Club 80-90 Forums

Hello!

Preamble
Starter was sounding a bit sluggish until it gave up the ghost recently. Replaced battery as it was around 5 years old. Went with a Bosch S5 007 as I didn't want to mess about. Tried starting... starter turned a few times. Then no turning, just a click/clunk each time the ignition was turned. Looked in the back and found the cable from the battery to the starter had come clean off. Thankfully it wasn't touching anything or the brand new fully charged battery could have caused some excitement. Bought a nice thick new +ve cable (and a -ve too, noticed a couple of the fibres in that had corroded/snapped so going to replace that too).

Actual question
Can someone who knows more than me tell me:

• Should I be able to fit a new +ve cable to the starter easily enough with it in place? Or am I better removing the starter to do it?
  
• Should the +ve cable go on the bolt circled in the photo below?

Thanks in advance!

Should be able to do it in situ, i.e. leant over the engine and hands out of sight. Just done mine. And yes, that's the right bit to put it onto.

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ain_cables" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Should help. Unfortunately once the cables begin to break off, you probably need to renew them all, and a wise move.

Thanks both!

I'm going to start by replacing the 'main' (i.e. starter and earth) cables to hopefully get it up and running again but I think I'll then be moving on to replacing other bits of cabling ... it's a 1984 van and I suspect a fair bit of the wiring is original and therefore older than me!

I shall probably return with more questions in the not-too-distant future

Nearly all T25s (unless work has been done in recent years), now require new main cables. It just pays to do the lot including fatter cable to dash for headlights, blower etc: https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/VW ... ry_to_dash" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Once you've got a reel, you might as well go right through. Use big crimp tool for lugs, or if no access to one you can solder as I did. I prefer solder personally as it helps seal the end of copper cables from further corrosion alongside shrink tubing. Lugs are VERY cheap at branches of Toolstation inside Wickes.

Reel of cable approxiately £30-£40 depenging on gauge.

Okie dokie, plenty to keep me busy!

I fitted the replacement starter cable and earth cables today. Starter now turns good but engine won't fire up.

Battery voltage is only reading 12.2V so I'm going to give it a good charge tomorrow and try again. If that doesn't work I'll get troubleshooting... I guess glow plugs might be the most sensible thing to check first? The info here looks like it might be a good starting point. After that I guess fuel supply?

Got the battery fully charged and after about ten or so failed attempts it roared to life! Think there might have been air in the fuel line as a result of me running dry at some point... there were some very odd noises at first(?).

Anyway, the combination of a decent new battery and the new 240A starter/earth cables means it's sounding great now – starts first time and much snappier.

Thanks for the help – I'm hoping to do some more rewiring soon so will inevitably return with more questions.