Hi Guys,

a Little help needed again please,
Something weird happened, we bought another vehicle and my panda stood for 3 days then I used it again, but the next day the starter was given me issues, it would not turn over, if you bump/push start it she goes fine, had a new battery installed January, and had it tested as I thought it was the problem, but the shop tests came back perfect on the test, so I removed the starter and was told it needed new brushes, which I had installed by a professional, today after reinstalling the starter it appears that the problem persists, however I checked the relay,
The problem sounds like the solenoid doesn’t even kick in, , now correct me if I’m wrong but the solenoid wire goes into a plastic standoff/ adapter thingy, before you install this plastic thing then you connect the wire from the battery and the alternator leads on the other side of the said plastic thingy?
Or did I miss something along the way, keeping in mind that the relay does click when key is turned to starting position, how else can I test for solenoid operation?

Thank you
Regards
PandaQ

There's a spring washer goes between the live cable and the solenoid contact on the starter, inside that plastic cap. On both our Pandas ( an MJ and a 1.1) this had rusted and broken, so no power to the solenoid. Might be a good thing to check first

You can quite easily get that plastic crappy thing on wrong. It aligns everything so the solenoid and motor are on the same connection post.

It saves money and makes assembly easier in the factory, but it's crap when your trying to refit it with the engine still in the car

Thank you very much Guys! ?


I just soldered a proper gauge wire to the solenoids solder, and just to clarify, I get 9.8v to the solenoid with out it attached, I know I should get 12v , even with the wire to the solenoid.
I do not get the solenoid to activate through the car’s circuit from the ignition switch . I am also not convinced the relay does connect through, any ideas on which relay to check

Regards

The voltage quoted sounds very low. It should turn the starter but the engine might not start as voltage will be pulled even lower. Try it with jump leads from a known good battery. Do not run the donor car engine. If it starts, your battery is looking dodgy. A cell might have gone down.

The battery earth could be suspect. Clip the black jump start lead between battery -ve and bare metal on the engine. If engine starts you need a new earth connection.

Clip a jump lead to the starter motor terminal. Clipping the other end to the battery +ve should spin the motor.