Help, 3.2l petrol. Engine refuses to crank

[Richard93Vogue]

Hi all,

I'm in a pickle. Car is broken down a couple of Km from home.
Gives error: HDC fault system not available.
It refuses to crank at all. I have tried batteries from my other cars and went and bought a new battery this morning and still no luck, all the same.
I can't even find the stinking starter motor to try giving it a tap.....:(

[Richard93Vogue]

does anyone know how to get to the starter motor on this engine?

[Richard93Vogue]

found the starter motor, it is right on the bottom of the motor and you have to take the bash plate off to get to it.

Towed the car home and got to the starter, couldn't hotwire it so took it off and found that it is STUFFED. Brushes worn to nothing and one of them broken off.

So hopefully that is the only problem! Off to find a starter now...

[freemander]

How did you go, did you solve the problem??

[Richard93Vogue]

I ordered a new starter motor from England last night and had an email early this morning to say that it was dispatched already and that I should have it in 2-3 days! That will be good if I do get it that soon.

Starter motor is (I hope!) the only problem. We'll see when I get the new one fitted.

I will let you know very soon, fingers crossed ;)

[mikehzz]

There was a post somewhere of a guy in Perth who wrecked his starter motor in a muddy bog hole. He had the petrol motor too...it might be a weakness?

[Richard93Vogue]

The starter is virtually the lowest part of the engine assembly. The bash plate is the only protection it has from any bottoming out and the standard bash plate is not that substantial. So I would reason that getting hung up on a rock or something submerged in a bog hole would do some damage to the starter, if hit in that region.
My starters problem is that the carbon brushes are completely worn out and one of them had actually snapped off and done some damage to the internals. Add to that the solenoid seems to have died as well.
6 years for a starter motor.....I have an 1961 EK holden still on its original 50 year old starter!

[Tusker]

The starter is virtually the lowest part of the engine assembly. The bash plate is the only protection it has from any bottoming out and the standard bash plate is not that substantial. So I would reason that getting hung up on a rock or something submerged in a bog hole would do some damage to the starter, if hit in that region.
My starters problem is that the carbon brushes are completely worn out and one of them had actually snapped off and done some damage to the internals. Add to that the solenoid seems to have died as well.
6 years for a starter motor.....I have an 1961 EK holden still on its original 50 year old starter!

I would think though that the EK starter would also have issues if submerged in a boghole...

Has the bashplate been smacked? Has the car been in mud whatever?

Regards
Max P

[Richard93Vogue]

No, this car has never been offroad not YET anyway! I bought it off a bloke who used it as a commuter car, all highway and traffic. No trace of any mud or gunk underneath at all. Apart from some oil leaks, when I took the cover plates off it looked like new.

New starter arrived today from England. Took 3 days....not bad at all. Will have it in tomorrow arvo and hopefully that will be all :)

[Hoges]

Any hints as to which parts supplier in the UK provides such great service...???
Glad you got it fixed!
cheers

[Richard93Vogue]

Starter in tonight and tested. Didn't work to start with....but we found that was my fault....I'd been testing all the fuses the other day and put one of the 40amp fuses back in the wrong spot, found him and put him back where it should be and WHADAYAKNOW!!!!!!! It's ALIVE!!!!!!!!
Started straight up and sounded good. Such a relief. :D:D:D

The company with the good and fast service is here (http://www.google.com.au/url'sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCsQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.startermotor-alternator.co.uk%2F&ei=sJyhUqPaOILOkQWK84GQCw&usg=AFQjCNFmdtPv-9aRSFUUKrgI0fpgAqqzPg&bvm=bv.57155469,d.dGI)

[Richard93Vogue]

So the starter motor and the thermo fan seem to have been on a timer to wear out at the same time! Temp gauge went high yesterday so I did some searching on the net and found that the i6 thermo fan is a known problem.
Long story short, headlights, bumper, radiator all out or moved just to get the thermo fan off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and yes that is the way LR do it....stuupid design....
Pulled the fan motor apart *it is not serviceable* and found that the carbon brushes, just like in the starter motor were worn out completely.
Not happy Jan.

I am going to try and source some brushes from somewhere and attempt a rebuild before spending $600odd on a new one.

[sheerluck]

.........I am going to try and source some brushes from somewhere and attempt a rebuild before spending $600odd on a new one.

Sounds like you're having a bad week.

I don't blame you for trying with a new pair of brushes though, I did exactly that with the ABS pump motor in SWMBO's Merc ML. MBAU wanted $2200 for a whole new ABS pump, but I paid $16 for a new set of brushes, and an hour or two of my own labour. Still going strong 3 years later.

[Richard93Vogue]

Thermo fan motor is now 'reconditioned' and reinstalled and has so far been ok ie around the block twice! Thing is it seems to run all the time...but I have the A/C is on all the time too.

Should have taken some pictures I suppose, but I didn't....to get the thermo out you do have to undress the car from the front...bumper bar, headlights, plastic air dam things, then undo the radiator mounts and gently move the radiator back just enough to squeeze the fan out:o being very careful as the radiator is all ally and plastic and seems very thin!

I skimmed the armatuer and modified a set of brushes out of something else. Now all back in and working, probably a little noisyer than a new one but definately cheaper! Hopefully it will last a goodly while. :D

[camel_landy]

Yeeessss... The starter on those engines is rather vulnerable!!

The engine was originally designed for Volvo, hence the location. When it was found how vulnerable the starter was (that's another story!!), the heavy duty undertray & fused starter supply was specified.

M