Please can you all read this to see if you can help.

[TombleyBoo]

We have a rover 216 sli. yesterday it wouldnt start. we had been to visit family and when we got in the car it just wouldnt start.

first thought was the battery gone. my cuzn tried to bump start it but it didnt work my uncle then tried to jump start it but still nothing. when we turned the key the alarm would start. we think it is the immobiliser cos it wouldnt lock the car or any thing. we luckily had the spare key but that was the same.
we think we need to switch off the immobiliser or reset it but we dont know how.

we have looked on different sites but no info really given. we ve only had the car for 2 weeks and we ve looked for the hand book but there isnt one there is only the service manual.
because rover dont exsist anymore we cant get the code.

we didnt get home last night untill gone midnight the car is still stuck at the bottom of my cuzn road away from houses. it was just luck that i managed to wake my parents up to give us a lift home.

please if any one can help it would be most welcome. we are stumped at what to do and are pretty skint at the mo so cant really afford to have it taken to a garage.

PLEASE CAN YOU HELP US.

Please???????

Had similar with very old merc. We had to find the immobiliser key, are you sure you weren't given it? Can you contact whoever you got it off?

Umm, call the AA?

Call a Garage?

This is Mumsnet, you know.

Just spoke to dh, we used to have a Rover 214 and I remember we had a similar problem.

He said to try a new battery if the alarm sounds weak when it is going off or you could have an electrical fault.

QuintessentiallyAnEmptyCave - she says in the OP she can't afford a garage

Contact an auto-electronics place. The AA or RAC would maybe be able to recommend one. I had an L reg 214 SLI and it was the worst car I ever bought. I had it for 8 months and it was in the garage about 15 times for starter problems.

Soon as you can, get rid of it and get something else. I ended up trading mine for a smaller, more reliable car.

I have no idea if this will work but did work on my old Vauxhall when the central locking got buggered but we held down the lock button on the key and started the engine with it held down still which forced the central locking to cycle and work

Might do nothing but worth a shot perhaps

Sorry, missed the bit about not being able to afford a garage. Get yourself to the library and see if you can borrow the Haynes manual for this car. If it's a code you need then you will have to take it in somewhere.

Try www.rovertech.net. It's a rover forum. Ask the question there and someone might be able to help you. You'll have to register but it's worth a try.

Have you checked for a fuel cut-off switch? I had a rover mini cooper and "clipped" a kerb - not that hard but enough to kill the tyre. Once that was replaced still couldn't start car - absolutely nothing. Turned out there was a safety device which cut the fuel "in case of accident". There was a reset button under bonnet - pressed that and car was fine again. Possibly Rovers generally have a sensitive one of these?

Otherwise, does service manual have immobiliser code written in it? You may just need to get new battery for key.

i ve just looked on that rover site and there was 3 different options to click the key 8 times and turn it to the left 4 times etc, one was to reconnect the battery and try to turn the engine on at the same time (sounds odd to me but i dont drive)

my father is picking us up at 6.30 when he finishes work to try and sort it. the actual electrics work eg windows and lights but the actual key its self (the immobiliser button) just wont work.

sorry i forgot to say thankyou.

thankyou for all of your advice x x

Glad you found some help! Hope it goes ok.