Changing starter motor... hex question.
Discussion
I am replacing the starter motor on my Griffith this evening, and hope someone who knows everything there is to know could answer a question. I have tried all the hex keys I own on the bolts that retain the starter, I have many much smaller keys, and some much larger - but none the correct size. Hoping to buy the right tool on the way back home.
Anyone know the size of the hex?
Cheers,
Rob.
Anyone know the size of the hex?
Cheers,
Rob.
Thanks for the input - I will look for a set that does metric and imperial to be safe. I was tempted to use vice grips on the lower one, and bring it to the tool shop, but I hate hacking things up if I can avoid it.
Putting in a Nippon Denso gear reduction starter, have one on my 350i and it is WAY better than the Lucas original, fingers crossed I don't get heat soak issues with this one.
Cheers.
Putting in a Nippon Denso gear reduction starter, have one on my 350i and it is WAY better than the Lucas original, fingers crossed I don't get heat soak issues with this one.
Cheers.
Edited by UKAuto on Thursday 23 August 19:07
I know it sounds silly but I have had real problems with dirty contacts to the starter motor on my old lotus (I mean like suface oxide levels of dirt) I guess that the starter draws such high current that any resistance causes a massive drop in power. I have to clean them with emmery paper about once every couple of years, it makes a massive difference.
My Dad kept banging on that my starting problems were probably due to bad connections, I ignorred him and bought new starters etc and in the end it turned out to be simple....
My Dad kept banging on that my starting problems were probably due to bad connections, I ignorred him and bought new starters etc and in the end it turned out to be simple....
UKAuto said:
Tried a jumper from starter body to another ground point, but silly me, I didn't go to the chassis, I went to the alternator mount. Will try doing that; where are the connection points?
One from chassis to rear gearbox mount point, one from offside chassis rail, (lower iirc) to engine mount or thereabouts.Remove offside front wheel and you'll see it through the arch.
These earths have to be real clean and tight!
Cheers HairCutMike - will have to look when I get it back on the hoist.
Starter turns fantastic - however I need to feed power to solenoid, there is not enough power on the feed line.
Now the odd bit, thought I would see about running a new line from the key switch... Realized with the immobilizer it may not be so easy.
When I look at the four wires at back of the key switch one is 12volts all the time (red) and one is about 1 volt lower all the time (red stripe on white), then there is a white wire and a white stripe on red wire that come on when the key is on the second position. Strangely there isn't a wire that only has 12v when I turn the key to engage the starter... These are the four wires directly in line with the key and they ate in a black housing. Any ideas? Are there other wires somewhere that would be activated by the key?
It's odd. For now I need to jumper I wire I ran to the solenoid on to a 12volt connection to start the car - then it starts up fine.
Starter turns fantastic - however I need to feed power to solenoid, there is not enough power on the feed line.
Now the odd bit, thought I would see about running a new line from the key switch... Realized with the immobilizer it may not be so easy.
When I look at the four wires at back of the key switch one is 12volts all the time (red) and one is about 1 volt lower all the time (red stripe on white), then there is a white wire and a white stripe on red wire that come on when the key is on the second position. Strangely there isn't a wire that only has 12v when I turn the key to engage the starter... These are the four wires directly in line with the key and they ate in a black housing. Any ideas? Are there other wires somewhere that would be activated by the key?
It's odd. For now I need to jumper I wire I ran to the solenoid on to a 12volt connection to start the car - then it starts up fine.
It sounds like you are having starter problems but it may be a problem with the immobiliser as the circuit for the solenoid is switched through the immobiliser as well. It is generally agreed that TVR wired up the immobiliser incorrectly and over time it causes the internal relays of the immobiliser to fail.
I would recommend speaking to Carl Baker at http://www.tvruk.tv/www.tvruk.tv/index.html but you are in the wrong country. It might be worth calling him up anyway as he is very helpful on the phone.
I would recommend speaking to Carl Baker at http://www.tvruk.tv/www.tvruk.tv/index.html but you are in the wrong country. It might be worth calling him up anyway as he is very helpful on the phone.
Thanks Colin.
I would much rather have no immobilizer - I read a lot about them being a pain. Still puzzled by the fact I can't find a wire on the column switch that triggers the solenoid (even if indirectly). I do find that one of the two that goes live in the second position of the key cuts back off to zero volts when you turn the key to the starter position.
I will see if there is a multi plug further down that I can disconnect so I can determine if the switch itself is working, but something has shorted out.
I am almost at the point of adding a couple of relays. I would have one relay's coil feed off of the line that goes live and stays live when the key is on the second position, and have its normally open contact feed the second line that goes live on that key position - but cuts out when turning to start - in to the coil of a secondary relay that has a normaly closed contact. In turn that normally closed contact would feed power to the solenoid, picking that power up from the first of the mentioned wires, namely the one that comes on at the second key position, but doesn't turn off when you turn the key to the start position. Also, when I say it would feed the solenoid, it would actually do so via a third relay to isolate the solenoid load from the low gauge wires of the key switch, and instead pick the load up from a more hardy power source.
Hope I don't have to go that route - I would like to simplify, not complicate things.
Cheers.
I would much rather have no immobilizer - I read a lot about them being a pain. Still puzzled by the fact I can't find a wire on the column switch that triggers the solenoid (even if indirectly). I do find that one of the two that goes live in the second position of the key cuts back off to zero volts when you turn the key to the starter position.
I will see if there is a multi plug further down that I can disconnect so I can determine if the switch itself is working, but something has shorted out.
I am almost at the point of adding a couple of relays. I would have one relay's coil feed off of the line that goes live and stays live when the key is on the second position, and have its normally open contact feed the second line that goes live on that key position - but cuts out when turning to start - in to the coil of a secondary relay that has a normaly closed contact. In turn that normally closed contact would feed power to the solenoid, picking that power up from the first of the mentioned wires, namely the one that comes on at the second key position, but doesn't turn off when you turn the key to the start position. Also, when I say it would feed the solenoid, it would actually do so via a third relay to isolate the solenoid load from the low gauge wires of the key switch, and instead pick the load up from a more hardy power source.
Hope I don't have to go that route - I would like to simplify, not complicate things.
Cheers.
BTW....
As the title of this thread didn't get to the heart of the follow on problem, namely the fact that despite the starter working great, it won't work off the key, I have moved on to another thread:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Thanks for all the guidance to this point!
As the title of this thread didn't get to the heart of the follow on problem, namely the fact that despite the starter working great, it won't work off the key, I have moved on to another thread:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Thanks for all the guidance to this point!
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