6 replies to this topic

[MarkMcc]

Hello all,

Just 'finished' my first difficult (for me) bit of work to the my 78 Clubman.

I spent a good 4.5 hours of my hard won Sunday afternoon with my bro replacing the right hand side engine mount - I was going to do both sides but it was dark and cold and I was pissed off!

Basically I followed the Haynes BIble and it went ok. Until my brother was attaching the bolts through the flitch panel to the Minispares mount with the captive nuts.

And one just span instead of remaining captive!
(OK, I know tthis has been covered before, but WHY ME!)

By this time it was getting dark and I needed to reassemble the car so no time to undo all of those bastard flywheel casing bolts again. So I just left the thing in place - it will stay in place for the meantime.

Anyway, the real reason for this post is that I refitted and connected the starter motor and it now won't engage. Nothing happens when I turn the key, just silence.

The electrics seem to work OK, I bump started it and it ran fine.
So I found somewhere on a hill to park then went inside and fumed for a bit.

So, does anyone have an inkling what my problem is? (apart from excessively wordy posts)

Cheers

Mark

[HUBBA.HUBBA]

Does the starter turn at all? If not, check all of the wires inc to the starter switch. With a multi meter (if you have one) see if any power is getting through at all. Also if it jump starts, check the battery whilst its running. See if its charging properly.

[MrBounce]

If you've removed the bolts from the flywheel cover, is there an engine earth strap that was originally attached to one? If you didn't reconnect it you could get those symptoms...

[MarkMcc]

The starter does nothing at all now.
Even when it did work it never really burst into life. Always seemed a bit sluggish and wheezy.

I know that I have a bit of a battery/ alternator/ earthing problem because my battery sits just below 12v with the ignition off and only about 12.7v running full choke.
But the car has run well for the last week since I renewed various ignition bits and bobs.

For some reason I have it in my mind that it is an idle/mixture thing. Rev counter and colortune en route from eBay once I free up the idle screw on the carb.

I'll go over the connections with my multimeter at some point in the next few days and see if there's a break in the flow.

and Bounce, I did remember to reconnect the earth on the flywheel cover though - nearly missed it, had to take the bolt off again!

[Chance]

I have the same problem...the car was starting fine but now is tempramental and sometimes when i turn the key it just does nothing....curious as to how you solve your problem...cheers

[MarkMcc]

I took a jump lead and bypassed the solenoid switch - the starter motor fired up. I think my solenoid is goosed! Got one for £7 including delivery off eBay - Wish it would hurry up and get here!

Chance - from the research I have been doing it sounds as if the brushes inside your starter are worn or something like that (technical, I know. Don't worry, someone with a firmer grasp of things will be along in a minute to set us right).
You could try giving your starter a wee thump with a hammer or something - but not too hard! That might move things around inside enough to make a contact and get you moving again. Or rock the car forwards and backwards whilst in gear.

This is only a short term fix though as it won't sort out the issue of worn internal parts to your starter.
Get a new one (unlikely if it's the inertial pre '84/'85) or reconditioned one. Or buy some parts and fix it yourself!

Edited by MarkMcc, 17 November 2011 - 12:25 AM.

[MarkMcc]

Ok, I replaced the solenoid, but nothing happened when I tried to start it up!

So... I did 2 things:

1. Removed the battery positive and earth connections. The positive had several copper strands not in contact with the clamp. I fixed this and screwed it together tight.
The earth bolt through the boot floor was painted and difficult to remove and I broke the enclosure for the square nut on the underside of the floor. Put it back together.

2 I then looked at the positive connection to the starter motor. The thread had previously been stripped close to the starter and there were several washers in place to allow the nut to grip. I had neglected to put these washers after reassembly when I had finished the mount.

After doing these things, it started no problem! So I'm not sure which had more influence.
For the record, it seems MUCH more eager to start than ever before. Even at only 10.7v across the terminals. This suggests that the earth was the problem.

We'll just have to see whether the battery will now charge better... I have never seen more than 12.5 v