Starter Motor?

[BertBeck]

Hi all,
Ive had a read through but cant find anything specific. Just lately when turning the key I sometimes get a single click and then nothing. Try again and the starter spins normally and she starts. Other times it will spin normally then drop out. The battery is fully charged so Im wondering if its a fault with the starter motor itself or a bad earth. I see the starter is a nightmare to get out to inspect so want to eliminate any smaller issues first. Where are the earth point(s) for it and what can I eliminate first? Mines a 1992 SE Turbo if that makes any difference and Ive had her for 10 years with same starter motor.

Cheers, Bert

[Fredjohn]

The starter is earthed via the body onto the clutch housing case.

Your symptoms sound like a poor battery. Get it properly tested. It may be fully charged but still be on the way out.

[BertBeck]

I did take it round my local garage and they put a battery tester on it and the printout said, Replace Battery.
Its nearly 5 years old with a 5 year warranty so I took it to Halfords to get a replacement and their battery tester said its a good strong battery??

[chrism]

Well, one of them must be wrong and one of the very least things you're gonna have to do is to try a different battery...

I think I'd go back to the original garage and tell them the Halfords story. If interested in anything other than a print-out they must have a spare battery to disconnect yours and put some jump leads on, even if to merely verify their battery test machine.

Or failing that, disconnect your battery totally, get a pal around with a known healthy battery and try to jump-start yours from his using jump leads.

This time of year I reckon cold batteries tend to 'have a mind of their own'...and m100s are well-known to 'slurp' their batteries even when it's warm...

[BertBeck]

Cheers, I'll get a new battery and see if that makes a difference.
Any recommendations ?
The one I've got is Yuasa HSB075, 5 years old.
Also, if my starter motor is the original wouldn't it need replacing by now?

[chrism]

You'll get many answers from many owners - my own is a Bosch S3 005 (3yr g'tee)

dapinky has loadsa experience as does Saltire :-
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=30560&p=385053&hilit=battery#p385042

But be aware there are 2 sizes to choose from and it's covered in the post above

[BertBeck]

Hi again. Well Ive put a brand new fully charged battery on and the problem persists. Sometimes starter motor spins fine, other times it will just click once, or spin then drop out. I need to check and clean up any earth points associated with the starter motor.
Fredjohn says one on the clutch housing case, but are there any others that will need checking?

Cheers, Bert

[Tuga2112]

theres one at the left rear of the engine, just around the fuel lines, rather dificult to describe the location but its one of those that onse you know where it is, is not as bad to reach as it looks.

[dapinky]

Hey Bert,

I would try fitting a good jump lead between the starter body (or a clean bit of the engine as near to it as you can get) directly to the negative post on the battery - if it all works, then you are looking for a bad earth strap..... if it doesn't, then it points towards the starter itself, or the energising positive circuit to it....... to help work out what it could be, it may be worth putting a positive wire direct from the battery to the starter.....

[BertBeck]

Cheers, will try that.
On another post someone said that their oil gauge needle was shooting up when the starter fails to spin, as if its trying to earth through that.
Mine doesnt do that so Im assuming its not an earth problem?

[Tuga2112]

when wiring goes wrong, all kinds of weird stuff can happen.

years ago, my myms alfa had a burned fuse for the interior lights.. but the interior lights 'worked'... sometimes ... what didnt work was the alarm... took me 3 days to find the burned fuse and figure out the alarm positive feed was spliced from the interior lights (alarm didnt work because the fuse blew) and the lights were getting backfeed power through the imobilizer via the battery feed wire on a different plug... (reason why the interior lights were flashing when the doors unlocked)

all that sidestory to tell.. dont make any assumptions. specially if you have an aftermarket alarm. and you didnt wire it up yourself.

[BertBeck]

Sounds like a nightmare pal

A few years ago I had to have a new immobiliser fitted, done by a proper auto electrician.
Not had any problems with it tho

[Tuga2112]

Sounds like a nightmare pal

A few years ago I had to have a new immobiliser fitted, done by a proper auto electrician.
Not had any problems with it tho

that alfa came with a receit from a "proper auto electrician" instalation of the imobilizer