Club 80-90 Forums

Hi please help! When i go for a drive once the Van is hot if i stop the starter motor does start the engine, i turn the key ignition light is on but nothing happens i think i can hear a faint whirring coming from the engine bay. Once the engine has cooled i get the glow plug light and van starts fine again! Is this a Starter motor problem? Any ideas!!

tywarn wrote:Hi please help! When i go for a drive once the Van is hot if i stop the starter motor does start the engine, i turn the key ignition light is on but nothing happens i think i can hear a faint whirring coming from the engine bay. Once the engine has cooled i get the glow plug light and van starts fine again! Is this a Starter motor problem? Any ideas!!

What about when it's just warm?

Simple test - pour a bottle of cold water over the starter motor. If it churns over, then the problem's definitely your starter. I've had a couple do that. This van is a bit hesitant - whuurrr, pause, whurrr, pause, whurrr - when hot, but fine when stone cold or even warm. I might treat it to a starter at some stage if it gets worse, but until then it's liveable.

It's also well worth cleaning both ends of the earth strap, just to make sure you've got as low a voltage drop as possible.

When you say "a faint whirring", get somebody else to turn the key whilst you have your head in the engine bay. It's possible the starter isn't engaging with the flywheel when it's hot. Again, starter recon time.

I had exactly this problem a couple of years ago. Turned out to be the connecting strap between the solenoid and starter windings had a bad connection. Diagnosis was simple. Start the engine in the dark with the engine cover off. The offending connection lights up like a firework display.

Cure was equally simple. Remove starter, remove interconnect and clean up terminals. reassemble with new nuts and copperslip.

Of couse it could be any of the other starter connections that get warm. Gearbox to chassis strap. Chassis to battery lead. Battery to starter lead. Same diagnosis.

The whirring noise is the aux water pump turning over.