Engine will not start when Clutch depressed????

[Bumpy macaroon]

I personally dont like using the brake and see it as a back up for starting the car should the clutch switch fail (renault thinking of a back up system surely not), from the replies on the thread alot of people in the past have been advised to use the clutch on starting, less wear and strain etc etc, also by depressing the clutch it does not matter what the gearbox is doing as the transmission is isolated from the engine and you will not go flying forward..or back if its in reverse obviously.

[Ray]

the display actually displays "select neutral" if you try... or it only shows that if you stall... i'm not sure now...

[KevinRuszkai]

Thanks to all
10 mins on this site followed by 10 mins in the footwell and the car will now start with either clutch or break

[DragTheLake]

i'v had this problem with my car since i bought it 2 years ago

i took it to renault to get some work done on it and when i returned for the car they stated they hadn't fixed the problem and would do it next time i brought it in (without me realising my warranty ran out the following week) the one thing they did do was take the rubber cover off my clutch which now keeps coming off and in result without noticing sometimes wet with damp shoes my foot slips off the clutch

i can't believe it's a simple fix and they sent me packing

i'm going to check the car tonight when i'm home and if it's the wires they will be getting a angry phone call and possible a few letters

cheers guys!

Bobby

[Colinburling]

Thanks to everyone with suggestions about the Clutch start problem after our 54 Megane 2 1.5 Dci failed to start with clutch depressed this morning. As a result ...checked under the dashboard near the clutch pedal to check leads .... broken lead almost at point where it goes into the plug... plug and socket separated but very little lead to play with ......lead mended by soldering a new short piece of lead to the stub of original lead remaining and sticking out of the plug.... other end joined by twisting the short inserted piece to the remaining lead coming from above. All a bit fiddly and awkward.... Inserted plug into socket ..... car starts now with clutch depressed.
Happy days >>>
Must have caught it with foot to cause break... not a good bit of design.

[Satan42]

Hi
I have the same problem, the car not starting with clutch depressed. I've got on my hands and knee's, and I can see 2 wires, a pink and a blue one. Both are the same length, and it looks like its been cut or pulled out at the same time. Which one needs connecting? ALso where exactly do I connec t them to?
Thanks in advance.

[tomalamix]

you have to connect them to the switch...

[lee00069]

but why would it put more strain on the battery or starting system it if it is in neutral and you press the brake and start button as apposed to in gear and clutch pressed.
its not engaging any gear ? does not sound like something that would make a difference

[davelowe]

You are asking the starter motor to spin the clutch and some gear box components in addition to the engine. This is the extra mechanical load. It will make a difference if the battery is low.

If the neutral switch has failed for one reason or another, you risk the car jumping forwards if in gear (a useful method of circumventing failed clutch cables in years gone by). You don't want this to happen if you happen to be parked near a wall, or God forbid a pedestrian.

[AlexB]

lee00069's question makes me think that many of the inhabitants of this forum know surprisingly little about the gearbox they are using daily. There are many gears in the box, which are permanently meshed and "chewing" oil, even in neutral. Dog clutches and friction cones are used to lock pairs of gears sitting on the same shaft. Exciting stuff -- have look at the animation below. It is a 4-speed box with sliding 1st and reverse; ours are twice as complex, of course, having all six plus reverse synchronised and all gears of helical type.





As the layshaft (the lower in the picture) is constantly meshed, the viscous friction can be significant even in neutral. It is particularly true when cold and if using mineral oil, which comes as standard. Guess why I am using an Ester based oil in my car? It also gives me a few more bhp at the wheels by reducing transmission losses, which in a typical front wheel drive car are about 20% of power.

[Sylvester1994]

My car now does half the starting sequence when you press the clutch, it unlocks the steering wheel, switches the glow plugs on and all ancillaries, except it won't start. Put my foot on the brake and another press of the button and it fires up. If it's in gear it tells me to select neutral, and it won't start with both pedals depressed. I've checked the wires, they're both spot on on the clutch pedal, so I wonder if anyone knows? It's not the most critical thing in the world though, I've got other problems to sort

[tomalamix]

The resume is the car only starts in neutral and with brake pedal depressed, but neutral or not neutral and with the clutch depressed it will not start. I dont know if its possible, never tried it but can be the cables wrong connected? IE, the clutch switch matted with the brake switch ? This makes sense because:

Brake switch + not neutral = it will switch on every thing on the dash, just misses the starter
Brake + Neutral = it will start - did you try this one? (if the theory is right it should be neutral and clutch depressed)
brake (only) = starts but if the car is not in neutral it can do some harm to the car...

[Sylvester1994]

Hmm, interesting, I'll try swapping the sensors over to see if it works

[lee00069]

lee00069's question makes me think that many of the inhabitants of this forum know surprisingly little about the gearbox they are using daily. There are many gears in the box, which are permanently meshed and "chewing" oil, even in neutral. Dog clutches and friction cones are used to lock pairs of gears sitting on the same shaft. Exciting stuff -- have look at the animation below. It is a 4-speed box with sliding 1st and reverse; ours are twice as complex, of course, having all six plus reverse synchronised and all gears of helical type.





As the layshaft (the lower in the picture) is constantly meshed, the viscous friction can be significant even in neutral. It is particularly true when cold and if using mineral oil, which comes as standard. Guess why I am using an Ester based oil in my car? It also gives me a few more bhp at the wheels by reducing transmission losses, which in a typical front wheel drive car are about 20% of power.

Thanks for that AlexB but if the extra strain was bad for the starting system Renault would not have designed it in such a way that it is able to start in neutral....dont you think?
i have been starting mine with neutral and brake for almost 5 years now and my starter is still perfect.

[neilldrever]

Not sure if this has been covered but is there any way to remove the annoyance of having to be in neutral before starting as it's a pain if you stall the car (which the wife does frequently as shes learning at the moment)?

At the moment ours starts with the brake pressed (and no clutch pressed if in neutral) but if you're in gear you HAVE to put it back into neutral even if you press the clutch down as well. This irritates me as I drive a diesel L200 and infuriates the wife when she stalls whilst out learning.

Would rather be able to press the clutch and brake when in gear and have it start but it won't

maybe it's just our 'wonderful' Megane