Club 80-90 Forums

hi,

got issues with the starter motor in my 1988 1.9l t25.
starter going really slow and can't get it to start the engine
battery fully charged but starter appears to be really struggling to spin
carried out the checks it states in the haynes manual -i.e. cleaning connections etc. but no luck.
The next point says to remove starter for a strip down - is this simple enough to do? is there something else to check first? what should i be looking for if i do take it out? and where can i get replacement parts if needed ?

i looked around for another starter, but they seem to be pretty hard to get hold of, or at least they want a lot of money for them plus my old unit which i would rather not have to do!

thanks

Hi,

I had a similar problem last week.

We have a relatively new battery which I foolishly bought from Halfords last year (so less than 12 mths old) but wasn't turning over starter properly - really slow and couldn't fire engine. Given that the van had been stood for a couple of months, I took the battery off and gave it a full charge. When I tried it again, still same issue. So I presumed as a newish battery, fault must lie elsewhere, probably with starter or connections to it.

However, a mate came round and we tried starting via jump leads and van fired first time - issue is battery is wrong ampage (despite being the one quoted as correct in the Halfords manual!). Mate's son is an auto-electrician and he said van should have heavy duty / higher ampage battery for our van so might be worth checking this on yours...

Cheers,

Chris

that would make sense, however the van was starting before with the same battery. its never been great at starting, and we had a reconditioned motor put in couple of years ago, but it did at least start after a few turns of the starter.
can't work out why now its started to do this?

Has the van been stood for any length of time? Also, batteries don't like the cold and this can drain them of power - and lets face it, it has been particularly cold.

Would it be worth trying the 'jump leads' test like we did? that way you know if it starts ok, it must be the battery?

Chris

Sorry, meant to say, ours like yours has never been a great starter, even after I replace battery but would fire after a few turns.... I'm sure this must be battery related...?

i did try jump leads at first, thinking it was the battery, but still the same. I have a brand new battery in my beetle, so i might try that just to rule it out

You may have to renew the bush at the bell housing end of the starter motor. The starter motor comes out and leaves the bush behind. This will need to be taken out and renewed as they wear and cause the slow cranking problem you have.
Would be an idea to check the condition of the earth connection between the gearbox and chassis. Front end of gearbox by the way! This can suffer from corrosion and or breakage and may well need a clean.
Check condition of battery earth where it connects to the bodywork behind the drivers seat. Can become corroded as well.

A slow starter is also possible, good battery or not. Over the years I've seen three do this and if a starter is going to die, it far more likely in winter months. Likewise batteries, which can work in summer but bomb out when temperature drops indicationg its time for a new one. If none of the above suggestions work, a new or rebuilt starter (and do check connections are good first including battery terminals) may be the solution.

have you changed to bush? in the gearbox bellhousing?

assuming it is a petrol 1.9

Any result on this. Mine's doing this now and to stop faffing about i'm thinking of an exchange. Thing is with mine there's a burning smell as the engine's turned over (standing over the engine). It's not very strong but is noticable. Anyone know current prices on starters?

So the consensus is the bush in the bellhousing??

The van I've just bought does this. The starter barely turns but then the van bursts into life.
It's a 2.1 petrol.

Not concensus no. Look up.

the gearbox nose earth lead is the main earth connection for the starter, clean and or replace this first.

the next place to look is the battery earth lead, specially to the one with the hot smell. bad connections get hot.

just a point to note, not relevant to this thread really, but if its hot starting thats a problem, if the timing is too far advanced it will give these symptoms when the engine is hot.

Hi,

My van is suffering the same slow starter problems. I have changed the battery earth strap and the one at the gearbox, but there is also a heavy, braided and unshielded strap right next to the one on the gearbox. I can't find mention of it anywhere. It is pretty well corroded. What is this? Does this need replacing too?

I've just had my Dad's 096 code heavy duty battery on it and it still won't start!!!

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Getting a bit frustrated (and cold) now!!!

Cord.

im havin starting prob's aswell took starter off yesterday cleaned connections statered just... then died again so new starter tomorrow so that better work but when i got stater off the bit the wires go on had snapped & someone had threaded a bolt into it so im hoping its gonna stater like a gud 'en oh and new battery on aswell..........i'll keep u posted how it goes hopefully be of some help to 1 of you out there