Vauxhall Corsa won't start, lights/radio working fine

Question

I have a 1.2L Petrol 2008 Corsa that won't start.

For the last couple of months the battery light would start flashing once every couple of weeks when starting the engine. I don't do long trips often, it takes me 10-15 minutes to get to work so I thought that the battery just doesn't get the chance to charge up properly. After a longer drive it would stop flashing when starting the engine, so I thought it was fine.

It was happening again this weekend, but this time the engine wouldn't turn on. On the first couple of tries it made a sound like it was trying to turn on, but now it's just completely silent. Electronics in the car work perfectly fine, I can turn the radio on, the headlights, etc. When I try to turn the engine on, the lights on the dashboard light up. If I leave the key in this position for a couple of seconds, the service light starts flashing.

I have tried jump starting the car, it didn't seem to help at all, still no sound coming from the engine. I also rolled it down a hill and tried starting, but still nothing.

Answer 1

I suspect your battery is dead and gone due to internal corrosion. I is not unusual for it to still be able to provide the electronics with some power, but it can´t deliver the 100+ amps needed for the starter motor.

Get a new battery. Make sure you do not have it standing around in a discharged state on a regular basis. A battery corrodes much faster when discharged. If you drive only short distance or often not move your car for some weeks, think about getting an external charger/battery tender.

Edit: I see that jump-starting did not work. It could be an internal short in the battery. Remove the cable to positive pole and try to jump-start again. If still nothing happens, you have a problem with the Starter-motor / the magnetic switch.

First make sure you get the ignition signal of +12v on the magnetic switch, if you turn the ignition. (should be a black/red cable )

Then check if the motor grounding cable is intact.

If both is ok, it´s probably it´s the switch / starter-motor. Sometimes you can get the switch to work again, by tapping it with a hammer - but that is only a temporary fix. You need to replace one or both parts.