Club 80-90 Forums

Really annoys me this - and it seems to happen once a year if not more.

Got into the van today and it wouldnt start - turned the key and nada.

I happen to know what this is with my van, open the boot lid, waggle the connector on the spade connector on the starter and bingo - im covered in dirt and i've burnt my hand. (and it started).

So ive changed the spade connector once again to get a clean connection - only to wait for it to fail once more....

Am i the only one that gets this?

It very annoying to be polite.....

Any solutions?

Cheers,

Ringo

How about a bit of coppa slip or I'm sure that popular picture of a jar of Vaseline will be along soon
C'mon who's got it

apart from the common lubrication snigger snigger it does work though
how about some heat shrink wrap widely available and shrink it over the terminal it does a good job of keeping out the water and crud.

Solder the spade and then apply grease.
Very awkward to get at tho..
Martin

solder pigtail on, and a new spade on the existing wire.
mike

big dolop of vasaline is what you need works wonders

I wouldn't know

mike

This problem is as old as the beetle I suspect as I've encountered it since I first got into bugs in the early 80s. Its not helped by the starter motors location which can be subject to rain and salt from our roads. I suppose the ideal is some kind of rubber boot into which the wires meet the solenoid but vaseline is no bad substitute. Left alone, its only a matter of time before one day you put your key in the ignition on a dark night to find you're not going anywhere. The other problem is the feed wire that comes from the ignition and its not unknown for the spade terminal to simply drop off.

The other night I got a call from Chickenkoop to say he couldn't get his camper started and as it wasn't the safest place to leave his treasure parked overnight, I was happy to assist and towed him away. In the morning I discovered that it was the short cable between solenoid and starter that was the trouble (only held on by a single fragment of wire) and which duly parted company with only modest pressure on it. With starter off, we made a new cable and new connectors but its worth including the starter in any annual service you do, carefully checking that the connections are indeed secure. Its an area we all take for granted and I doubt even a dealer would bother to look at starter connections on a service. Takes five minutes to check it.

If you haven't been eye to eye with your starter before, take heed and whilst the weather is as pleasant as it is, why not disconnect your battery and have a good look, and make sure any exposed wire is at least coated in vaseline. Unfortunately a problem is far more likely to occur when you're knee deep in snow. Prevention is worth a lot more than cure.

I replaced the spade (again) 2 years ago when the engine was out but put some heatshrink over the cable first and shrunk it over the terminal ... not gone furry (yet)

Ian

Very wise words there CovKid - i had intermittent starting problems for a while and it was due to only having a couple of strands on the main battery to starter cable. Took me ages to find that....

Ringo