Starting problems 93 Chim
Discussion
My 93 Chim 4.3 won't start. 12.4v on the battery but when I turn the ignition the 2 lights (oil and ignition) go out and starter does not crank. Basically nothing happens.Lots of relay clicking and if I try again no ignition or oil light. If I leave the car for 2 minutes and turn the key, the ignition and oil lights comes on but it will not crank. Starter 18 months old and battery brand new.
The "no crank" has been around for about 4 months, but until now retrying has always cleared it first time.
Any thoughts on whats wrong and how to fix it. I suspect the solenoid is jammed. If a starter only lasts 18 months can anything be done to improve longevity?
The "no crank" has been around for about 4 months, but until now retrying has always cleared it first time.
Any thoughts on whats wrong and how to fix it. I suspect the solenoid is jammed. If a starter only lasts 18 months can anything be done to improve longevity?
This sounds like a bad connection somwhere possibly between battery -ve and chassis (not had mine long enough to find where this terminatioin is). Are the terminals clean and tight on the battery? May be main fuse that you hear talked about. I am sure others with more experience than me will be along to help shortly. T
The battery terminals are fine. If the earth between the battery and the rest of the car were bad then I would not expect the heater fan or the central locking to work. If the battery was flat then these items would not work either.
The car starts fine when hot so that to me eliminates the common hot start issue. My problems are only when the car is cold.
It seems as if the solenoid is not engaging but of course there could be other reasons.
I have tried tapping the starter motor before and that seemed to solve it.
I guess I need a new starter so any advice on how to buy a decent one would be helpful. Is there any way of protecting it from the manifold heat? Is it worth beefing up the wiring to get more juice.
Some previous threads suggest holding the key turned on and tapping the starter at the same time. What worries me is the ignition light and oil light go out as soon as I turn the key
The car starts fine when hot so that to me eliminates the common hot start issue. My problems are only when the car is cold.
It seems as if the solenoid is not engaging but of course there could be other reasons.
I have tried tapping the starter motor before and that seemed to solve it.
I guess I need a new starter so any advice on how to buy a decent one would be helpful. Is there any way of protecting it from the manifold heat? Is it worth beefing up the wiring to get more juice.
Some previous threads suggest holding the key turned on and tapping the starter at the same time. What worries me is the ignition light and oil light go out as soon as I turn the key
I agree with Terence. It sounds like the heavy earth strap to the engine has a bad connection. When you switch the ignition on, you get the oil and charging lights on (both rely on the engine for earthing and draw a negligible current). When you try to crank it, I suspect the solenoid draws all the available current through the bad earth connection which puts the two warning lights out.
Fan motor and central locking still work because they operate via a separate earth. Check the voltage between battery positive and the engine casing, rather than across the battery terminals. Also check this voltage with the ignition key in position III (cranking): I suspect you'll find it all but disappears.
Fan motor and central locking still work because they operate via a separate earth. Check the voltage between battery positive and the engine casing, rather than across the battery terminals. Also check this voltage with the ignition key in position III (cranking): I suspect you'll find it all but disappears.
I like the measurement approach but got home late last night.
I see the point of checking the battery earth circuit but what does the voltage with the key turned on tell us?
I think the starter is fried and although current flows the solenoid is jammed. The voltage drops the ECU shuts down and the warning lights extinguish. This also would account for the fact that there are no lights for about a minute afterwards. Perhaps the ECU needs time to reset itself.
Any thoughs on how to get a better quality starter or are they all the same?
I see the point of checking the battery earth circuit but what does the voltage with the key turned on tell us?
I think the starter is fried and although current flows the solenoid is jammed. The voltage drops the ECU shuts down and the warning lights extinguish. This also would account for the fact that there are no lights for about a minute afterwards. Perhaps the ECU needs time to reset itself.
Any thoughs on how to get a better quality starter or are they all the same?
Imagine there's a bad or dirty physical connection which woud normally have an electrical contact area of a few square centimetres, but has been reduced to a few square millimetres instead and so has a much higher resistance. Check the voltage with no load, hey presto, it's the same as at the battery. Turn the ignition on, the two warning lights illuminate, earthed via this connection but drawing a minute current. The voltage reading remains more or less the same. Then switch the ignition to position III, the starter solenoid tries to draw a much larger current through this bad connection, but the resistance is too great. The more current it tries to draw, the more the voltage drops across the bad connection and the warning lights go out. And because it cannot draw enough current, the solenoid (hence the starter) doesn't operate.
It doesn't mean that this can be the only cause, but the theory works and it's easy to check.
It doesn't mean that this can be the only cause, but the theory works and it's easy to check.
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