Starter motor playing up?

[Gee]

When I turn the car it does not constantly dtry to start over, just a few coughs then dead.

Just been out and starting fine.

When ignition on so there is power but not actually turned over the voltage is 12.1v.

Took EFI fuse out and cranked over a few time and voltage went to 11.5v.

Put fuse back in, turned over and voltage was 14.0 - 14.1v.

Mean anything?

Seems to start everytime now..

 

[dac69er]

from the looks of that it seems ok, its a very rough test but better than nothing at this hour.

all i can think of is checking your earths, and the connection to the starter motor itself.

 

[Texx]

Sounds like a dodgy battery or a poor earth TBH.

I would check the earth straps and clamps and if OK change the battery before the starter motor. It's the easiest and cheapest option.

 

[Gee]

Hopefully I can make it to work and back tomorrow and get it to a garage late rin the week.

Tex,

I have an earthing kit and the connections seem OK? They are all on the chassis. Would dirt and stuff cause a bit of problems? Can try cleaning them..better than nothing I suppose.

All repped BTW.

 

[Ted]

was gonna say check earths too

 

[Gee]

Earths are:

Top right on bolt where strut bar is.
On the chassis where the standard one usually goes.
One across the engine bay near an engine mount or something..
And another on the chassis I think.

 

[dac69er]

sounds like you need to earth your gearbox and engine block a bit better if thats all you have earth wise. do you still have the standard earthing points?

 

[Gee]

Goes to the radiator...

Just been out and checked the battery terminals and connections. They were all corroded up with that white acid shit, both of them.

Cleaned them both up and time will tell if it helps. We'll see at 6:00am tomorrow morning

 

[dac69er]

Goes to the radiator...

Just been out and checked the battery terminals and connections. They were all corroded up with that white acid shit, both of them.

Cleaned them both up and time will tell if it helps. We'll see at 6:00am tomorrow morning

now they are clean stick some vaseline or some other grease on them to stop the corrosion.

 

[Gee]

Ahh I'll do it another day!

Think it could of been causing the problem?

 

[Texx]

Sounds like your most likely culprit Gee. Slap some grease of some sort over the battery terminals ^^ as already suggested. It'll only happen again otherwise.

 

[Gee]

Nope, problem is still there!

Went out again to try and same thing.

I'm starting to think it is the alternator? Because once bumped it maybe charging the battery a little, so after the journey, this could be why it is turning over straight away. Because it does try and turn over, but is slow if you know what I mean?

And could a dodgy alternator cause idle problems if no charging? When my idle plays up, the voltage can drop to like 12-11v??

 

[weakboy2]

depends how low the idle goes, the alternator needs a certain amount of RPM to charge properly, you can check your alternator, it should be charging at about 13.5 - 14.8 ish when running.

 

[Gee]

I would need to test the charge of the alternator when running with a meter wouldnt I?

 

[Texx]

And could a dodgy alternator cause idle problems if no charging? When my idle plays up, the voltage can drop to like 12-11v??

With the engine running at normal idle speed or above you would usually expect to see a voltage reading of around 14v ± 0.5v. A reading of 12v or less with the engine running would suggest an issue with the charging circuit or alternator itself.

Get your head under the car Gee and check to connections on the back of the alternator are secure.

Has the battery light ever come on at all when driving?
Does the battery light actually illuminate when the ignition key is turned to the ignition position?

 

[Texx]

To check an alternator is charging properly, you need to measure its ampere output. You can only really do this accurately with an AMPs clamp. A voltage reading can give you an indication of a faulty alternator, but can't show if its charging sufficiently or not.

 

[Gee]

Can't get under the car, will need to take to a garage. They can test the charge while I'm there.

Battery light has never come on while driving and all lights look normal on turnover matey.

 

[stedee]

come round mine if you want i live in cleckheaton, ive jusy had a knackered alternator so i know what to look for and ive got a multimeter so i will be a ble to tell you whats what

if it dont start after a run, i would say alternator or starter
if it dont start in the morning when it hasnt run for a bit, battery or starter, if the lights are dull or ignition lights are dull - battery if not starter( the lights do go dull when
starting anyway btw -big drain to the starter)

if the power fc has been telling you its 14v i would say battery or starter, more likely battery especially with the cold weather

 

[Gee]

Stedee,

You have PM mate!

Well, I'm at work now..I made it! So, even after being stood over night, it started first time. Usually it will start first time, then after the journey, if I shut the car down, it struggles to start again.

If I leave it for a hour thou, its fine..WTF.

Sounding like the starter at this point?

 

[Gee]

Are the alternator and starter motor connections different on EP82 and EP91?

If anyone has pictures of the EP91 connections that would be very useful, thanks.