Strange Starter Issue?

[Carbs4me 45]

Hello,

 

I have had some starter motor problem recently to which i thought i had resolved!

 

Firstly i was almost certain it was the solenoid, now I'm beginning to think the fault lies elsewhere.

 

So firstly i took the starter after my first problem had occurred, to the local auto electric garage they said the mechanism was good and the solenoid was dry and needed to be lubricated, I fitted the starter and it worked fine, which was a week ago.

 

Now i have the same problem again, starter working from cold not when warm. i had taken it to my mates tonight to replace a bolt that i hadn't tightened up properly and it had fell off giving it a bad connection which i thought was the problem.... once i had the bolt on i managed to touch the live and the negative with a spanner and the starter fired up without a problem, but when i tried with the key nothing!

 

I'm starting to think the problem lies within the wiring itself.. I will mention the starter sounds like it has a bad cough when starting and when i accidentally touched the + and - boom it sounded like it was working 100million times faster and more life to it!

 

Does this sound like the wiring is at fault? can heat cause the wiring to put no current or a smaller amount of current to the starter not giving it enough to engage the solenoid?

 

If so is there a guide to where and how to replace the starter motor wiring? Can you give me the length's needed and the wire sizes for needed for the job!

 

Any help appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Edit: It will still start if i hit the solenoid but a weak start at that

Edited July 15, 2012 by Carbs4me

[Anthony 1,003]

If it is turning over slowly, then that's likely to be something with either the main earth or positive feed to the starter, the battery is weak or the starter itself is struggling. Given that you did something with the wiring and it turned over quickly, I'd suggest it's a wiring/connection issue. The solenoid won't cause this issue.

 

The lack of turning over at all could be the solenoid wiring, or it could be that the starter solenoid is still sticky (as normally the wiring wouldn't work regardless of hitting the solenoid). Personally, for the cost of a good 2nd hand slimline Valeo starter, I'd just replace it, particularly if it's one of the original style starters that you've got which are all rubbish frankly.

[Carbs4me 45]

Does any one know the amount of voltage that is fed though the wiring as i can test with a multimeter tomorrow night.

 

Ive just gone back to it, Kept the key turned for roughly 10seconds and it fired up, it coughed a few times and started up again.

 

Before i go and buy anything, i want to make sure i am certain the problem is what it is.

 

Thanks

[grandos 16]

May not be the same issue but mine had a similar fault which turned out to be the wiring.

Basically had some dodgy wiring to starter solenoid in the fuse box where alarm/immobilisers had been fitted, so instead of nice thick cable I had three different thicknesses soldered together, one of which was speaker cable! Bit of luck that it never caught fire!

 

Hopefully yours is not the same, but I would advise a resistance check of the solenoid activation wire to ensure that the starter is receiving the full 12 volts.

[Carbs4me 45]

12.3Volts at the battery 12.3 volt at the starter!

 

Me and my uncle played with it last night, now it works all the time but have a crunch towards the end of the start.

 

Found a replacement valeo slimline starter on here, member is now waiting payment.

 

Cheers for the help/advice!

 

Appreciated as always!

[welshpug 1,666]

but how many volts down the solenoid wire?

[Carbs4me 45]

12.3 Volts

[Carbs4me 45]

Today it seems, to work but not actually engage with the flywheel!, sounds like its spinning and there's nothing to catch, a few attempts of turning the key the engine starts and the motor crunches...

 

developed a small rattling from the gearbox casing now too, when running.

Edited July 18, 2012 by Carbs4me