Club 80-90 Forums

Hi guys,

I am after some advice. I have an intermittent (worse kind) problem with the wire on the starter motor. When I turn the key to crank sometimes it works sometimes to doesnt. I have recrimped the spade (the thick red and black wire) at the starter motor several times so I can rule that out. I have changed the ignition switch at the keys also.  Does the red and black wire run all the way from the front (ignition switch) under the van to the starter? I can only assume there is damage on the wire somwhere. As a footnote when recrimping the spade at the starter end, i did notice black on the wire and had to wire brush it off to make the wire clean again...

At the moment to start the van I have made a wire connected to the starter and running through the van the battery positive just to get the van going... Its a bit of a nightmare if I stall having to get out and hot wire it...ha.

Any suggestions before I have to make a new wire and if so does it have to be the same thickness as the one there already?

Thanks

Yes it is running back in the main harness. It has a junction behid the fuse panel and in the black box in the engine bay IIRC.
It is thick to have enough current to trigger the starter solenoid.
You can try to put a starter relay back at the starter motor. That takes off the load from the ignition switch and the wire.

I did use a waterproof relay and fuse holder from aliexpress to make my own starter relay, but you can use the kits that the vendors have.

I would suspect the ignition switch in the first instance

Easy test , run a temporary wire from the ignition switch to the starter , you don’t need to disconnect he existing one , just run another along side ( electrically not physically ) and see if it changes things .

You could also look for corrosion on the trigger wire, it’s very exposed (and old!) at the starter. Corrosion increases resistance, decreases volts.

I replaced my trigger wire, eliminating my intermittent starting problems.

Mocki wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 15:35 Easy test , run a temporary wire from the ignition switch to the starter , you don’t need to disconnect he existing one , just run another along side ( electrically not physically ) and see if it changes things .

ok will give that a go

RogerT wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 16:21 You could also look for corrosion on the trigger wire, it’s very exposed (and old!) at the starter. Corrosion increases resistance, decreases volts.

I replaced my trigger wire, eliminating my intermittent starting problems.

did you replace the whole lead from the ignition switch and run along to starter under the van?

davidoft1 wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 15:25 I would suspect the ignition switch in the first instance

i thought this and changed it but no joy..

crazyhorse wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 16:27

RogerT wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 16:21 You could also look for corrosion on the trigger wire, it’s very exposed (and old!) at the starter. Corrosion increases resistance, decreases volts.

I replaced my trigger wire, eliminating my intermittent starting problems.

did you replace it from the ignition switch and run along to starter?

It was many years ago, but looking at the wiring diagram (I’ve a JX, but this bit is the same on the dg diagram) I likely replaced the wire from the solenoid to D24, although I do recall messing around at the ignition switch too, so I may have bypassed D24. Current state of the van means it’s too inaccessible to have a look at it.

I used a beefier wire than the original 6.0, and did it at the same time as replacing the 10.0 feed to P1 with a beefy one, which greatly improved my headlights!

I took them, enclosed in an old hosepipe for protection, down the left hand chassis rail, under the cab somehow and up the front behind the radiator.

ok, thanks.

So looking at it I might give the hard wire relay a try... something like this...
https://www.heritagepartscentre.com/uk/ ... y8QAvD_BwE

You would be better fixing the fault rather than postponing it ……. The solenoid on the starter is a relay

Balls, I thought that would be the advice ha…

Ok so have run a parallel wire and it works fine, so I can only assume the long black and red lead is suspect.. so next move is to replace possibly

So now you know there is no point with the “hot start” relay then…….
You know its your trigger wire at fault, the next thing is to work out which bit is at fault , you might only need to replace the bit nearest the stater motor , although i would replace the whole length if it were mine , slight;ly more work, built it isnt going to come back and haunt you in the future .

You could make your temporary wire permanently a fix , the route from the starter across to the front to back coolant pipes along over the fuel tank in up into the cab next to the heater pipes is a option , if you need a sooner rather than later get around

Mocki wrote: ↑21 Jun 2024, 19:17 You would be better fixing the fault rather than postponing it ……. The solenoid on the starter is a relay

It is, but a beefy one. Draws a lot of current through the ignition switch.
All newer cars have an additional small relay in the starter circuit to reduce the load (and to save copper )

A smaller new trigger wire is enough when a "hot start relay" is added.