Club 80-90 Forums

Hi the starter wont turn no clicking just dead, I have checked i 12volts to it , do I have to remove it to check the solenoid? or do I need a new starter ? If so were's the best place to get one from
Cheers phil

You can check the solenoid electrically without removal if you are very careful and bridge the two main connections with a spanner or jump lead , but obviously it would be better and safer to do the testing with the starter removed from the vehicle.

When you measured the 12v to the solenoid connection, you may find it has 12v until its under load, when it will be much less maybe? Often this symptom is due to bad connection and / rotted wire .

I would try introducing a jump lead to the main terminal from the battery direct to eliminate the wiring and loose connections before getting too carried away blaming the actual starter !

As Steve says, you can test the solenoid off the van, but don't try and test the actual starter bit off the van. Reason is that the starter motor only has a bearing at one end, the other end is supported by a bush in the bell housing. If you fire up the main bit of the starter OFF the van the commutator (the "insides") will thrash around and damage themselves.
E D I T = I have been told be Moki that this info is not correct for an Automatic, so please ignore the above If you are reading this and your van is a manual, then it does apply (Mind you, at the time I wrote it we didn't know the van in question was an automatic, but I have learned something anyway ).

Again, as Steve says, it us usually either bad connections on the heavy wires from the battery, the heavy wires on the starter / solenoid, a bad earth from the very front of the gearbox to the chassis or (quite often at this time of year) a poorly battery.

Be VERY careful with spanners etc around the confined spaces of the starter motor. A short to earth could be VERY nasty indeed !! = Disconnect the battery first !!

Hi steve ive all ready removed the starter now so ill check the solenoid any tips on how to check it
Cheers phil

remember to change the bush in the bell housing when you change the starter
this bush wears out and causes starters to stick/run slow

Hi forgot to say its in an automatic gear box , im still wondering how to test the solenoid any tips welcome
Cheers phil

Personally I would put it back on and test the voltage (with a digital meter) on the main heavy wire that goes to the actual motor, at the motor end whilst cranking or attempting to crank, it should read between roughly 11.5 and 12.6 volts.(note while cranking and actually working correctly, this voltage can drop to less than those figures due to the high load on the cables and is normal). If it reads less than that, then either it is a bad connection or a duff battery. If it does not read anything it could be a duff solenoid (but this is rare). If it reads about the same as your battery voltage when standing, which should be around 12.6 volts, then that would indicate a duff starter motor or a duff gearbox to chassis earth.

Oh, and the very short heavy wire between the solenoid and the actual starter can be an issue too

To the OP ,
Ignore all the stuff about starter bushings in the bell housing, this only apples to manual gearboxes

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To bench test the solenoid, put a neg jump lead to the starter body and a pos jump lead to the big connection on the solenoid, and then jump a wire from the pos jump lead On to the small spade connection which is where the key switch connects . The solenoid should operate .

Thanks guys took it off and tested it and it worked fine then cleaned all the connections and then put it back and it's working now just noticed a few of sparks the first couple of turns but nothing since seems to working every time now
Thanks again
Cheers phil

Mocki wrote:To the OP ,
Ignore all the stuff about starter bushings in the bell housing, this only apples to manual gearboxes

Sorry to the OP and Steve, I did not know that auto starters did not use the bellhousing bush
I will go and E D I T my post in case anyone reads it in the future.

(Mind you, at the time I wrote it we didn't know the van in question was an automatic, but I would have written it anyway, and I have learned something now )

John