Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 after being parked up a while it just.... wouldnt start... seemed to be teh starter motor, so i wasnt unduly worried, turning the ignition it makes a whrrr-click, and then any subsequent twists of the key just makes a click, i dont think its the battery, but i have it connected to a car starter while i do this just in case. so i whipped out the starter and took it to an electrical shop for diagnostic and/or recon, i actually thought it was the solenoid so suggested they start with that... guys there reckoned there was nothing wrong with the starter, (charged me $65 for that info)and said its probably a 'low voltage problem' which ive translated in my head to mean 'the coil is fucked' but i havnt had much time with my gigantic baby so havnt pulled out that thing yet or done anything else.. my main problem is that i dont know much about cars in general and auto electrics in particular, just wondering if anyones had a similar problem or is just in some way privy to some information that they dont mind sharing that could help me at this stage. most people just ask me if ive hit the starter motor with a hammer yet, 'yes? did that work? no? i dunno then' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 chuck a screwdriver across the two contacts on the solenoid(make sure its not in gear, did that myself and scared the shit outa myself) if it turns over could be having same problem as mine, it wasnt earthing properly when trying to turn it over from the ignition but was sweet when using a screwdriver, putting a few bolts through it sorted that. make sure its earthed and try jumping it again. At the moment im thinking coil doesn't effect starter, but im fucked atm so i could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonny Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 no coil doesn't effect starter, is it pre engaged or inertia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 have a look and make sure the terminals on the battery are clean. You need to make sure everything is contacting fully/clean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 no coil doesn't effect starter, is it pre engaged or inertia? heh... assume i dont know what that means. yeh, i did clean everything available, but i do need to do it again.. i just really need it out of where it is, its too dark a place to work on a car.. cant see shit under the bonnet.. it was never meant to be having anything done under there when i put it there.. grrr. jsut some rust repairs at the rear end wheres theres plenty of light. another probblem is a proliferation of wires connected to nothing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuel Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Are you absolutely sure the battery is completely charged? Even if the battery is near new and has been sitting for a bit they can loose charge. Cranking an engine by far uses the most amount of energy a battery can supply, so just because the dash lights go doesn't mean the battery is fully charged. Check the earth straps and supply lead from the battery to the solenoid and starter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 well ive had it on a car starter supplied from the wall when im been trying it.... it should have plenty of power, cos yeh i initially thought it would be the battery... only thing that could be wrong with that is if ive cooked it with all the charging and starting i tried before i figured that wasnt the prob... doesnt have any dash lights btw, its oldscool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raizer Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 doesnt have any dash lights btw, its oldscool What model Val have you got again? You should have bat and oil lights at least Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 the coil is the thing that creates spark, if it was only the coil that was rooted, the engine would still turn over but wouldnt start. So at this point, assume that the coil is still good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 doesnt have any dash lights btw, its oldscool What model Val have you got again? You should have bat and oil lights at least 73 VH(i think) ranger.. and yeh, its all gauges and dials, but its just occured to me that the headlights have never worked (only driven it once) so i might have a wider electrical problem than i thought.. so yeh, it might actually have some dashlights, they just havnt been working as long as ive had it.. fuck... im in over my head with this one... perhaps man was not sposed to meddle with things of which he knows not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 That's the whole point, you don't know, you get something, you fuck around with it, you find out, then you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 a this stage its more like you don't know, you get something, you fuck around with it, you fuck it completely, then you throw it at the wall in a tearfilled rage.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 hmm..... so it's not turning over, or is it turning over and just wont start? I reckon solenoid, but you said it's clicking when you turn key so it may not be that. earthing problem or something perhaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 yeh its not turning over at all, just clicking when i turn the key, youre not the first person to say earthing problem, and i suspect that could be it, that is if an earthing problem would cause this symptom, i certainly dont have a clue. unfortunately the car is at my mates house in his dank dark gremlin haunted garage, i havnt had a chance to implement any of these ideas yet, hopefully i can get over there tonight with a bottle of solvent an a can of crc and give everything a ridiculous clean. i really need to get that car out of that garage, its a fuckin horrible place to work on a car, and my mates asshole flatmates are giving me shit about it being there... given multiple options wheres the best place to earth it to? the chassis id assume? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoozin Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Yes. Make sure the earth point is clean, also check the engine earth lead (which will go from a point on the chassis to the engine block normally) and make sure all connections are clean and the cables are all in reasonable nick. Clicking indicates the solenoid is getting power..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 jsut clean up the earth lead and the positive lead. the positive one will get yuck corrosion on it more, and you'd be surprised how hard it is to get it turning over again. another point to note is, the starter may be stuck in mesh. turn the engine over backwards about half a turn, and wriggle it a little to kick it back out. also, those car starter things tha tplug into the wall can be sketchy as. are you able to hook up classic ol' jumper leads to another car and try that, once you've given it a basic tidy up? electrics shit me... although on o/s stuff it's so much better to piss with than newfangled efi crap lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 nah its nose down into a dungeon... parked in by a wrecked toyota oddball, id have more luck just switching with a more trustworthy battery, altho i spose theres no reason i cant use jumper leads that are REALLY FUCKING LONG. at this stage the starter is actually not attached to the engine, so i doubt its stuck on anything, i just hooked up the wires when i got it back from the auto sparky and hoped it wouldnt show the same exact symptoms that it had before i took it there... which it has. need more sacrifice to the mopar gods and yeh, cars with computers drive me nuts, my old carina used to just turn itself off when driving sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 oh... you'd have to have ultra fucked contats for it not to run the starter at all solenoid or solenoid earthing also check solenoid gets power on the signal wire when you turn the key to start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wax Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 signal wire? ah i should be able to figure that out, i have after all got a valiant book that goes into amazing detail. (its starter motor diagnostic did fail me tho) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaMpylobacter Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 the terminal on the side that's not connected to the main cables. the little wire that hooks to that carries a small current from the ignition switch when you turn the key to start, which switches the solenoid, to carry the ultra-mega-starter-current Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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