Club 80-90 Forums

Ok so recently I've been having a maddening issue with the van that I've gone through pretty much everything to no avail.
Sometimes when starting I just get the click of the starter, give it a few key turns and will fire up, sometimes fires first time no issues.
New Starter + bush
Different batteries
All grounds cleaned and added new ground on starter motor bolt to chassis.
New ignition switch
Checked wiring all seems fine with continuity from front to back and from key to fusebox
If I take the power wire from the fusebox to key and put it directly onto the battery it fires every time first time.

FuseBox?? can they go bad? X Relay maybe?? 

Cheapest option would be to replace the relay first and test again

Solenoid power wire connection is loose/green

solenoid wire is nice and tight also clean, checked that before doing anything.
pretty sure the relay is working as intended as when i try start if i have the blower on the blower cuts out when cranking. ive got a spare (somewhere) i can try.

Run a separate wire straight to the solenoid trigger , if it fixes the problem you most likely have power drop in the wiring, a hot start relay can solve the problem and is easy enough to do

Yeah I tried a wire from the Solenoid and just put it against the alternator 12V, Starter works everytime.
But again its strange, In my messings to check off everything I took the power wire for the key the big spade terminal on the CE1 fusebox thats next to the main feed from the battery and connected that right to the battery and it fires up every time. So Im assuming its the main power wire from the battery causing the issue as the fusebox checks out with the multimeter.

OR something connected to the fusebox is causing it?

Could it be the earth ? I have read that can be an issue and the fix is to run an earth cable (I assume from one of the starter mounting bolts) to a known good earth?

Sorry re-read your post and you have done that

Stesaw wrote: ↑01 Nov 2026, 20:44 Yeah I tried a wire from the Solenoid and just put it against the alternator 12V, Starter works everytime.
But again its strange, In my messings to check off everything I took the power wire for the key the big spade terminal on the CE1 fusebox thats next to the main feed from the battery and connected that right to the battery and it fires up every time. So Im assuming its the main power wire from the battery causing the issue as the fusebox checks out with the multimeter.

OR something connected to the fusebox is causing it?

It’s probably a series of current drops over each connection/component, if it starts every time with a lead straight to the starter , fit a hot start relay, it will fix the issue

Is the battery earth cable good i.e. almost nil resistance? Marginal earth return can be good in humid or damp conditions but poor when dry.