Club 80-90 Forums

With the starter removed from the van is it possible to test for any possible defects and if so how??
When the re-con boys do a re-con on them how do they know its ok??
Just trying to get to the bottom of my hot not starting problems

You can wire it up similar to how it is in the van however the rod that comes out of the front of the starter sits in a bush in the bell housing this forms the front bearing that keeps the rod travelling in a straight line this means that the internal moving bits could pull out towards the outer windings and could burn the motor out. Th only way to properly test it out is to get a scrap bell housing and attach it to that. I suppose there may be some resistance/continuity checks you could do but I haven't seen them.

^^^^
WHS

did my starter yesterday, the shaft is loose when not attached to the bell housing

Hacksawbob wrote:I suppose there may be some resistance/continuity checks you could do but I haven't seen them.

This was the sort of area i was thinking about...
Do we have a resident forum expert on these starters???

The Reverend Pimp Daddy wrote:

VWCampervan wrote:And they say a pound doesnt go very far aymore!

I'll let you know......It starts when the engine is hot now I had to wait at least 1/2 an hour before it would re-start

Just seen this and it looks like from what you have solved it may be my answer too
Are these bushes a main dealer part as well??
Code??

There is a test you can do with the starter motor in the van to see if the solenoid is working properly. To do this you'll need a battery that you know for sure is good and a voltmeter.

Whenever the van is hot and isn't starting put the voltmeter on the starter battery terminals. When you turn the key the voltage on the battery should dip down to under 10v (if it does, release the key straight away). If the voltage on the battery only drops a little bit then the solenoid on the starter motor isn't working properly.

The way the starter (on my van anyway) works is that there's an electrical solenoid mounted on top of the main motor. A solenoid is a electro-mechanical device that is basically an electrical coil thats wound round a solid metal piston. When 12v is applied to the coil the magnetism produced moves the piston through the coil.

When you turn the key the solenoid energises and moves the piston which is connected to the pinion gear which then engages the pinion gear on the flywheel. At the end of the pistons travel there is a high current mechanical switch. When the piston hits this it connects the battery to the main motor and the starter should turn and start the van.

The piston is a very tight fit into the cylinder that the coils in so in older starters it can get a bit jammed. Thats why the age old trick of giving starter motors a "technical tap" with a hammer is so popular. A crack with a hammer can free up jammed pistons.

You can also measure the resistance of the solenoid coil and starter motor windings to make sure they're ok (should only be a couple of ohms, if that), but if the vans starting from cold then they're not likely to be the problem.

My starter motor had a solenoid that could be dismantled, so when i had the starter motor off to change the bush i took the solenoid apart. After a good clean and a tiny amount of the thinnist oil i could fine the solenoid was as good as new. After that and a bit of re-wiring my van starts on 1 turn in all conditions (including not be run for 3 months).

Dave

Thanks David Wiki'd that

put the voltmeter on the starter battery terminals

do you mean the terminals on the battery under the seat or the terminals on the starter motor?

That'll be the battery under the seat. All you're checking is to see if the solenoid is activating the mechanical switch. If it is then the starter motor will try and turn the engine and the voltage on the battery will drop because of the huge amount of current the starter motor is asking for.

If the battery voltage doesn't drop much then it looks like the solenoid is not activating the mechanical switch. Then the solenoid is stuck or the switch is dodgy.

If it doesn't drop at all then you could well have a problem with the ignition switch.

Dave

toolsntat wrote:

The Reverend Pimp Daddy wrote:

VWCampervan wrote:And they say a pound doesnt go very far aymore!

I'll let you know......It starts when the engine is hot now I had to wait at least 1/2 an hour before it would re-start

Just seen this and it looks like from what you have solved it may be my answer too
Are these bushes a main dealer part as well??
Code??

I don't know for sure if main dealer have them.....but I know for sure Steve has got them.....
Give him a bell, He's a really nice chap, plus his expertise is unsurpassed http://www.gasure.co.uk/

Cheers for that info David
Have been to GSF and got myself a new bush today .....
Wasn`t what i was expecting though thought it would be bigger than it is ( about 12mm round and 15mm long with a wall thickness of only 1mm "ish")

Thats the one..........

Right where`s me oil and a small receptacle

You can 'speed up' the process of oiling these bushes. Place bush on finger and fill with oil to the top. Squeeze bush between thumb and finger until oil seeps out the side of the bush. Theyre a bit like sponges so doing this will 'charge' them with oil. Only takes a few seconds and you know the oils all the way through by doing it this way.