P38A (Dis)Charging problem

The saga continues....

Having completed various other unrelated jobs I have now returned to the non-starting problem and after looking at Ratae's suggested link I realise my description of "non-starting" should more accurately be "not turning over", as the starter often refuses to operate when the motor is hot. Imagine the frustration when you nip to the pub for a swift half then have to wait there for an hour or so until the motor cools and feels like starting again!

Anyway, thinking of possible faulty solenoid, starter, relay or even fuse box, I swapped them all in turn (lucky to have a P38 donor in the drive) but with no improvement. I've also tried furious "waggling" of the ignition key and gear selector in the feint hope it might cure the problem, but again no joy. I've read that over heating crank positioning sensors can cause problems too, but can't see how that would stop the starter spinning.

Referring back to Rave, I guess my next possible fault option would be in the Becm 'cos that's where the energizer wire seems to come from and I assume that's not an easy donor swap as it would need re-coding (?) and I don't suppose the existing Becm can be operated on to cure the fault, or can it?

As an interim resort I have considered interrupting the energizer wire with a 3-way toggle switch to give a +ve charge direct to the starter solenoid (but without affecting the Becm), which should get the starter motor spinning which in turn should start the engine - providing I remember to switch on the ignition. Next time I have the non-starting (spinning) problem at home, I'll try a direct wiring fix as above to see if it will work before faffing about with a more permanent fix.

In the meantime any other suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

Cannot remember if this has been covered yet but are you sure it isn't the starter itself?

Hi Grrrrr,
Not sure yet but the starter from the donor car behaves exactly the same as the original and both would start the car first time from cold so it would be quite a coincidence if both showed the same symptoms.
When it decides not to work there isn't a hint of a noise from the starter motor when the key is turned but when I dis the Becm's energizer wire and give the solenoid a direct 12v it bursts into life straight away, which makes me believe it's the energizer power supply - is there something else I should be considering?

C

Whid said:

Hi Grrrrr,
Not sure yet but the starter from the donor car behaves exactly the same as the original and both would start the car first time from cold so it would be quite a coincidence if both showed the same symptoms.
When it decides not to work there isn't a hint of a noise from the starter motor when the key is turned but when I dis the Becm's energizer wire and give the solenoid a direct 12v it bursts into life straight away, which makes me believe it's the energizer power supply - is there something else I should be considering?

Click to expand...

counselling ,suicide or Drink.

If the starter works fine when you connect up the solenoid ,I might suspect ,if its a auto . The gear selector ,Try to start in N and not park.For the life of me I cant remember what the dam switch is called,The one thats stops it starting in gear ,,,,,....

inhibitor switch perhaps

That's the very one .Knew id get it cheers,tarphenry...

DanClarke said:

The problem is that it just "stopped" producing power one day when (of all things) I went over a large pot-hole (or was it a pedestrian, I forget).
Suddenly.... No Alternator output. ZIP, De-Nada, Zilch.
No idea what blew/went in the Alternator but it was expensive to get another 150A one fitted.
If it is easy enough to pull out the diode-block and or replace the slip-rings/brushes whatever then it would seem a cheap way to have a spare ready & waiting for the next one to go "POP".

Click to expand...

Just as likely to be the brushes are worn out and the jolt knocked one back. A new regulator comes with new brushes.

Datatek said:

Just as likely to be the brushes are worn out and the jolt knocked one back. A new regulator comes with new brushes.

Click to expand...

I took it apart @Datatek , the brushes were almost non-existent (worn to a nub) and the slip-rings had HUGE/DEEP grooves in them. I think its one for "trade-in" as I'm not sure it can be repaired as a DIY job?
And if the rings are grooved that deep, are the bearings similarly shot?

DanClarke said:

I took it apart @Datatek , the brushes were almost non-existent (worn to a nub) and the slip-rings had HUGE/DEEP grooves in them. I think its one for "trade-in" as I'm not sure it can be repaired as a DIY job?
And if the rings are grooved that deep, are the bearings similarly shot?

Click to expand...

Probably, my Clio needed an alternator after 200k klm and it was so fecked it couldn't be rebuilt so went for an exchange, not bad at €96.

Following the last few posts I should say that, fortunately, the (dis)charging problem was completely cured with the previously reported clean-up of the main live terminals on the starter motor, so the only ongoing problem is the random starter motor issue in that it often doesn't want to spin over when engine is hot.
I think I've tried starting in either P or N but if I can find out where the inhibitor switch for the gear selector is (thanks dubbleRR) I'll try changing that, perhaps the same switch is wired to both P and N positions of the selector?
Living in hope.........