Club 80-90 Forums

My starter motor is sticking i think.....................when starting i need to hold the key for a bit longer than usual, then it might turn a little or it will just click, been told that it should be easy to sort, but i don t want to make it any worse, been told to spray alot of wd40 and give it a tap, any thoughts.

poor connections or
Sticky solenoid.. common problem.

you could keep whacking it
or you could get it off take the solenoid off and grease the bore, clean it up. (I did)
or you could buy a new starter.

you decide

If its turning a little and slowly then it is either flat battery, bad connections or worn starter bush.
If it suddenly happened, flat battery or bad connections.
If it's been getting slower over time then probably the bush.

dont hit the starter with a metal hammer.you stand a good chance of breaking the magnets inside.i know from experience..

I used to tap the starter on my landy with the wheel brace, to get it engaging. A pain opening the bonnet with the spare wheel on every day, sometimes including at petrol stations (good job its hard to stall at traffic lights!), but it always worked so I left it at that. One day it let go completely though. Now if I'd bothered to change it on all those idle moments after it started giving me the hint I wouldn't have been late that day!

Twas a simple strip down and repair rather than a new starter needed, so it needent cost alot, it just needed looking at.

i thought mine was on the way out....i fully charged the battery and a couple of days later it would be the same..turned out to be the battery discharging itself

Rather than turning the key and holding it till something happens, why not turn the initial key as though to 'Flick' the ignition, then Key off and then key on again to start ,,,,,,,,,, if a better connection to the starter is made then this method of starting MUST be employed,,,,,,,,,,OR

Some say this fault is due to a bad connection or even a faulty ignition switch, replacing this item will at least satisfy your curiosity if it fixes the fault...........I doubt it.

OR it may well be due to old age of some of the electrical components, main one being the battery live to the starter solenoid,,, (hi resistance due to corrosion usually where the terminals are soldered).
The complete fix for this is either replacing the whole length of the red battery live cable from front to rear, OR simply move the battery closer to the starter (a la Diesel ) to keep the cable length to a minimum....

Regards

Fritz,,,,,,,,