101 replies to this topic

[fattasss]

Hi,
only bought the mini a week ago, havent heard it running,
went to turn the key and only a click noise from starter motor, i know the battery is good,
i removed the started and give it a good clean, than test it on the bench and its spinning fine,

refitted starter motor back on the engine and still not turning the engine,
what could it be...Help

[Yoda]

Do the dash lights dim when you try to start it?

 

It sounds like you may have a seized engine. might just be bad battery connections or earth straps.

[yeti21586]

sounds like the starter doesnt have enought force to turn the engine

[Yoda]

First thing to try would be to get a spanner on the end of the crankshaft to see if the engine will turn over by hand. or while the starter is off, try turning the flywheel with a large  screwdriver. this will confirm if the engine is seized or not. If not, we can look for other faults.

[fattasss]

hi, thanks for fast reply,,,
the lights dont dim when starting.
ive atached a seperate earth lead to the starter aswell,

ive also tried a direct start with a screwdriver, joining the live wire at rear to the spade terminal, it makes a louder clicking noise,
the starter was turning when i tried out of the car..
is there any way i can turn the engine to check if turns without starter motor,

[fattasss]

ive checked the alternator pulley and thats turning fine..

[fattasss]

do u know what size spanner, and which way will it rotate.

[fattasss]

i have but car in 2nd gear and moved it back and forth and than try the starter, still only clicks,

[tiger99]

Is it the starter, or just the solenoid, that is clicking? My suspicion is that it is just the solenoid, because you say the lights do not dim, so the starter is clearly not drawing a serious amount of current from the battery.

[fattasss]

the starter only clicking loud, ive removed the started from the housing and when i turn the ignition switch ican see the starter motor working fine and turning at full speed.
what can it be, i dont have a large spanner for the crank pulley either....

[domdee]

still could be a dodget solenoid. put a spanner across the 2 conections to see if that starts it

[fattasss]

Hi, i have put a spanner on the main + terminal and the large spade on rear of starter. it still dont crank the engine,
only gives spark and loud clink sound.

[Rog46]

Put the car in gear (2nd or 3rd) move it and watch the fan. You'll soon tell if the engine is turning! If it is but the starter spins (when mechanically removed from the engine) but the lights don't dim when trying to start normally then I think bad earths are the most likely (battery to earth or engine/starter to earth) but a solenoid with a high internal resistance across it's contacts is not impossible.

[fattasss]

will try the 2nd/3rd gear moving car tomoro,

wats the chances that a mini engine can cease up, its always had oil and water levels toped up.

[Yoda]

I have a few questions for you.

 

When you bought the car, was it delivered to you or did you collect it? If delivered, i take it that it was delivered on a trailer or flatbed? did you buy the car knowing that it would not start? and if so what explanation was given by the seller?

 

Have you confirmed yet that the engine will turn over by hand or by putting in gear and rolling the car? Until you can confirm this, we cannot really take this much further. We have suggested several things to try so far but the most important one is to find out if the engine actually turns over. Tiger99 and Rog46 have suggested (due to lights not dimming) that the solenoid or an earth may be at fault, In our telephone conversation, you said that the starter is of the pre engaged type. What Tiger99, Rog46 and I are leaning toward, is that we suspect that you are maybe getting a high resistance on the solenoid main internal contacts. this will prevent the current required for the starter to pass through the solenoid to spin the motor under load,even though it appears to be fine off the car. equally, this may be happening due to a high resistance on one of your earth points. But. Having said all that, if the engine is tight or seized, we would get similar symptoms. We need more information from you to take this further.  

Edited by Yoda, 09 February 2014 - 11:12 AM.