Ford Fiesta not starting? Here’s how to fix it

Quick answer - it’s most likely to be a flat battery. However, it could be more serious. Try the steps below and work your way through them. Be aware - not all of them may be applicable to your vehicle, so double-check.

One of the most frustrating things about owning a car - getting into the driver’s seat, cranking the engine, and then - nothing. It’s even more frustrating when you’re late for work, it’s raining, and you’ve got to get out and diagnose a car problem. Believe me - I’ve been there.

However, this is usually a simple fix, especially if your Ford Fiesta was working fine before. In this article we’re going to go through all of the reasons for your Ford Fiesta not starting and how you can fix them. 

Ignition on, clicking noise

This almost certainly suggests a flat battery. The clicking noise is actually the starter motor - there’s enough power to engage the starter motor, but not enough power to actually fire up the engine. 

You ought to try a few things when this is your issue - namely, buying a charger and allowing the battery to charge up for a few hours. This should solve your issue. If it keeps happening you need to replace the battery as it’s reached the end of it’s useful life.

If you’re sure it’s the battery and not the alternator, you could try bump starting the car - stick the car in second gear, get someone to give it a push and slowly bring the clutch up to the biting point when you get to about 10mph. The engine should start, and the alternator should start charging the battery. Be aware that you’ll need to bump start the car again if your battery won’t hold a charge, so I would suggest if you do this, your next stop should be to the motor factors to buy a new battery.

No ignition

If you’ve got no ignition at all, it’s likely your battery is completely flat. Whether this is an issue with the alternator or the battery is not clear yet, but if this is your issue you need to go and buy a jump pack or a battery charger and fully charge the battery. If your car still won’t start, the battery is likely completely dead and needs to be replaced. If you can get the car running, but after a few minutes it dies, this suggests your alternator is bad and needs replacing.

Whining noise or loud click when you turn the key

This suggests your starter motor is faulty. A whirring noise or a click can suggest that the starter is working, but not engaging properly. This could be for any number of reasons - possibly the solenoid switch is stiff or faulty, or there is a faulty electrical connection somewhere that is preventing the starter from engaging properly. 

You could try replacing the starter, but it could be an issue with the electrical supply to the starter motor. Check the battery also - check the terminals are not corroded, and check that the battery and the alternator are also functional, as this can cause issues with other electrical components in the car.

Immobiliser issue

This is in all honesty less likely to be your problem because if it was, you’d get a warning on the dash for an “immobiliser fault”. Your car is fitted with an immobiliser which prevents the engine from starting unless the correct key is used. What can happen, particularly if you’ve had to have your key replaced and then you’ve tried to use maybe the spare key, is that the immobiliser will not allow the engine to start. It will crank, but it won’t fire. In this case, you have to use the programmed key for the car in order to start it.

If you are using the right key, and your car won’t start and it’s telling you you have an immobiliser fault, it could be that the battery in your key is flat. Try replacing the key battery and starting the car again. If the car still won’t start and you get an immobiliser warning on the dashboard, it’s likely your immobiliser is faulty as it’s failing to recognise your key. You’ll need a mechanic to come out and look at the car for you in order to resolve this issue unfortunately. 

Adblue issues (diesel)

You’ll likely be aware that this is your issue, but it’s worth mentioning this as many people don’t realise what Adblue is and what it does. Adblue is an additive that’s injected into your exhaust in order to reduce the harmful gases that are expelled as a result of running the engine. Adblue is required on any Euro 6 (post 2015) diesel car. It’s not (to the best of my knowledge) fitted to any petrol cars.

The thing with Adblue is that it’s a liquid that’s held in a tank in your car, and of course, eventually that liquid will run out. Your car’s computer will actually prevent the engine from starting if you’ve run out of Adblue. Now, you do get plenty of warning that this is going to happen - you’ll start to see a series of messages along the lines of “Adblue level low, starting prevented in 200 miles” which should give you the message that you need to go and find some Adblue. However, if you’ve left it to the point where there is no Adblue in the tank and your car won’t start, you need to go and find some Adblue and put it in your car. 

If you’ve never filled up with Adblue before, it’s available from most petrol station forecourts and motor factors in large plastic bottles. Some petrol stations have it available straight from the pump. Your Adblue tank is located either beside or under the diesel fuel filler cap on your Fiesta - so it’s easy to find and easy to fill up. If you’re using a plastic bottle, it should come with a funnel attachment so you don’t spill any Adblue - but if not, use a funnel, as Adblue can stain surfaces.

Engine cranks but won’t start

This is usually one of two things - either a fuel issue or a fault with the engine itself. 

Fuel

If the engine cranks over but won’t start, it’s possible that fuel is not getting to the engine. There are a few culprits that could be causing this problem in your fuel system - but mainly you’ll be looking at the fuel injectors and the fuel pump. What I would suggest is that you turn the ignition off, and then turn it back on again. You should hear a whine coming from the rear of your car - that’s the fuel pump, priming the system with fuel and building fuel pressure so that when you turn the engine over, you have fuel at the injectors ready for the engine to fire up. If you don’t hear that whine, it’s possible the fuel pump has gone bad and will need to be replaced.

Additionally this could be a fuel injector issue - over time the fuel injector nozzles can become clogged with debris and carbon build-up, and if the holes in the injectors are clogged up it can mean that the engine doesn’t receive enough fuel in order to start. Unfortunately injectors are expensive to diagnose and replace, so if this is your problem, be prepared for a sizeable bill. The good news is that if either of these two issues is what’s causing your car not to start, they should throw up a fault code which you can read with an OBD reader. I recommend every car owner gets a cheap OBD reader for situations like this.

Engine problems

This could be a couple of things - bad spark plugs or poor compression spring to mind. If your spark plugs haven’t been replaced in a long time, you may find that they have gone bad and need to be replaced. A number of things can cause this, including carbon build-up in the engine or possibly you might have oil leaking into the engine which can prevent starting. Additionally, your issue might be one of compression - and engine with low compression won’t start easily if at all, and you might need to look at replacing the valve stem seals or piston rings to restore compression to the engine.

These are pretty extreme examples and are unlikely to be your issue, but if you’ve tried everything else, you may have to go down the route of diagnosing a potential fuel or engine problem. I would advise you get a mechanic to come out and look at your car to diagnose any further.

We've written a lot of content on the Ford Fiesta - so if you're interested in learning more or you're having other problems, check out some more of our articles below.