Broken again - starter motor / battery ???

[morph2006]

Now I know I got this car to work on and not just to drive but since I got it in December its only done one trip of more than 5 miles without breaking.

Still have a miss fire but much better - changed the air flow meter (£40 off ebay !!!). But then would not start turned over and over and then started but smoke came from the direction of the starter motor.

Now the battery has been on charge over night and the charger says its good.
But when I turn the key I gets fuel pump and dials but then when I turn the key to get the starter motor I get one click and nothing else.

Tried three times and battery went flat. (Only took the charger a few min. to get battery back but only one click)

Is this the battery or the starter mortor or both - Any ideas please

[GreenV8S]

You don't say how long you were cranking the engine over on the starter, but you give the impression that it was quite a long time. Starter motors are not designed for continuous work. If the engine hasn't caught after ten or fifteen seconds you need to stop and wait for thirty seconds for the starter to cool down and the battery to catch its breath. The smoke might be an indication that the starter has been overheated. This could easily lead it drawing a huge current when you try to use it subsequently which would either set the wiring on fire or flatten the battery or both. Excessive use of the starter can overheat the battery too.

There is also a chance that the problem is less dramatic and it is 'just' a loose terminal or a main power lead worn through its insulation and shorting out against the side of the engine.

What you need to do is make a visual inspection of the wiring to the starter motor and see whether there are any signs of damage, charge the battery and see if it still holds voltage when you put the main beam headlights on measure the voltage at the battery and at the starter when you try to start the engine to see whether the starter is getting a decent voltage and if not whether the drop occurs in the wiring or the battery itself is dipping.

Until you have sorted out the electrical problem be very wary of engaging the starter, I would suggest you don't engage it for longer than half a second i.e. just long enough to get a voltage reading but not long enough to set fire to anything.

[morph2006]

Hi

Was more repeated starting as car kept cutting out, but somtimes it took a while to pickup and engine was warm because I was trying to finish setup of new air flow meter.

I've checked the battery votage 13v with lights on full beam it does go down about 0.01v every couple of seconds

I cannot see the wires very well around the starter motor as without power I cannot get the car on the ramps to look from under

Somtimes I get no responses at all when I turn the key but just now I could hear the fuel pump start and then on turning the key further I loud click but nothing else. The battery voltage stayed at 13v at all times

Tried jump starting car with my other car but nothing happed.

Could I have just a jammed starter motor ???

[Colin Blues2]

If the voltage isn't dropping much, or at all, then I don't think the motor is jammed. Sounds like either the solenoid is not engaging or the main feed for the starter is faulty, or it could be the main earth return. I would start with the cabling as that is cheaper than a replacement starter. Don't neglect the main earth points either. Check each one for a voltage drop, clean the connections and/or replace the cable if you suspect it.

The main feed for the starter is very long and you'll probably have to make one your self or get an auto electricion to make you one up; as you're unlikely to find one that long off the shelf.

Either way your going to need to get it off the ground and have a look at the cabling and possibly get the starter out. A jack and some axles stands will get it high enough to work on it.

I had a similar problem which turned out to be a bad joint on the main starter motor terminal spade.

Good Luck

Colin

[z_chromozone]

It is most likely an earth problem. Check and clean up the straps to the chassis at the front on either side and clean up the earth on the off side rear near the fuel tank.



Actually, that is where the earths are on the v8s, the v6 cars may be in a different place.

Z