Aaah It's Making A Dodgy Clicking Sound

[Foltan 0]

On attempting to start my car the other day, 5 mins after doing a short journey in it fine, it just made a clicking sound and wouldn't turn over. As it has had trouble with flat batteries before (probably due to a duff alternator) i thought nothing of it, got my friends to bump start it and drove home.

 

However after charging the battery it still won't turn over and i've now paid attention to this noise. In the past when there hasn't been enough power for the starter motor there is just silence. But instead there is a loud clicking/tapping noise, and it actually sounds like its coming more from the left side of the engine (when facing it) so could it be a fuel pump or something? And would it make this noise normally, just that i wouldnt notice it because it would normally start and drown it out?

 

Any help appreciated!! thankyou!

[platty 1]

Does it actually turn over?

[Foltan 0]

No it doesn't that's why i originally thought it was a flat battery

[mrswampy 0]

Starter motor solenoid is playing up.

Easiest way to sort is a new starter

 

check the earths though as a duff starter earth can cause problems

[platty 1]

Beat me to it. You turn thekey and just get a 'click' sound either the battery is very low (youve already checked this) or the starter is shot.

[j_turnell 137 3 Cars]

Likewise with the condition of the brown multiplug around the top of the gearbox, the blue wire is for the starter.

[Foltan 0]

yeah, i changed the gearbox about a month ago so could have mucked up the wiring. The starter is relatively new so hopefully i don't need a new one!

[welshpug 1,657]

its quite unlikely to actually be the starter unless its very old, clicking is usually solved by replacing the whole section of wire from the starter solenoid to the brown plugs next to the steering column under the dash

[Foltan 0]

Ok cool, so what is it that's actually making the noise?

[Paintguy 0]

Ok cool, so what is it that's actually making the noise?

Beats me, but mine has been doing the same for over 3 years

 

It's the starter solenoid trying to engage as far as I'm aware. Mine always starts, but sometimes I get the 'click of death' 5 or 6 times first.

[Alastairh 47]

Ok cool, so what is it that's actually making the noise?

 

As James said above about the brown multiplug with the blue starter wire running through it. Its often that this plug gets full of crud. Despite it makes some power to make the click. Once its under demand it can't make the full quantity of power being loose hence the click untill 6th time round it does it. Similar principle to a loose battery terminal.

 

Re do this connection and see how you get on. Its worked for me in the past, but also been a duff starter...

[skanny 0]

As James said above about the brown multiplug with the blue starter wire running through it. Its often that this plug gets full of crud. Despite it makes some power to make the click. Once its under demand it can't make the full quantity of power being loose hence the click untill 6th time round it does it. Similar principle to a loose battery terminal.

 

Re do this connection and see how you get on. Its worked for me in the past, but also been a duff starter...

 

Sorry for the hijack.

 

My starter engages 1st time but upon relase od the key it can be heard spinning of a second or 2, is that normal?

[Kobayashi 35 2 Cars]

i had the same problem recently, but only when the engine was hot. just a single 'click' to be heard when turning the key, nothing else happening.

it turned out to be a weak battery, which provided insufficient power for the starter motor when the big cooling fan was running at the same time.

 

i think the 'click' is just the magnetic switch (located in the smaller cylinder of the starter unit), which gets the starter pinion to move out.

apparently, the swith needs less power than the actual starter motor, so it was still working when the rest didn't.

 

what you could do is check the voltage of the battery and see if it keeps relatively stable when adding load and especially starting the engine, or if it drops far and quickly.

 

/i just saw that there is another thread on this: http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?showtopic=94692

seems to be the same thing.

Edited September 5, 2008 by Kobayashi

[Fox 3]

I get this now and again, on mine its the brown multi plug under the dash, a quick wiggle in the drivers side cubby hole usually sorts it.

 

I really must investigate further!

[dirtdog 4]

my car has a brain of it's own. the starter motor sticks sometimes and it seems to like doing it on the flat

 

but..if i plan ahead by parking it on a hill so i can bump it, the car starts fine! i found a cure that works sometimes on the flat though. if the motor wont turn i put it in first..or reverse..anything really,handbrake off and then i push the car backwards and forwards a few times(yea ok i look right a right idiot in tesco carpark etc but who cares) and then it starts. i guess it frees the motor off or something. works a treat!

