Starting trouble

[JustMark]

Hi all.

Im having trouble starting my GF's 1980 GLD. IT broke down while she was driving it and she had it towed home. The RACV said it might be the starter motor so i swapped that out for a known working one. and that didnt fix the problem. When i turn it over it clicks but does not turn over. Apparently he checked the battery and it was holding 12V. Just wanted to know if there are any other leads as what it might be.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

[gregozedobe]

Does the starter incorporate the solenoid as well ? If it is separate then the solenoid could be RS.

It might be worth checking the voltage at the starter motor and solenoid (rather than at the battery). If there is a problem with power and/or earth leads and/or connections the voltage might seem OK at the battery but be too low at the starter.

Another possiblity is a problem with the teeth (or meshing/throw) on the flywheel.

If you have any doubts about the battery at all iIt is worth trying with a known good one (even if it doesn't actually fit properly).

[Transporter]

Turn the headlights on while you're starting if they go off check the cables from the battery the thick ones if they're not getting too hot while cranking.

My bet is that it is a battery, but check the cables first make sure you've got a good connection and no corrosion around battery terminals.

[Greg Roles]

I second Gregoz's solenoid idea, I've had the clicking, dodgey solenoid problem on my first car, you had to hit the solenoid each time with the steering lock before starting it!

[Jmac]

Check your earth cable mate, get an old set of jump leads and connect to the neg of the batt and the engine block then try it.
cheers
Jmac

[sparkie]

What Jmac said. The earth lead from the battery goes down the right hand side of the engine bay, as you are looking from the front, and is bolted to the body, then the same lead runs over an engine mounting (from memory) and is bolted onto the engine. Both these places are dirt and rust prone, so a good clean-up well worht the trouble. If you think it is sus, replace it with a new one from your local auto parts (cheaper than OE) - and you can get a larger csa cable. On my GLD the earth lead gets really hot - but the car starts OK, it's on my to do list. When it was not starting very well I doubled up the cable as Kmac suggests and it improved heaps. Good Luck