Starting.. or not as the case may be.

[JonDiss]

Having just fixed my starter and all being well for a month and a half I discover some new starting issues this morning. I turn the key and she struggles to turn which is followed by not the usual single click of the starter but the starter going mental and clicking like crazy. So, what have I got going on here? Is it a battery problem, starter issue or something more sinister and outrageously expensive?

I'd appreciate some feedback...

Jon

[stormforce]

check the battery leads are onm tight and the battery terminals are really clean then try again

[JonDiss]

Hmm.. tried that. The engine whirrs but doesn't fire... followed by a lot of starter clicking.

I'm going to check the batteries, the engine was taking a while to get going prior to this..ie it would suddenly pick up a couple of minutes after starting.

Any other ideas?

[soramad]

could be a faulty relay or solonoid causing the starter to do a lot of clicking, or alternatively it could be the bendix not fully engaging on the fly wheel

[The Lang-Shankit Scunner]

i had that and new batteries solved it

[MattF]

Cold weather and clicking starter most likely means knacked batteries. Nip to your local factors/auto sparks and get them checked.

[mickey]

I had a similar thing after my starter motor was overhauled..You'll see my issues if you do a search maybe..

Anyway..It turned out to be the batteries. Apparently, failing or flagging batteries can burn starter motors out prematurely, so the two issues can go hand in hand..When i had the batteries checked by not one but two motor factors, the readings came back good..I kinda suspected they should have been checked in isolation from eachother, but they weren't..I felt too embarrassed to push the point in case my theory was nonsence, but have since been advised the thinking was sound [unusual for me]

Bear in mind too, that the twin set up can "throw" you if one battery is ailing..I couldn't get my head around what was going on at all..I really thought it was loose wiring in the ignition barrel, faulty earth..the lot..One minute it started fine, the next it was touch and go..I even started to imagine i could hear sparks discharging on the road whilst i was driving

Two new batteries later and its firing on half a turn even on these -4 mornings..The moral being, when "experts" tell you your batteries are in fine shape, just maybe they ain't..And maybe your starter was killed off by the batteries in the first place..

[JonDiss]

Cheers people

I did some digging around and had a hunch that one of the batteries was flagging. I've recharged it and she started- although, I think I may have to replace the offending article before long as I can't stand the unreliability.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

Cheers people

I did some digging around and had a hunch that one of the batteries was flagging. I've recharged it and she started- although, I think I may have to replace the offending article before long as I can't stand the unreliability.

Replace it sooner rather than later, it will drag the good one down


Trev