starter motor

[siwes]

my griff 500 P reg has always been reliable so today when i returned to the car and got nothing when i turned the key I was a bit surprised . The Thatcher alarm came off ok , I got the ignition lights and could hear the fuel pumps cut in but no crank. The engine was cold it had been over three hours since i parked it . RAC called out he scratched his head , I called TVR they were very helpful said it would bump start in a few yards, with my wife behind the wheel and the RAC man and myself pushing it did indeed fire and take off like a scalded cat with my wife screaming in fright as her foot was to the boards , I was flat on the ground it moved so fast, I can recommend that you do not get your head anywhere near a Griff's exhaust at full throttle!
any way the point is this I got the usual "they do suffer from heat soak sir" the car has never done this before in two years and seems ok now , it hasn't done it again , is this a failing starter motor , if it is are they expensive.
thanks for comments
simon

[Ballistic Banana]

My starter went eventually but allways started when cold, to be honest it doesnt sound like yours is on the way out but do advise putting some heatshield on it.
Could of been an Ignition problem??

BB

[xain]

Could be the connection to the solenoid, could be the bolts are loose, bad earth, bad main connection (but then you'd hear the solenoid clunk) or gunge in the starter itself. All this could be true before the starter is considered dead.

I would start with the small connector to the solenoid. Check and clean it, and use a little vaseline on it. Mine did this from time to time. Solved totally now.

After that, if you're a mechanicing sort, pull the starter out and clean the innards with petrol. Just make sure it's had time to evapourate before trying to fire it up again!
Most likely it's the connector though. Get someone to carefully feel the solenoid when you turn the key to see if it's clicking.

[beano500]

I had my ignition amplifier and coil replaced when something started failing last November, subsequently had a dodgy connection too. No warning, had been parked up for 8 hours or so and then, as you describe, nothing when you turn the key. (6 year old, 64,000 miles at the time.)

[siwes]

Thanks for the advice , it seems like it was a bad connection , I eventually managed to get under the car and took all the connections off and cleaned and retightened, the problem has not come back so again thanks , I wish all problems were as easily solved
regards Simon

[xain]

A lot of them can...