Problems starting 411 on slight slope

[Martin9645]

Would any one have any ideas why my Bristol 411 has problems starting on my drive which has a slight slope so the car points upwards.
The ignition will click as if in gear (auto) but will not turn over.
At the moment I am putting this down to the gearbox oil running back (levels all good)
I may have to turn the key 20-30 times and then it will catch

Any ideas ??????

[Thor]

Are you saying that when the car is level it starts fine ? Just doesn't like the slope ?

[Martin9645]

That is exactly the problem

[robert sands]

I think you should check your battery connections.

[Thor]

Well I guess there's just a faint possibility that when the car is on the slope, the drivetrain shifts backwards a couple of millimetres and this changes the tension in the cables of the gearbox, so it thinks it is in 'R' not 'P', leading to a lock-out switch cutting the ignition ??? Or I suppose a similar effect on the electrical cables to the starter motor, although that seems impossibly unlikely.
Maybe the rubber engine mountings could do with renewing, and the cable tension adjusting.

[Kevin H]

Have you tried starting it in neutral rather than P?

[Roger Morrall]

It occurs to me that you may have a dodgy connection between the Chrysler starter solenoid and the safety cut out switch in the gearbox. This safety switch applies an earth to the solenoid only when the box is in either park or neutral ensuring that the solenoid and hence the starter will only operate under those conditions.

(Or perhaps the safety cut out switch in the gearbox itself is faulty, but in my limited experience they just fail, at the moment you’re setting off to drive from Wales to Morocco!)

This connection, solenoid to starter motor, is made by a thinnish white wire with a brown tracer that disappears down from solenoid towards the gearbox.

Alternatively, there may be a dodgy connection between the ignition switch start position and the starter solenoid. This is a thinnish white wire with a red tracer.