Hot starting

[TravellingChick]

Hi All

Picked up Tinkerbell last Friday and had a good run home until I stalled within a mile of the front door and had problems starting again.

A few people have said it's a starter motor problem. Basically the key turned and I got a click but no vroom. My first reaction was the battery was flat but that seemed odd after a 3 hour drive.

After a few mins it did start and the seller said it was because it was hot.

Just saw this on JK site and wondered if it might help:

http://www.justkampers.com/shop/type_25 ... y-12v.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was thinking a new starter motor was on the cards but the previous owner wrote a load of instructions down including Cold/Warm/Hot starting so maybe it's a "feature"!

TIA
Sarah

[Ian Hulley]

You don't tell us which engine you have BUT I shall guess that it's the 1.9 or 2.1 WBX engine, and that this :-

is the culprit from here :- http://www.justkampers.com/shop/type_25 ... anual.html

Does the van start after it's allowed to cool down ?

Ian.

[TravellingChick]

Sorry, engine is 1.9 as you have correctly guessed.

Yes starts okay when cooled down a bit altho t'is a bit sluggish first thing in the morning.

Again the noise gives the impression that the battery is flat as it sounds like it's making a huuuuge effort to turn over iyswim?

£1.50 looks like a bargain!

[getunder]

Yup, sounds very familiar from my 79 Aircooled. Always sounded as if it was not going to make it but never let me down. even after 100 miles non stop fast motoring.. Stopped for petrol and it barely turned over but did so in the end.Even my 85 water cooled is a bit slow on the starter.Even with a new and fully charged battery. I seem to remember it was common on VW vans and was called lazy starter syndrome but it ain't the starter neccessarily. I seem to remember reading about it and one suggestion was that after a time the copper in the connecting wire loses some ability to pass the electrics efficiently. Never had the problem on loads of other old bangers I have owned but never had a starter cable ten feet long before. I have been told that in emergency touch a long jump lead straight from the battery to the starter terminal. you can just reach it but expect Spitz and Sparken Don't tell 'elf and safety and for goodness sake ensure in neutral and handbrake on. I vill tell you ziss only vonce. Better still I didn't tell you. An old desert trick in 1942 when the Panzers were coming over the hill.

[cookwatty]

I've just developed exactly the same problem after having a new clutch fitted. Works fine most of the time, but randomly fails to turn over the starter motor when hot, just a click from the ignition. Other times the starter motor turns sluggishly at first but then picks up.

£1.50 for a new bush sounds like a great price to sort the problem out, but can anyone advise on how easy this will be to fit? Is it something a novice could do, or would it be best done by a mechanic?

[Mocki]

fitting the bushing isnt a major job, but it needs soaking in oil for 24hrs first!
remove the starter motor, and the bushing is in the end of the hole the starter pinion slides into, you need a rawlbolt of the correct size or a expanding puller to extract it.
its a crawl about under it job. BTW the bushings are about half the price from GSF than JK last time i got one.

just a note, tho, it may not be the bushing that is at fault.... there is a slim chance it may be bad earth at the gearbox nosemounting earth strap, or indeed the faces of the starter motor whereit contacts the bell housing.
it could also be the timing is too far advanced in the case of hot starting failure.

[cookwatty]

Thanks for the detail Mocki.

I'll get a mechanic to change the bush and pass on your notes regarding earthing and timing issues.