'm happy to say, it worked first time. Not only has this saved me a lot of money but is has, in all probability, saved my job too :)

My Ralliart started doing this last week. Would start immediately then stall. Battery had lost a cell. New battery fixed it. Luckily most of the time these symptoms are simply a result of inadequate voltage.

The fix mentioned by Red Valdez is the answer if your battery is fine. Worked first time and had no problems since.