John Howe Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 The day started with a 3 a.m. alarm call, Adrian Elkin and I left the farm for W Wittering a few minutes after 4 a.m. and the fire was well ablaze by 6 a.m.... it was a long day and a rewarding day, that is up until 6.50 p.m., when 20 minutes from home I stalled the Seven at a set of temporary traffic lights. ... and at that point the day went sour - I had K series starteritus! Turning the key would bring only a margin rotation of the engine. Almost as if the starter was unable to push through compression but time is a great healer of all ills and so I sat there waiting for the engine to cool down. Comfortable in the complete belief that once it had cooled down, a simply turn of the key would have us back on the road again. Well I was wrong and an hour latter it still would spin. However, there was a slight slope to the road, if only I could get someone to give me a push. Surely, Dave Hollington or Ray Pearce couldn't be that far behind me on the road and they would leap to the rescue... but no, they must have taken the pretty route home. It was now an emergency.... a phone call to Foxy Smith was needed! Foxy huffed and puffed, I select 2nd gear dropped the clutch and roared off into the distance and home - again, many thanks Alan for coming to my help. My Seven's has the solenoid on top, I am not aware of the solenoid post being moveable and it has Paul's relay starter kit fit (as a precaution rather than a cure). Can my problem be dry joint related or does the starter lack the power to turn over a tuned engine, once warm. If the latter, what isthe alternative? JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 222bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 Have you checked the battery charge? It might be your alternator is not charging the battery correctly or the battery is knackered and not taking a charge. Does the ignition light come on prior to starting and go off afterwards? Check the offload battery volts after charging - switch on the headlights for 3 minutes first - switch off then measure the battery. It should read about 12.5v. Crank the engine with the fuel pump fuse out (so it doesn't fire) and have someone measure the battery volts while cranking. If the volts drop below 9v the battery is knackered and will need replacing. With the engine running the battery volts should be around 14.5v immediately after starting, dropping after a while to around 13.5v. This shows the alternator is putting out the correct charging voltage. If all of the above looks OK, possibly there is some fault on the starter motor when hot which due to expansion is getting "tight" and is not able to turn properly. Although why this fault would suddenly develop is a puzzle. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Carmichael Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 IME, the 1.1kW starters (I think that's what they are) struggle with a higher than standard compression engine and the 1.4 kW race starter fixes all known ills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted June 29, 2003 Author Share Posted June 29, 2003 Chris, Whilst I will nevertheless check the readings you are suggesting, the battery appears to be getting a charge and is connected to a Race Tec battery condition when garaged. Therefore the battery shouldn't be that far off max. charge and isn't that old. The real issue is that whilst it has hinted at doing this it has never been as bad a yesterday and has only does it when hot... but not always. If it could have survived a RR session (where the temperature does get a little high) what has changed to alter its performance. Peter, I must admit that when it fails to perform it is as if there is not enough grunt in the motor to turn the engine. Who makes the 1.4k starter you refer to? JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 222bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 John Have you checked the thick red lead from the battery to the alternator in terms of the alternator connection being sound? ie: tight AND not corroded. Just a thought. Chris 1.8K SV 140hp see it here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Howe Posted June 30, 2003 Author Share Posted June 30, 2003 Chris, yes all tight and clean. JH Deliveries by Saffron, the yellow 222bhp Sausage delivery machine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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