starting loveliness

[TheLaird]

hello there, i'm not sure if this is purely a mechanical question but i have a sneaking suspicion it may be,

I fixed some wiring a couple of weeks ago and when i tried to start him the Winchester was having none of it, so I waited and tried again the next day, he roared ( i say roared, more like coughed like he had the consumption ) into life and all was well. now usually he resides in winchester hall ( the garage ) so doesn't really get effected by the cold and damp but i have left him out to the wolves the last few days but not had a chance to take him for a spin,

tried him yesterday night and nothing, like before, now there's no clicking of the starter motor or anything, so i'm wondering if it's the cold and damp thats got to him and if i just leave it and try again about midday or so will he fire up?

any help with my conundrum would be greatly appreciated

thanks for your time, pip pip

[Onne]

Does the light still come on when turning the key?

Onne

[TheLaird]

it does indeed, the ignition light comes on, and the headlights to, also the headlights don't dim at all when i pull the starter, so i'm assuming it may be a power problem. the starter motor is only two weeks old so i'm hoping it's not that.

[rayofleamington]

It could well be the solenoid (if it has one) or any of the connections at the solenoid /starter or the earth cable back from the gearbox to the underside of the car, (and the one between the bulkhead and the battery).

If you have an early car, it wasn't made with a 'solenoid' and has a purely mechanical jobby-whatsit that does the same thing when you pull a knob, and can be faulty and/or have faulty connections.

If you try a heavy duty jump lead from the battery live direct to the starter motor terminal (ignore the cloud of sparks) and the motor turns over then you've got a problem somewhere in between. If the motor does nothing, then check the earth and re-test.

With a good earth and direct feed to the starter terminal and no turning-over then I'd bet you have a starter motor problem.

[RogerRust]

If the starter motor is only 2 weeks old I would start with the connections. Its generally the last thing that was disturbed that is giving the problems.

Sorry, I think that is what Ray has just said.

[moggyminor16]

try the ignition on and use the crank handle ,if this works then poss starter , or the soilond , there is anotehr way follow the + cable from teh batt to the soilond either black one if key start if white then the pull start try useing a screw driver across the two nuts see if that dose any thing ,if still nuthing get a set of jump leads conect teh red to the + plus of batt then touch the live cable on the rear of the starter make sure the ignition is off if this truns the engine over then its either the cable , or the soildond ,
once you get it started make the fuses are o.k all the indectors work wipers as these are on a difrent fuse to the lights , if still no go or lumpy then somthing is braking down ie a spark plug or rowter arm ,have a look at the dissy cap make sure the felt plunger is there and o.k ,
i hope this helps i know some people may not do it this way
sorry about the spelling
mm16

[bmcecosse]

I would get Jeeves to check all the connections - on battery/earth leads/starter switch and starter motor itself. The 'new' starter (why is it new ??) could indeed be faulty too. Can you not bring some of the peasants in from their labours in the beetroot fields to give you a bit of a push start. You could then reward them by running them back to the field in the Minor - what fun !

[TheLaird]

thanks for the replys, i charged the battery up and made sure all the connections were clean and tight and tried again but still no joy, though when i pushed the plunger on the solenoid a couple of times it gave off big yellow sparks instead of a click which it usually does, i have a spare solenoid so do you think it's worth replacing it?

oh when i said the starter was new i meant it was re-conditioned

[bmcecosse]

If there are clouds of sparks - then it's running into a dead short - ie the starter motor has failed in some way. Who did the 'reconditioning' ??

[TheLaird]

pip pip! the re-conditioning was done by those erstwhile fellows at esm, my father popped round sunday, fortunately he was a mechanic for 30 years so we had a looksee at what was the bother, we came to the conclusion it's the solenoid, as by-passing the battery to solenoid connection with some jump leads started him up in tip top fashion, the car that is not my pater.

[Kevin]

connection with some jump leads started him up in tip top fashion, the car that is not my pater.

[TheLaird]

just thought i'd give an update, i replaced the old solenoid and fitted a spangly new one, resulting in beautiful startation! hurrah!

[bmcecosse]

Hoorah !!