Club 80-90 Forums

please does anyone have any further ideas of what to check or do to sort this problem - i'm stumped and very frustrated!
a while ago i put our 1988 T25 1.9 into the garage for a service and new starter. all went fine and starting was much better than previously.
Then for some unknown reason it has failed to start - I had started it up fine, then turned off the ignition in order to fit a new fuel filter. once fitted i tried to start and all it does is turn over VERY slowly, the nafter a couple of tries it just clicks as if the battery is dead.
I charged the battery to no avail, and also used jump leads from my ford focus but also a similar story.
I have cleaned and checked all connections to the starter which appear fine, and as starter is a new recon unit which started fine before i don't think it would just stop working in the course of a couple of minutes?
i haven't touched anything else on the engine (which was all working fine).
I just don't know what else could have happened without me actually doing anything or driving it?!
any ideas?

Make sure the starter motor is still firmy bolted in place. Check the 2 bolts/nuts holding it in place. If these become a little loose you will loose the ground connection.
Also check the grounding braid between the end of the gearbox and the chassis. Could be broken or corroded. If this breaks or stops conducting then other routes are used as the ground and could result in other cables burning out due to the large load on them.
Check the earth braid running from the negative battery terminal to the bodywork too. Can become non conductive due to corrosion where it connects to the bodywork.

power supply
earth fault
or the bronze bush in the bell housing was not changed

kevtherev wrote:power supply
earth fault
or the bronze bush in the bell housing was not changed

Thanks - I'm going to check the earth connections tonight. if no luck, can I get to the bronze bush by removing the starter? i.e. can it be checked/changed easily?

dplum wrote: can I get to the bronze bush by removing the starter? i.e. can it be changed easily?

yes and er... no