Clicking VR - starter motor shagged???

[double-6s 0]

Hi.

Another day, another problem with the vr!!!

I have done searches and found loads of stuff, but i'm struggling to understand........

 

The vr won't start. I can hear the solenoid clicking but nothing else at all.

I have seen loads of ignition switch posts, but i'm not sure if these relate to the same problem.

 

Can you help please guys? Two accidents, tyres slashed, etc, etc and now it won't fekin start! I'm going to kill it (after i've shagged it one last time ;) )

 

Any suggestions or links to relevant threads would be WELL appreciated.

Thanks.

[double-6s 0]

please help.

my boss is gonna kill me if i don't go into the office at least once this week! ;)

[gaz the geezer 0]

hello mate, it might well be the contacts in the solenoid unit, the starter solenoid pulls in to pre engage with the flywheel and then makes the heavy duty electrical contact in the solenoid to spin the starter over, if the starter has been well behaved ( no sluggishness ) and no problem at all then it may just require taking apart and cleaning--on the bad side it could be goosed :( , i take it you made sure the batery and terminals are ok ?, i once had a similar problem on a mates car when the problem was due to a bad earth -- i just connected a jump lead to the earth of the battery on to the engine and hey presto :cheers: the main earth lead between body and engine being the problem---give it a go

[double-6s 0]

hi mate

erm......

no leads. no knowledge. no one around to help!

battery terminals look fine. everything electrical still working. got to be honest i can't even find the fekkin starter motor! :( not a clue. i know where it should be but for the life of me i can't se it! lol

the only thing i noticed was yesterday i just had to turn the key for longer before the engine turned.

i hate my car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gaz the geezer 0]

not a clue. i know where it should be but for the life of me i can't se it! lol

 

you could follow the positive lead from the battery,it bolts right on to the starter :thumbleft:

 

 

without starship enterprise technology ( beam in / beam out ) i cant do much more fella, how about a taxi ? :)

[Lippy 0]

have u checked the charge in the battery...

 

its been cold these past few days, if youve had heater and lights and stereo on it can run down the battery. Is your boot light still on :lol:

[double-6s 0]

taxi? fek off! million quid please sir! lol :)

 

off to trace the lead back from the battery :)

[double-6s 0]

have u checked the charge in the battery...

 

its been cold these past few days, if youve had heater and lights and stereo on it can run down the battery. Is your boot light still on :lol:

 

i'll check. probably not - i have 'special' wiring in my car. it was worked on by someone very 'special' at some stage! ;)

[gaz the geezer 0]

:lol: :lol:

[double-6s 0]

ok. think i've found it - nice and acessible then! not

can't really see too much to check cables/plugs. getting torch (i'm a natural mechanic me) ;)

 

however, i did find this (not related).....

 

i read another guys thread on vr running problems earlier and he traced it back to a broken wire in his MAF whotsit.

 

just had a quick look in my (what i think is the MAF jobby) and found 6 'spade' type connectors on one side of the plug, but only 5 'sockets' on the other side of the plug.

 

is this the MAF whotsit?

is this normal?

am i even dumber than i think?

tune in next week for 'double-6s - world's dumbest mechanic'!! ;)

[double-6s 0]

boot light working fine btw

[dr_mat 0]

Yes, if the battery is a bit low it'll do this. Basically the solenoid kicks in ok, but the moment the starter attempts to turn the crank, the battery voltage drops too low and the solenoid can't sustain it, so it kicks out again .. then the battery recovers slightly and the solenoid kicks in ... rinse and repeat ..

 

Most likely your battery is low. See my post on the "Optima batteries group buy" thread for more details ...

[double-6s 0]

i know its severely off-topic dr_matt, but any ideas on the MAF issue above?

thanks.

[dr_mat 0]

Stepping off topic I doubt that is the source of this, or any problem. Clearly that connector hasn't gone like that, it's always been like that. So if it worked before it'll work again...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yes that's normal, as answered in the other thread ;-)

 

As for the starting, sounds battery related to me..... stick it a new one in and you can shag it as many times as you like afterwards :-)

[double-6s 0]

just stick a new one in eh?

you don't live in worthing! just fetching my hiking boots out of the loft.....

[dr_mat 0]

Got a voltmeter?

[double-6s 0]

nope. i'm pretty useless to be fair mate

[dr_mat 0]

Hold both terminals of the battery. If you're still alive when you let go, it's flat.

 

(Don't try this at home, kids.)

 

Seriously though, you have two choices:

 

- test the battery (multimeter costs £4.95 from maplins)

- replace it anyway (~£40-50)

- recharge the battery (a decent charger will cost ~£30 from Argos - though there's an RAC one on sale for £17.99)

 

You might find that the battery can't be charged, or even when charged still won't hold the voltage, so you'll have to replace it anyway.

[double-6s 0]

So would all the electrics still work if its a dead battery?

[gaz the geezer 0]

kind of, as long as the amperage was low, the starter drags loads out of the battery were as a electric window wouldnt

 

depends what you mean by "dead " though, below par or completely sh*gged

[double-6s 0]

sodding ell.

gonna have to go and spend 50 nicker then :(

[gaz the geezer 0]

i`d get one of those parts places to drop one off to you with their little vans - usually all in on the price

[double-6s 0]

good point......

 

didn't think about 'take-out' - on it's way :)

[Lippy 0]

hope you get going - thought it would be the battery, same thing happened to me. Any consolation, I thought oh feck my starter motor is knackered! Luckily I traced down to the battery, did wince when they relieved me of 65 quid though.