Starter click

[Chrisstdt 1]

Got my mi16 205 running after an 8 year lay up

 

New battery and cleaned the earth's in engine bay ,she now starts well but occasionally get a click and starter doesn't turn 

 

What is this likely to be ? 

 

Brown plug on gearbox looks fine (3 pins on I thought they had 6 ?)

 

Likely to be a non standard setup as she's an mi conversation 

[Leslie green 116]

The phase 2 cars had a 7 pin brown plug the earlier cars had 3 . The problem is often the brown plug but there are probably other causes ,maybe the stater brushes are worn or the starter solenoid is on the way out.

[Chrisstdt 1]

Mines a phase 1.5 so that will be right

 

I've avoided taking out the starter so far as it looks a right swine to get out !

[welshpug 1,666]

an Mi16 loom will be different, but still just as old, the starters are getting very tired these days too,  worth getting hold of a more modern compact starter as they are more powerful.

[Leslie green 116]

Slam panel of and rad plus fan out should give good acess to the starter

Edited December 7, 2024 by Leslie green

[Chrisstdt 1]

Thanks il give that a try

[welshpug 1,666]

Taking the inlet off is much easier,  and you dont have to faff with the cooling system.

[Gohn 69]

mine now seems to be having similar symptoms, there's a click and then nothing

my starter motor came with the XUD7TD and looks to be a remanufactured Valeo in ok condition

 

at the moment its only about once a month, it works after a few tries

I've an old spare starter motor so have tried it and on first two tries got same thing, click and nothing

 

can auto electricians do a bench test of a starter motor ?

 

and are there diesel versions of those compact starters ?

[SRDT 187]

You should also check the +12v loom from the battery that also goes to the alternator and glow plug control box.

[petert 601]

Temporarily wire in a relay near the solenoid. Most likely it’s the ignition switch contacts.

[Gohn 69]

right thanks

 

baptiste, my understanding is basic, how do I check that ?

 

does that mean my ignition barrel is probably on the blink peter ?

[SRDT 187]

You look for corrosion or broken wire strands on the crimpled connectors and also general damage. If you had this problem all the time you could try to directly feed the starter to see if it works but once a month is too far between.

[petert 601]

23 hours ago, Gohn said:

does that mean my ignition barrel is probably on the blink peter ?

Most likely. I've seen it many times on 205, 405 and Xantia.

[Gohn 69]

On 1/26/2025 at 11:42 PM, SRDT said:

You look for corrosion or broken wire strands on the crimpled connectors and also general damage

wires, connectors and everything in good condition. I've always struggled with electrical stuff so try and prevent problems by keeping the engine bay loom in good nick. 

 

original starter back in 

 

also, I have a spare ignition barrel, so if the problem happens more often I'll change it

 

cheers thanks again

[Gohn 69]

problem now worse so am going to try to take out the old ignition switch

 

how do I remove the old ignition switch from the steering column ?  ive done this once ages ago and can't remember how

 

there's an M7 hex head screw in the top (pictured) which I've removed and its now held in by a couple of tabs underneath pictured

 

how do I suppress the tabs ? I've tried everything and they wont depress ??? with key in, key out, rotate it ?

 

 

[Gohn 69]

got it, hold pressure on the tab, rotate key

[Gohn 69]

auto electrician tested my spare starter and said it was good

so after putting it in and getting  the same problem I spend a whole day replacing and checking everthing else

 

turns out the original AND the spare were f***ed, AND the sparky was wrong

 

luckily I had two spares so as soon as I put in a good starter motor its great

 

even on a diesel electrics are a menace

 

 

[petert 601]

Did you try adding a relay near the starter solenoid?

[Gohn 69]

nah, not sure how

and I'd probably just make another problem for myself

 

trying to keep it as basic as possible

 

at least I'm pleased the loom, ignition barrel, glowplug box, alternator, battery blah blah are all good

[petert 601]

like this

[Bremar 6]

Hi Petert, 

I don’t think the relay need necessarily go near the solenoid, just in the most convenient protected location but should be say a 30amp one, which seems to be the most generally available type. Obviously the solenoid activates the starter motor so needs much less amperage but there isn't a downside to using a relay with a greater amperage rating anyway. I need to check my 1993 car as  I assumed it would have had one as standard. 
Bremar.  

[petert 601]

I put them over near the LH headlight/power steering reservoir.

[Gohn 69]

appreciate the suggestion

don't understand how the relay improves it all 

why send ignition power line to the solenoid via a relay, when it already goes direct to solenoid ?

 

probably I've got it wrong 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bremar 6]

If high amperage is going through the ignition switch it can cause a small amount of arcing each time a connection is made. This gradually degrades the ignition switch. A Relay is designed to handle amperage. The relay only requires a small current to operate a switch thats inside it. That switch  then connects the wire taking the power to the solenoid ( in this case) That way the ignition switch is protected, last longer and a more positive connection is made to the solenoid. Easier to replace relays too. 

[Gohn 69]

huh good one, makes sense even 

 

thanks again for the suggestion