Starter Motor Won't.

[Terry Field]

Every now and again, when I turn the ignition on, there is absolutely no response from the starter. So far I have solved it by a combination of rocking the car, bump starting and clouting the starter.

 

I took the starter off, and everything seems to be moving freely. Have also cleaned all the cable contacts.

 

Any ideas about what to do next 🤔

 

Terry

 

Q783 OOR. Team Lotus colours with flares.

[Bare]

Try testing the thing in place.. one only needs to short the Solenoid terminals to get full battery power to the thing.. a screwdriver works.. but use an old one :-) . IF you get full action : starter spins and the Drive actually engages the Flywheel..then it's a wiring to the Solenoid issue.. If nothing happens or there is an engagement problem, then yr needing to either Rebuild your starter or get an exchange one.. easier but significantly more Currency. In either case not it's a big deal.. but certainly annoying.

[Normans_Ghost]

It's unlikely to be the following but worth a try. test the voltage to the solonid wire when starter pressed. If it's a lot below same when not pressed renew this wire back as far as you can. Search for fuller description. This will give sluggish action or click, click therefore unlikely.

 

Norman Verona, 1989 BDR 220bhp, Mem No 2166, the full story here

[Terry Field]

The problem doesn't seem to be one of sluggish action, it either starts perfectly or does absolutely nothing at all. Mechanically it seems OK - parts all move freely by hand - it is almost as though no power at all gets through occasionally.

The engine is coming out in the next couple of weeks so I will give everything a good clean up.

 

Terry

 

Q783 OOR. Team Lotus colours with flares.

[puremalt]

I had this problem last year, there was a tooth missing on the starter gear so that every so often (fortnightly or so) it went clunk, and that was it. Rocking the car always solved it. The starter motor was replaced and no problems since. Cost abut £60 when being rebuilt at Millwood. However I reckon that even I can change it (probably)

 

This one goes up to 11

[Ken Sailor]

Is everything on the ignition circuit working (electric fuel pump, etc.)?

I had a similar problem recently when my ignition switch went wonky and worked sometimes and sometimes not.

 

Ken Sailor

[Terry Field]

Yes Ken, everything is working fine. What is puzzling me is that the starter just goes dead occasionally, with none of the usual, clunks,buzzes or light dimming which you get when it jams or sticks. As I say, I have cleaned all the external connections, starter and solenoid, and removed the whole unit to make sure that it all moves freely, but just when you need it, it won't turn.

 

Terry

 

Q783 OOR. Team Lotus colours with flares.

[chrisb]

I've had this on mine a couple of times.

 

Only happened on really hot days, after giving the car some "welly" Come back to it, turn key and nothing, no click, no clunk, nothing. However the fuel pumps pumping away, and everything else seems to work ok.

 

If i grab the roll bar and shake car, or if on a hill roll a couple of inches forward and STAND on the brakes, turn the key, and hey presto starts perfectly.

 

This hapened 3 times in mid summer, and hasn't happened since

[Nick Woods]

Its worth doing a search as starters do refuse to work, especially in K-series cars. There are several causes, including duff(ish) relays and loose connections on the solenoid terminals, so you need to identify what sort of starter you have and from there you can probably find one (if not more.....) suggested cures.

 

try reading here and here and here - there may be somne info thats of use.

 

My starter problems turned out to be the connection to the solenoid - the post worked loose and gave an intermittent contact. My starter has the solenoid on top, other types have different causes and different cures. It can be a pain in the 🙆🏻 to fix

 

Nick

Red and Black 1.6K supersport

visit Carrotland.co.uk

 

[sjmmarsh]

I had a similar problem on my car. When I fried the starter by running it at the same time as going round a track (don't ask!), I took it all apart to find the problem.

 

One of the bushes on the starter motor (there are 4) had more or less vapourised at the outside edge. This meant that if the motor stopped at the wrong point, it couldn't get any power to the commutator and turn the motor over. Rocking the motor ever so slightly (e.g. by putting the car in gear) and rocking the car by throwing your weight in the seat seemed enough to unstick it.

 

An entire new unit is only £120 or so from Caterham and turns the engine over with much more authority!

 

Steve

[Terry Field]

Thanks for all the advice and for the links Nick. I will take it off tonight and check it out.

 

Terry

 

Q783 OOR. Team Lotus colours with flares.