Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
Do they do an upgraded starter for the petrol series 3? I'm on my 3rd and even new ones aren't that fast.
Col
Col
See ebay/amazon for the cheap diesel blown air heaters, 100 quid ish.
The tdi starters fit all the diesel versions, but have no idea on the petrol models.
Colthebrummie
Well-Known Member
Replacement starters seem a bit rubbish after just a few months for some reason. I'm thinking about using two batteries in parallel to give it more current. The starter spins like a top when I connect my jump pack.
Col
I used to do just that with the tdi discos I had, the 200 wasnt to bad, but both 300 models were crap in the cold weather, twin batteries transformed them.
Blackburn
Well-Known Member
Had some cold starting issue this past few weeks, usually its been very good. A recent new battery didn't fix it so I checked the alternator and it was on the low side. Put a new on on (£50 off e-bay) and its transformed it. 2yr warrenty so its £50 well spent just to get a fully charged battery and decent lights for 2 years. I run the A127 75 amp one as I think they are better than the ACR and the same price. New alternator had a smaller pulley so it charges on idle. My Perkins has a huge starter so I go that off, took the brush cover off and used brake cleaner to clean the brushes and commentator, then penetrating oil, brushes were a bit stuck.. Spins a lot faster. Also cleaned and tightened all the battery leads and ends, they seem to work loose. All the things together have made a big difference.
You may be better off getting an old original Lucas one and rebuilding it. They are plenty powerful, several HP and parts are cheap. The downside is the big ones are heavy and they draw a lot of amps when they first kick in. My 3.3L Perkins has a 900CCA battery but boy does it kick over. The downside of all this current is when the starter had a poor connection on the brushes the ally end cover melted in seconds. If it will fit get an M45 (that's 4 1/2" dia), they come in Bendix and pre-engaged. This is useful:
https://www.mg-cars.org.uk/imgytr/pdf/lucascourse2.pdf
