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Re: starter problem
Dan Hirth wrote:
> I'm having an intermittent starter problem (1 in 50):
>
> The car will not turn over when I turn the key, and the idiot lights
> dim when the starter would normally engage. In an emergency, (when
> I'm stranded) I've found that jumping the starter with a screw driver
> works quite well.
This brings back many memories...
> Additional info:
> jumping the starter just enough to turn the starter a little, then
> allows the key to work.
>
> also, about 3 months ago, prior to this beginning to happen, I drove
> through some deep water.
Your problem is caused by a voltage drop at the starter solinoid. As
the electrical system gets older the resistance in the wires goes up
and as you have about 10 metres of electrical wire running from the
battery to the ignition switch and on to the solinoid, any increase
in resistance will cause the voltage to go down dramatically. The
problem usually gets worse when the engine is hot and the solinoid
needs a bit more juice to get it moving. Mine used to do this after
just about any longish run and it really pissed me off!
The good news is that the problem can be cured easily and permanently
as follows:
Get a heavy duty relay and install it between the ignition switch and
the solinoid. I'm sitting with a 12V Hella relay in front of me so
the connections will be as follows:
Terminal 30 12V feed from battery, 4mm dia. wire.
Terminal 85 Earth
Terminal 87 From ignition switch
Terminal 88 To solinoid.
Mount the relay under the rear seat close to the battery so that the
wire between the battery and the solinoid is kept as short as
possible.
St Muir explains a similar setup somewhere in the scriptures so you
can refer to that if you run into difficulties, otherwise just shout
if you need more info.
I have installed such a relay in my '69 Squareback about 4 years ago
and I've never had a single recurrence of the problem.
Regards
Adriaan Loedolff
adriaan@norton.ctech.ac.za
'69 Variant Automatic (200 000 miles + and still cruisin' after all of these years!)