Intermittent Starter

[Kumquat]

The starter works intermittently - some it does right after turning the key, sometimes after holding the key in the start position for awhile, and sometimes not at all. When the starter key is turned and the starter does not work there is no drain on the battery/electrical system. Help!

[Doug]

nippondenso starters are notorious for wearing out the copper electrical contacts, which can give you symptoms like you describe.

hopefully there is more info here somewhere or on the Wiki ?

I have replaced the contacts of my old Subaru's ND starter and it was a piece of cake---however, just getting the starter off the car is 90% of the job on an Elan!

let's see if anyone else has advice? in the meantime try to find the ND part number for the starter and look for replacement contacts . . .

____________-


edit:

here's the link to the starter info on the Wiki

[Candles]

Welcome to worn-out contacts - you have classic symptoms! Sometimes, if you are stuck, you can try shoving the car in 5th and just rocking it slightly, this may give you a fresh bit of copper to make contact on. Obviously, you'll have to replace them soon enough and that is my write-up above that has all the info.

Candles.

[Kumquat]

Thank you for your responses. Thanks to the service manuals available on the this site, especially the electrical, I was able to isolate the problem to the starter relay. All is well now.