Thread: starting issues

Originally Posted by 2_door

okay guys, have a curly one for you.

for the last week or so, the love of my life (thats my 2 door) has been very tempermental when I want to start it.

It was whirring at times but not engaging the starter motor and sometimes there was just nothing, not a click, nothing.

So I thought of the obvious and replaced the starter motor yesterday and it started first bang, no problems. Yahoo, I'm a genius....but not so quick

Today when I go to start it, its back to is old tricks....whirring sometimes and sometimes nothing not even a click!

so out I get with the voltmeter and SWMBO sitting behind the steering wheel with the look of death, you know the one, WHAT AM I DOING HERE

anyway, back to me, the starter relay has power and is switching fine. it tests fine with 12v and you can hear/feel it clicking. so under the old girl I go with my trusty voltmeter and start testing. Yep, have 12v from the battery. Yep have 12v from the ignition switch, yep have 12v for the starter second contact (holds the solenoid in or something).

so, if I have power everywhere, WHY THE HELL WONT IT START

sorry, lost it there for a sec.

okay, so I start fiddling with wires, checking contacts and then bang, it starts. SWMBO jumps thru the roof and the look worsens...she actually starts the dreaded machine

so, my question is. What else is there in the starting system could be playing up? the workshop manual shows basically the ignition switch, battery, starter relay and the starter motor. if they all test okay but dont work, then all of a sudden they do for no apparent reason, what could it be????

please explain

You say it has power everywhere.
Try this... Next time it has a wizzy fit take the small wire off the solenoid on starter and then bridge the big battery contact to the small contact on solenoid. Make sure it is out of gear A bit dangerous but easily done from under the rangie.

If this works you may have an issue between start Relay and Starter. Is it an Auto?


Tony

You have a bad earth or positive connection.
Go through all of the earths and positives between the battery and starter, and include the small earth behind the starter from the cbody to motor.

A quick check would be just to put a start jumper lead from the battery neg to starter body or bolt and see if it starts after failure, and ditto positive to starter pos terminal. That may tell you whether it is an earth or pos problem.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

You have a bad earth or positive connection.
Go through all of the earths and positives between the battery and starter, and include the small earth behind the starter from the cbody to motor.

A quick check would be just to put a start jumper lead from the battery neg to starter body or bolt and see if it starts after failure, and ditto positive to starter pos terminal. That may tell you whether it is an earth or pos problem.
Regards Philip A

umm, there is no earth wire on the starter shoud there be

it has multiple +ves on the big terminal (from the battery/alt & dash) and a big spade connector and a small spade connector from the starter relay. thats it. no earth wires should it?

but this is the way it always has been and it has only just started playing up so I assume there is no missing wire...unless I have lost it on a track somwhere with a stick pulling it off

Originally Posted by 2_door

umm, there is no earth wire on the starter shoud there be

it has multiple +ves on the big terminal (from the battery/alt & dash) and a big spade connector and a small spade connector from the starter relay. thats it. no earth wires should it?

but this is the way it always has been and it has only just started playing up so I assume there is no missing wire...unless I have lost it on a track somwhere with a stick pulling it off

Philip A is correct.. There should be an earth lead or strap going from engine asy to the body and possible to be the problem. Look under the front of foot wells. If earth is dodgy it wont have amperage to crank.

They earth battery to body then to engine. As suggested ...Try the jumper lead from Battery - to engine.

Originally Posted by 2_door

umm, there is no earth wire on the starter shoud there be

Your OK ... starter motor / solenoid earth's out to the engine ...

I have a similar problem with my 2 door now and again and its always the earth lead on the battery.
Remove the strap from the earth terminal, clean the battery terminal with a wire brush and the strap with whatever you have, I give it a light file with a round file. Then tighten it up to FT standards

thanks guys. I thought the starter motor earthed thru the engine, but being new to LR, anything is possible when you talk about the dreaded Lucas system

Yes, there are earth straps to the motor and body from both batteries so I dont expect that would be a problem.

will try to start it later to see what sort of a mood its in today

Hey mate
Had same problem with my 85 4 door. After two days of pulling half the electrical system apart and playing swapsies with the three satrter motors I had, i found the problem. On the starter motor you have a single lead which comes from the starter motor and goes on to a spade terminal oin top. Try pulling this off and then squash it a little with some pliers and put it back on it will be tight but that is what caused the problem.
It then starterd bang straight away so I replaced this with a new one and have not had a problem since.
Regards
Kris