Club 80-90 Forums

Hello all, i know this has been asked a few times but i am pulling out the little hair i have left. I own a 1991 2.1 automatic van and i am having big problems with the hot start, i have taken to my local garage and they have not been able to identify any issues. So i am looking for some help.

When the van is cold the van turns over and fires up very quickly and runs very well, i just did a 250 mile round trip. The problem i have is if the van has been running for 10 minutes or longer i am unable to restart the van, always very embarrassing when i fill up with petrol. The starter motor is very sluggish turning over it sounds like the battery is dead. I have checked the starter motor terminals and its getting 12v so no voltage drop. If i wait for 30 mins then it will turnover fine and fires up within 30 mins. Sometimes you can pump the accelerator it will turn over and if you jump the battery it turns over fine and starts straight away. Can anyone give me an idea of how to start fault finding.

I am losing faith it what is a great van and i would appreciate any help possible

I had what sounds like the same problem & cured it by fitting a 100A relay into the starter circuit so that the ignition switch only called the relay & not the solenoid.

Might also mean starter oilite bush wants replacing. It can bind when hot.

You’re getting 12v at the starter terminals, what are you getting at the battery? That would let you know if you have any voltage drop. Many batteries give more than 12v and I note it starts fine on a jump - when you might be receiving over 13v. So, do you have any voltage drop, and do you have a healthy battery?

Do you have your throttle to the floor when warm/hot starting?
See quote below from a T25 instruction manual.
Starting a warm or hot engine
• Depress pedal slowly while operating
starter and hold it in the full throttle
position - do not pump the pedal!
• Release pedal as soon as engine
starts.

Works for me.

shrig1969 wrote:Do you have your throttle to the floor when warm/hot starting?
See quote below from a T25 instruction manual.
Starting a warm or hot engine
• Depress pedal slowly while operating
starter and hold it in the full throttle
position - do not pump the pedal!
• Release pedal as soon as engine
starts.

Works for me.

Yes I have tried the hot start instructions but not found this to make much difference unfortunately

CovKid wrote:Might also mean starter oilite bush wants replacing. It can bind when hot.

Is the starter oilite bush the same for the automatic starter? Is it easy to replace?

RogerT wrote:You’re getting 12v at the starter terminals, what are you getting at the battery? That would let you know if you have any voltage drop. Many batteries give more than 12v and I note it starts fine on a jump - when you might be receiving over 13v. So, do you have any voltage drop, and do you have a healthy battery?

I have tried a fresh battery ams this hasnt made a difference maybe I am getting too much resistance through the wires

I always like to diagnose things/confirm a diagnosis before I start changing things & spending money. There could be a number of causes here, so here's a couple of suggestions.

1.Measure battery voltage and voltage at the starter so that you know what the actual voltage drop is, as already suggested above.

2. Use a direct connection to the starter to eliminate all the other wiring. To do this get the van raised up so that you have access to the starter and make the battery easily removable. Warm the van up so that it would then have the problem starting. Remove the battery and make direct connections using jump leads to the starter +ve and earth onto the starter /engine. You might need to make a fly lead onto the +ve if you cannot get the +ve crocodile clip on securely. You'll also need a jumpwire to the solenoid from +ve to turn the van over. If the starter turns over at the same speed as when cold then there's a wiring issue. If it still turns over slowly then you have a starter or battery problem. The van will not start, but be careful, the jump leads are unfused, you don't want an accidental short of the +ve to earth.

Good luck