 

did take it apart and spray the buger with lube at one point..last 3-4 weeks and it started happening again

[Atari Boy 11]

Sorry for the hijack. I have the same problem I think - lots of clicking.

Any tips on checking the starter motor or wiring? I couldn’t find the brown multiplug under the dash. The Haynes is telling me that I will need to remove the inlet manifold – that does not sound that much fun.

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

[mercury 0]

+1 for starter motor

[large 33]

Sorry for the hijack. I have the same problem I think - lots of clicking.

Any tips on checking the starter motor or wiring? I couldn’t find the brown multiplug under the dash. The Haynes is telling me that I will need to remove the inlet manifold – that does not sound that much fun.

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

Thats because its not under the dash . Its normaly under the T.B. or in that area the end if the inlet manifold. As for removing that to change the starter motor, you dont you can get at it from under the car.

[Atari Boy 11]

Thats because its not under the dash . Its normaly under the T.B. or in that area the end if the inlet manifold. As for removing that to change the starter motor, you dont you can get at it from under the car.

 

I didn't think there was one under the dash, I will have a play with the one in the engine bay.

 

I will have a go at cleaning the terminals first, thanks.

Edited September 8, 2008 by Atari Boy

[Richie-Van-GTi 71 2 Cars]

fastest way to check if its wiring related is get a set of jump leads. Stick the negatives of the jump leads between the gearbox and the negative on the battery then just short the 2 terminals on the starter with the 'jaws' from one of the live ends of the jump leads, or stick a wire from the solenoid to the battery live. If its starts to spin you have wiring issue's, if not you either have a flat battery or a bad starter.

Note's :

always check the car is out of gear first

Do not short the live to anywhere other than where I have said as sparks can be dangerous. IE be careful where the other end of the jump lead is if you short using the jaws.

[Tesstuff 222]

I get this exact same problem with mine, difference is i had the same problem a year ago, bought a new starter motor and it went away, now its back again, surely starter motors are meant to last longer than 10 months and 3,000 miles use.

 

Thats what makes me think it is something else causing it.

 

Today i had 5 or 6 attempts at starting, but funnily it always starts 1st time from cold( 1st start of the day)

[Atari Boy 11]

I had not tried this in the past few days as it is always raining, but a week ago I had the same problem of it not starting (but no clicking) I used a set of jump leads and it started first time.

Is my starter motor at fault? I replaced the alternator a month or two ago and when running the engine and the alternator both show 14 volts. The battery is six months old also.

[timb1046 1]

i am having this problem (although have to "click" the starter more than 5-6 times more like 10-15) is there anyway of cleaning the solenoid itself? and whats the easyest way of gettiing to the starter apart from the inlet manifold? rad off? and front end?

[welshpug 1,657]

have you replaced the wire to the solenoid?

 

to remove the starter without removing the inlet remove the throttle body, the smaller starter will come out past the throttle body, but I'm unsure if the larger will.

 

I have got the larger original starter off between rad and engine, just be careful not to damage the rad whilst doing so.

[Rob_the_Sparky 9]

fastest way to check if its wiring related is get a set of jump leads. Stick the negatives of the jump leads between the gearbox and the negative on the battery then just short the 2 terminals on the starter with the 'jaws' from one of the live ends of the jump leads, or stick a wire from the solenoid to the battery live. If its starts to spin you have wiring issue's, if not you either have a flat battery or a bad starter.

Note's :

always check the car is out of gear first

Do not short the live to anywhere other than where I have said as sparks can be dangerous. IE be careful where the other end of the jump lead is if you short using the jaws.

 

You could of course do it by connecting a wire from the solenoid to the positive (a single crimp on a long bit of wire) and not risk shorting out the battery as that is a seriously bad thing to do...

 

This is a common issue and is basically not enough current going to solenoid to get it to engage fully. Normal causes:

 

Duff solenoid

Dead battery

Poor wiring

 

My experience is that with duff wiring then a starter that is a bit old but not yet dead can make things just bad enough to fail, particulaly with a hot engine. Wiring is commonly the brown multi-plug but this is not the only culpret. If you can find a piggy back connector then you can run a second wire from the starter solenoid to the ignition (after the imobiliser) in parallel with the first. You never find where teh fault was in the wiring but it will almost certainly work.

 

A test is to do something like Richie's suggestion. If the starter is fine with a direct connection (battery to starter) then the starter and battery are OK and it is time to look elsewhere (wiring).