Club 80-90 Forums

dave2878 wrote: would the earth strap at battery be getting hot for any reason and would this affect the starting

It is because the starter is drawing a heavy current. Caused by a fault in the starter motor or the engine is too tight to turn over and putting extra load on the motor.

Ok will look at starter motor first then . When you say engine is too tight could you explain what you mean. Sorry I am pretty much new to this . Cheers Dave
Yr

Thats just the two potential scenarios. Clearly a starter would struggle to turn over a tight engine (ie partially seized) but so would a faulty starter go slow or struggle to move if theres an internal issue or bad cable connections. Neglect in this area soon shows itself.

This is a useful guide. Certainly connectors must be in good fettle. https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ain_cables" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Make sure you disconnect battery before going near starter. When you get starter off, give the teminals a real going over with a wire brush and inspect it carefully. Check the condition of the braided cable too. Theres more you can do before condemning the starter, but begin there,

also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNKSeAAd3rk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

cheers for that i read through this the other day. i noticed alot of the connections were suffering from verdigris, cleaned up the connections i could see.
hopefully the weather dries up a bit here and we can take the starter motor out.
a partially seized engine sounds a bit horrific, i hoping its not that. because it starts so well from cold and idles no bother and the engine sounds fine i am hoping its not that.

Worth checking the earth strap connections, both battery to body and engine/gearbox to body, they are as important as the ones on the starter although less likely to corrode.

checked all the earth straps ad cleaned them up. ended up taking starter motor out ans it was pretty much done , so i decided to replace it , van has been starting really when cold and nearly as good when warm,but the engine is running a bit lumpy, bumped into a mechanic i know and he had a listen to me then the van then suggested i take it down for a compression check as he thought it was running rough.

done a compression test myself and the reading i got are .
1, 10.9 bar = 158 psi
2, 9.7 bar = 140 psi
3 9.1 bar = 131 psi
4 9.5 bar = 137 psi
i am not really sure is i know what any of this means if i am honest , van is still running a bit rough when it gets warmed up , and its not starting up as well when it is warm .

I'd be looking at the fuelling. Sounds like it's running lean when it comes off choke.

Another potential problem with mechanical fuel pumps is that the rod that operates the pump can stick in the platic mounting block when the engine is hot.
This is a beetle engine, but the system is the same for T25s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU6aVBW71Es
If you have an electric fuel pump, ignore the above.

i will need to have a look at this . hopefully i dont have to work for too long tomorrow and i can start investigating this

I thought I would fit a new fuel pump, push rod and plastic mount.
This is what the old rod looks like. One of the fuel hose clips was cracked too


It's supposed to have a bullet point end, not flat like this.

Try disconnecting coil, crank engine and count how many revolutions the starter can turn in 15 secs, re connect coil and then drive until hot, disconnect coil and again count how many revs in 15 sec`s. If there is a discrepency then I would remove the starter, strip it and give it a clean check brushes and commutator. A dirty hot starter can use more current than a clean one.

yeah i replace the starter motor a few weeks ago. the old one was basically done , it starts really well from but it is still struggling from warm.
will look at fuel pump this week,
cleaned the carb out earlier but that never made a difference after taking the van a short run

just out of wondering . it looks like i can get a fuel pump for about 30 pound say and its probably the original one that is in it , is replacing the fuel pump an easy job to do ,
thanks for the help i appreciate it

Yes - even I can do it.
Sometimes the plastic pedestal mount can get stuck inside the engine block and you may have to fight a bit with that, but mine was no problem, just a sliding fit.
I replaced the lot; push rod, plastic pedestal, and pump, along with the gaskets.
I got them all from Brickwerks, and the pump was about £11. It's the cheapest of 3 they sell, but seems good value. It comrs with the 2 gaskets you need.
Also check the condition of the hose clips and hose connections. Mine were a bit crackered. So I fitted new clips and trimmed the end of one of the hoses.
I suspect that only the push rod really needed replacing, but for £25 it was worth changing the lot.