The cars going to get hit with a branch John Cleese style soon! The starter motor stopped working, it just whirred asif it wasnt catching. I got a second hand starter motor and whacked it on, started first time. Took it for a drive to get it hot, brought it back and it had nothing. Charged the battery, put it back on, started first time, took it for a drive, tried to start it again, nothing! Got the battery tested at halfords, battery unserviceable, bought another one, put it on, now the starter motor just clicks really loud once and does nothing else. The battery is full according to the indicator on it. Help!
Was the starter a scrappy find? Did you check to see the starter cog returned after it had been connected up? What condition was the ring gear on the flywheel like All the cables secure?
Thanks for your reply. It was en ebay do! haha I dont know what you mean with the starter cog to be honest, it just seems to spin?! (i'm not very mechanically minded!) The ring gear looked ok as did the cog on the starter. Cables all seem secure. I put the old starter motor back on (old one seemed to move more freely than ebay one). Tried it and the starter motor just whirred again. Tried it agin and it went! went for a drive, started it twice more when I got back. Seems ok now! fingers crossed! Do you think it is a loose/damaged earth or something?
Possibly, The question about the cog was did you watch that cog moved out span round and returned back towards the starter body once you turned the power off to the starter. Best way if you can take it off if you have some jump leads use them where the red cable went to the starter conect the jump lead to that and the + of the battery and the black jump lead connected to the starter body and the other end to the - . It should fly out to the end spin and when you remove one of the leads the cog should stop spinning and return back towards the starter if it doesnt then it is knackered too. If you can turn the engine by hand at the crank look for any of the teeth on the flywheel for being damaged Did halfords check that the engine was charging? shold be 13-14.4v when its running anymore/less and the reg on the alty is fooked
If you take the starter motor off and wind the gear out a bit, a squirt of WD40 inside the mechanism will often help. Can't hurt, and it's a lot cheaper than a new starter.
Thanks for the info guys. Next time it isn't working I will take the starter motor off and test it as above, I'll also get a spanner on the crank and check the flywheel teeth. (I suppose that would explain the whirring if it was just spinning and not catching. Will bang a bit of WD40 in there aswell. Gonna clean all the earths etc at the weekend aswell I think.
could just be the new battery wasnt quite charged enough to turn the engine over. quick question, does the battery light on the dash come on with the ignition then go off when the car is running?
It'd make a nasty grinding noise if the starter is slipping on worn flywheel teeth. If it's just whirring, it's not engaging with the flywheel. Sounds like a lazy starter, and check your battery and engine earth connections to make sure they're tight and clean. Give the connectors a rub with some sandpaper too.
