not starting. starter motor???

[CMF_Brendon]

went for a bit of a thrash earlier this morning with a mate. come back home turned off car then come back out later to move the car and turn the key and nothing.
all electrical works can here fuel pump priming and various little electrical clicks in engine bay but the car dod not turn over and start. checked all fuses and all seemed good. so clutch started car and it got it running . turned off and now starts again no problem.
i am thinking it is the starter motor. it must be on its way out.
hopefuly it was just a one off thing that wont happen again.
what does everyone else think??

 

[CMF_White Knight]

Have the battery checked out.Cold weather if it is getting marginal it will fail. Funny thing batteries. I had one that started fine, drove about 10kl.,parked, came back and it was as dead as a maggot on Cisco's fishing line.

 

[CMF_1300supers]

do u ear the starter motor turning? was the engine cold or warm?

 

[CMF_Bambino]

I have been having similar sounding prob in the last few weeks. My '97 Micra has just gone over 100,000km and I had a flat battery a few weeks ago (left internal light on overnight). Got the car going and then took it for a good drive to charge the battery up. Stopped at a shop near home and got back in to start her up - nothing initially, waited a minute or two and then it finally kicked over.

Anyway the problem has persisted over the last few weeks, tried to get a mechanic who was fixing up another problem (front CV joints) to diagnose it and he couldn't replicate it. On Monday I had to go somewhere and there was a lot of turning, gear changes etc - basically back street driving. Got onto a main road and happened to stall it, tried to start - nothing. Eventually got it pushed off the road and tried to kick it over for about an our until the NRMA arrived. Anyway, the battery was flat and need to be jumped.

So this afternoon I actually had five mins to go to an Auto Electrician. His diagnosis is that the starter motor gets gunked up with dust and gunk, particularly from the clutch in the case of a manual. This means that the s/motor is unable to fire properly as the brushes and points are basically contaminated and this is the sort of milage that it occurs at apparently.

My problem is not on cold starts but once there is a bit of heat generated through the contaminants and I attempt to re-start. I don't know if this is similar to your problem?

Anyway, mine is booked in on Saturday morning - the guys is going to pull the s/motor out and clean it and generally service it - estimates it will be a 2 hour job and cost around $170-$180.

I will let you know how it goes and whether it fixes my prob... Would be interested to hear if any one else has had a similar experience.

 

[CMF_Sean]

If you heard a click when you turned the key then that was the starter motor relay clicking over... Which means there is enough power.

I'm 98.5% sure its your starter motor Brendo. How many k's does your car have and has the starter ever been touched?

Sean

 

[CMF_Yom]

The Mitsubishi starter motors used with the fwd SR20's are pieces of ****.

Start looking for a new starter motor. I'll keep doing this until you get a reconditioned/new item.

btw: have fun getting it out muahaha

 

[CMF_Brendon]

yeah i reckon now deffinately starter motor. it is going to be an absolute prick to get out. its under the plenum and throttle bodies. gonna be a long hard nnoying job for me to do

 

[CMF_Yom]

You may not have to remove the plenum.

Its just 2 bolts and you definately need 2 people. One to undo the particular bolts and the other to hold the starter so it doesnt go tumbling down the back of the motor and get stuck between the block, firewall and steering rack. lol

 

[CMF_Bambino]

Bambino WROTE:

"I will let you know how it goes and whether it fixes my prob... Would be interested to hear if any one else has had a similar experience."

Well, problem is all fixed - apparently the S/motor was ok as far as the brushes and points - apparently it was just dirty and it got a good clean out. The battery was buggered, so that was replaced, probably due to the extra load it has been bearing, but the little machine starts brilliantly now.

 

[CMF_Brendon]

i havent had any problems for few days now. this morning was real cold and starter was going real slow but car started. i am gonna pull out starter anyway and change it. got a manual. and know how to take the prick out. so whenever it happens ill let yas knwo how it goes