Technical Non starter

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Technical Non starter

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Dec 23, 2014
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The daughters 'old' 1.4 GP is still in the family only now is sat refusing to start for the last week.
AA type bod came out today and diagnosed it was the starter motor.

Only problems are the car is 20 miles away from me and I have never done a starter motor in over 35 years of motoring/diy fixing.

So is it a big job? Awarkward?...

Any advice on what tools Im going to need to take over with me?..
 
If it's a manual,bump start it.easy to change,but count the teeth on the old starter,as some have nine,and some have ten teeth.You need to fit like for like.
 
If you bump start or tow start it,you can fix it at home and get correct starter. You need to jack car up(use axle stands or blocks of wood under the wheels) 13 mm spanners and sockets. Take the socket set incase they are different. Undo battery wire from battery,clamp or 10mm spanner. Live wire from starter,13mm,also small flat screw driver to remove protecting cover over starter live wire. 13mm bolt gear box side, one or two 13mm bolt from engine side. It's off!
 
and remember to disconnect negative FIRST and reconnect LAST ...
 
Also note that the 2 bolts for the Starter come in from different sides.
The bottom bolt is easy as you can just about see it when laying underneath the car.
The top bolt comes in from the Gearbox side.
Both are 13mm.
Also another tip is to get some electrical tape to keep the Negative & Positive Connectors inside the plastic, makes life easier when coming to refitting them later.
Also if you can, slacken the Positive wire at the Alternator, again this will help when refitting, as you'll have a bit of play in it.
 
Andi9386, yo u seem to have taken a starter motor in and out before? Is there much work in it? And have you ever had to take an alternator out? And again, is there much of an effort in doing so? Cheers, Hagey4...
 
Not really easy, nor impossible … Flat surface (garage) and stand candles are a must (mandatory !!) for starter job.
Alternator might be more of a pain if you get AC: you'll probably have to drain-out the circuit (open pipe) to access the top bolt :-(
You might also encounter "E" socket screws, better got a set before crawling Under the car …

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
 
Sooooo...the ex took the car into a local garage(it was transported thier by Greenflag).
The garage took the motor out and stripped it down and built it backup.Put it back on the car and....nowt.
Repeated this process and it worked.
Garage had no idea why this happened.

OUTCOME: Told to 'see how it goes'..and it 'may be a loose connection somewhere'.

On my request they cleared the steering light/fault code and agreed to reset it if it came on again...

A new negative lead is £25 so this will be my first attempt/option at fixing it..
 
A new negative lead is £25 so this will be my first attempt/option at fixing it..


Right decision, might not fix your current issue but will prevent potential future ones for sure !! If you can borrow crimpers you can DY the eartn/ground cable for far less than £25 !

Let us know how it goes ...

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
 
Yes , very morelikely … They use cables built of a lot of very thin individual wires that seem to be prone to corrosion and therefore get "roten" internally …

Once again a "good looking" ground/earth cable doesn't mean it's OK, the only proven way to check it is to measure the voltage drop ACROSS the cable when cranking the engine. If not equiped with a DVM or DMM, a jump lead connected from battery - to gearbox casing would indicate if original grounding is ok or not ...

BRs, Bernie

If someone here helped You fix -or better, understand- your issue, hit the thanks icon @ bottom right corner, it's free and makes us feel helpy ;-)
 
It broke down again last night.reakdown said it was an 'electrical' fault.Garage then said it was a power cable problem..power steering off and currently sat in the garage waiting on a repair in the morning.
THEN ITS BEING SOLD!!
 
It broke down again last night.reakdown said it was an 'electrical' fault.Garage then said it was a power cable problem..power steering off and currently sat in the garage waiting on a repair in the morning.
THEN ITS BEING SOLD!!

Have you got those cables checked/proven ok/replaced ??

Might be a very good deal for the buyer, a Grande for the sake of a few foot cable ...

BRs, Bernie
 
The car belongs to my daughter who gave it to her Mum when she bought a new car.
Mum never really liked it,it was a stop gap after MuMs car got written off in an RTA.
There were a few minor niggles but the breakdowns were enough for her to throw the towel in and so she bought another car.
The garage she trusts charged her £130 to fit a new earth lead.
It is supposidly fixed but is now sat on a drive 20 miles from me waiting on a decision on what to do.

I offered to help but tbh theres not a lot i can do about it or its future.
 
130£ !! That should have covered the entire power-loom: negative to body and gear, positive to starter and alternator, positive to distribution box + labor / towing (a few miles) … to get rid of the potential roten cable issue.
Dealer or stealer ?

BRs, Bernie
 
Independant garage,it was driven there and they were toldwhat it was...AND she trusts them..
TBH it pissed me rite off BUT that was the exe's choice.
 
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