Problem starting help

[jebiga41]

Posted in electrical but I know some of ye don't read it hence repeating it here and I have been throughout the wiki Hi guys,
Have an aaz diesel in the van Having some major problems starting. Since I got the starter refurbed and fitted the van was having troubles starting which I put down to a dodgy connection but used to start, then today when I turned the key the starter clicked and turned the engine but not enough to start it when I tried again there was nothing and the dash lights flickered and then nothing also have no headlights and found the 30amp fuse had melted in the fusebox and did not seem to have any power to the ignition switch? However have power to the starter and also thhe black fusebox in the engine bay have gone over all connections to make sure they are clean. Also the engine has managed to get a positive charge and the alarm has dstopped working? Any ideas guys?

[jed the spread]

Is the earth strap on the gear box ok? Worth giving it a clean up maybe?

Jed

[syncroand101]

Also fitting a new second earth strap to the gearbox helps starting as well..

[syncropaddy]

Also the engine has managed to get a positive charge

You said this to me on the phone last night and I still dont understand what you mean. The only live feed going to the engine is for the fuel pump which comes from the ignition switch and you say this feed is dead. 30 amp fuses dont melt for fun so there is a serious short in there somewhere.

I would do the following
1. Isolate everything from the battery, engine and starter except the earth
2. Isolate Glow Plug circuit
3. Connect a new starter cable from +ve to the +ve on the starter
4. Connect a wire to the starter solenoid long enough to reach the +ve terminal on the battery but do not connect yet
5. Connect a live feed to the fuel pump from the battery +ve
6. Connect a wire to the Glow Plug circuit but do not connect to battery yet
7. Check all earth straps
8. I would also remove the alternator belt so it doesnt run unconnected.

This set up is all you need to start the engine

Assuming the battery is charged and the van is in neutral you do the following
1. Connect the Glow Plug wire to battery +ve
2. Remove Glow Plug wire from battery +ve after 20 (?) seconds
3. Connect starter solenoid wire until engine starts - assuming the refurb starter isnt a dud

By doing it this way you know that if it starts then your issues are elsewhere but at least the engine starts.

Next thing to do is to connect everything back up except the starter and the solenoid. Reason being the problem started when you got this refurbed so take it out of the equation. Test all circuits by switching on with the key as per normal. if you need to test individual circuits then test with a decent bulb and leave your multimeter in the tool box cuz you need to load each circuit to see if it works under load.

At least the weather is reasonable!

[jebiga41]

Well got the AA guy out, who was sound and ended up chatting for about an hour about syncros TDI's vs TD's offroading etc, he checked it out and turns out was a dirty/corroded earth strap from the battery to the engine he cleaned it up and everything back to normal all a bit embarrassing but it's always the small things that get you well everyday's a schoolday. Think it's time for a clean up of my engine bay wiring kinda long overdue. Thanks for input and help both on the phone and the forum