Hi all,

I have recently picked up a 1988 340 1.7 saloon. It has been off the road since 1998 and it has just been stored in a garage since then. When I viewed the car last week it started first time and was no issue. So I bought it a few days after viewing and got it transported back to my house. It started fine going on and off the tow truck. However when I got home from work today I tried to start it and it didn't do anything except a tick. I tried the lights and they didn't light up so I tried the wipers and they were so slow! I went out to try again a hour ago and it doesn't even tick now. I checked the battery and its fine as the guy replaced it before sale. Any ideas or similar problems?

Thanks in advance guys!

Sounds like a classic battery fault, maybe a charging problem with the alternator. How are you checking it?

Got to be a power supply problem.

If the battery IS fine (registering >12.5v with a multimeter) then id be checking the main power and earth cables and their connections.

If thats all ok with good continuity, try jumping it off another car or give it a bump start.

Check the connections to the battery. Mine does this when I don't fully tighten them up (I have a habit of swapping batteries between cars) - on some you can get away with it, but seemingly not 340s!

Ok so I got my hands on a multimeter today (Before I used a Draper charge and check kit which said it was fully charged!) and checked the battery, it was reading 11.4v. I have tried a new battery in and just like that it started first time! Not sure why the battery was low as the guy I bought it off said it was brand new but anyways its sorted now. Cheers for the reply guys!

Yep, knackered battery.

Theyre not keen on being flattened and recharged.... i found that recently and my glt needs a new one now


Glad its sorted. Gotta love an easy fix

No indeed, newness will not help if the battery is allowed to remain discharged.

Its a big chemical reaction vat and if its left for any length of time when its flat it will die. It not the flattening that causes the problem its leaving it in a discharged state. Get it started or on charge within minutes of it running flat and it will be fine, hours maybe not.

It just needs a significant charge, not a full charge. Not sure but I think something like 30% maybe ok to leave it.

I have two spare batteries and after two days in trickle charge even after being flat for months they work to power my mates lighting for his stalls all day long no problem.

I bought a new battery today and fitted it, everything works fine(lights, wipers ect).. It cranks and try's to start but doesn't fire up. I have ordered HT leads,plugs, distributer cap, rotor arm, and filters. After a while of trying to get it started it just started making the ticking noise again. The earth to the battery looks a bit shagged too so will replace that hopefully tomorrow. I find it strange how yesterday it started first time with the battery out of my Vauxhall Astra.

Sounds like dizzy cap or rotor arm to me.
1.7s are notorious for munching dizzy caps.

If its turning over you've got plenty of electrical power and good connections, obviously if its not starting you are going to flatten the battery. It will only last a minute or 2 on the starter, but don't continually crank it anyway, the starter brushes will overheat and burn. Use 5s bursts..

You need to diagnose the fault, sure give it a service but changing a load of parts is not the best way to find the fault. I'd start with a spark test.