Starter problems

Post by **hightower** » 30 Aug 2008, 21:43

Thought i had diagnosed my starter problems some time ago as a mechanic said it was the solenoid sticking as you can hear it clicking when you turn the key but recently it taken 5-10 mins of turning the key until it starts, no problems when hot only when cold.

Well today i managed to take the starter off, cleaned up all the connectors, wire brushed the earth points, added another earth strap, took the solenoid off and cleaned that up, greased it all and put it back together, crossed my fingers and turned the key, just got the same damn clicking noise, it did turn over after about 5 attempts though.

So out of idea's now, is it sounding like i need a new starter? the oneon there has a 2005 sticker on it, so could be not that old, however it did look like someone has tried to take the bush screws out before as they looked quiet mangled.

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 31 Aug 2008, 06:52

If you've done all that and it's still not working it sounds like you need a new one, or pay to have your existing one refurbed. I asked around locally when we were having starter trouble and a refurb was gonna cost me £50. A new one from gsf was £90 after the 80-90 discount. Don't forget to put a new bush in the bellhousing as well (£1 each, buy a couple in case you damage one).

Our old starter had a 2005 sticker on it as well. It was a Hella one from JK.

Tony

Post by **hightower** » 31 Aug 2008, 07:20

Thanks Tony.

Is yours working fine now then with the new starter, i know from reading your post your old one was as dead as a door nail after you had stripped it down and put it back.

I think maybe someone has refurbed this one on mine looking at the brush screws (i'm guessing thats what they are, the big slot head screws placed in several locations around the side of the starter) and how mangled they look with someones attempt to remove them and the starter body is stamped up with what looks like original VW markings but the 2005 sticker has EL on it. Luckily i didnt have to drill out the machine screws that hold the solenoid in, i couldnt move them by hand but my dewalt impact driver soon had them moving.

One question on your posting though, how did you get to see what you were doing to take the bellhousing bush out? do you have access to a garage with a lift in it as i'm lying on my back with the van jacked up on axle stands and have no chance of looking in the bellhousing.

One plus point out of the day was that when i took the airfilter housing off the top of the carb i found a vac house that was not connected, seems to run at idle much smoother now as seemed to over rev before at start up.

Where's the best place to get a new starter? i've got 2 GSF's about 40 miles away from me (Exeter & Poole), a VW showroom/parts etc about 1/2mile away (but probably way too expensive) and i have seen them online at GSF and just Kampers, i think mail order will be my only option with next day delivery as off on holiday on wednesday, then we comeback following wednesday with trip to vanfest on the friday morning and i wanted to get it starting ok for then incase we have loads of stop starting in the possible queues to get into the site and can just see it playing up even though at the moment when its warm it seems to turnover either straight away or after a couple of turns.

Also is it an exchange purchase (give them the old starter) when getting a new starter to get it cheaply as i'm sure i saw on one site it mentioned this

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 31 Aug 2008, 08:51

hightower wrote:Is yours working fine now then with the new starter, i know from reading your post your old one was as dead as a door nail after you had stripped it down and put it back.

One question on your posting though, how did you get to see what you were doing to take the bellhousing bush out? do you have access to a garage with a lift in it as i'm lying on my back with the van jacked up on axle stands and have no chance of looking in the bellhousing.

Where's the best place to get a new starter? i've got 2 GSF's about 40 miles away from me (Exeter & Poole) . . . off on holiday on wednesday, then we comeback following wednesday with trip to vanfest on the friday morning

Also is it an exchange purchase (give them the old starter) when getting a new starter to get it cheaply as i'm sure i saw on one site it mentioned this

Ours starts every time now, without any difficulty. I can park the van without thinking "if I park it here is there enough space and slope to be able to bump start it?!"

I don't have access to a garage or lift

I'm in the same position as you, lying in the street (or dog sh*t alley often in my case!) with the van on axle stands! A small mirror can be useful to see the bush if you can't get your head in a position to give you direct line of sight. Some of the work on the bush I did by feeling my way around rather than being able to see what I was doing.

There was a £20 surcharge on the starter I got from gsf, but I took the old one with me when I went to get the new one, so they refunded it straight away!

When you go off on holiday why not take an axle stand and a decent bottle jack with you and go via gsf and swap the starters over in their car park? It doesn't take long to do if you've already had it off the van, as you have. Get a couple of bushes but wait till you get home from vanfest and have a bit more time to spare before you tackle the bush replacement Just a suggestion.

Tony

Post by **hightower** » 31 Aug 2008, 09:04

Thanks Tony,

Not that simple i'm afraid, we not going on holiday in the van, off to Spain for a week of Sun (booked before we got the van).

Might have to have a ring round of my local motor factors on Monday morning, although they dont seem to be that cheap for other parts round here. What make of starter did you get from GSF? JK says Bosch but may be substituted for a make of similar quality but they charge £60 surcharge.

I might just have to risk it, take a tow rope

so i can get a tow bump start from one of the others in my convoy.

Post by **HarryMann** » 31 Aug 2008, 09:35

Did you test it outside the vehicle before re-installing it?

And are you sure its not the ignition key switch, or the connection to the solenoid, just try putting 12V straight on solenoid connector from battery (disable the ignition first and make b.sure its in neutral)

Post by **hightower** » 31 Aug 2008, 09:50

HarryMann wrote:Did you test it outside the vehicle before re-installing it?

And are you sure its not the ignition key switch, or the connection to the solenoid, just try putting 12V straight on solenoid connector from battery (disable the ignition first and make b.sure its in neutral)

Didn't think about testing it before i put it back on

However the ex owners mechanic friend said it was the solenoid that was faulty, from what i have read (on here and Haynes) it has all the symptons of this, there is a clicking noise when you turn the key, the lights dim slightly when you turn the key, when it does turnover it starts fine, when its been running and still warm it mostly turns over 1st turn of the key.

Post by **HarryMann** » 31 Aug 2008, 10:05

May well be, however starter problems soemtimes turn out to be very misleading diagnostically, best thing is to borrow another good starter motor to test; have had 3 swapped in before now, only to realise its an intermittent fault elsewhere...

Post by **Nicola&Tony** » 31 Aug 2008, 11:20

hightower wrote:What make of starter did you get from GSF?

It's Bosch.

Tony