starter motor not kicking in

[Red_101au]

Hi all.....
new to the forum... only joined today
I will start with a quick introduction
My name is Bob.... usually go by Red
I live in Port Pirie, South Australia and I own a 1990 NG V6 Wagon
it is a pleasure to be here and hopefully I can become a useful member too


My pajero is dual fuel.... but atm will only run on gas
on petrol it will try to start and will even burble for a few seconds before dying again...
this is not what i am here to discuss tonight

my problem
whislt trying to get her to start on petrol, I managed to flatten the battery
so i put her on the charger for a few hours and tried again.... i got nothing
I thought maybe the battery had a dead cell or may not have charged sufficiently so I went and got a brand new battery and terminal connectors.

tried again to fire her up... turned the key and the only thing i get is the usual click coming from the left side kick panel..... assuming it is some relay

I placed a circuit tester in the ignition wire of the starter motor and cranked the key... yep she lit up.... so power getting to the starter

next I decided to unplug the ignition wire on the starter motor and run a feed directly to the positive side of the battery utilizing a switch... turned the ignition to the on positin and toggled the switch to send power to the starter directly..... all i got was a click each time i toggled it...

I have checked the main fuse thingy in the box attached to the positve battery lead and the ignition fuse seems fine

I am guessing the problem maybe the starter motor..... however I do not wish to jump to conclusions...

I am curious if there is any other fuses or relays etc that i should know about and check first....
and if so... where are they located?

because at this stage I am about to remove the starter motor and bench test it but i would like to exhaust all other possibilities before doing this

sorry for the long winded epic....
any advice is appreciated

Bob

ADDITION: I forgot to mention that I have only had this car for about two months and since the day i got her I have had a problem with the starting
five out of six attempts to start her would result in just the click from the left side kick panel... then she would finally start on the next try
and run perfectly fine..... then other times she would start first pop.

[TomW]

Hi and welcome Bob,

This behavior sounds very similar to mine when the starter failed, in my case the solenoid on top of the starter was clicking, but the motor was not actually spinning. If I flicked the key rapidly a few times it would eventually start.

I ended up removing the starter, which is actually a fairly easy job and pulling it apart, turns out it was filled with a greasy residue from a long ignored oil leak.

I was considering rebuilding the factory starter, but after pricing the rebuild cost and given the price of a new one ($110?) from eBay I replaced it, which resolved the problem.

[Red_101au]

thanks for the welcome Tom
yep you hit the nail on the head....
that's exactly what its doing
and thats also what i figured I would also have to do
I was hoping that there maybe a simpler explanation like a blown fuse or relay that I had missed
but I have already resigned myself to taking out the starter and bench testing it
and I have too priced a new one from ebay..... $115.... reasonable I guess lol

thanks for the input and I will keep you informed

Bob

[Red_101au]

ok..... just removed the starter motor
and as we suspected....

when bench tested it the only response i got was the solenoid throwing out
the motor will not spin....
absolutely no response at all... just some sparks when making contact.

so..... a new starter motor it is

at least removal was pretty straight forward and not too obstructed
I honestly thought I was going to have a battle to remove it
other than the top bolt being extremely tight and awkward to get to with the trans lines and gearbox.... once I managed to crack the seal it was a breeze.
one of the easiest removals I have ever done

Bob

[Red_101au]

I have ordered a new starter motor for her
hopefully all will be good.... will probably take a week to get here tho

I reckon I will be adding a relay to the starter motor on the install
I am not sure why they did not come out with a relay from factory....


Bob

[ticky]

I would think it is the Brushes in the starter motor.

As for a relay, the Solenoid pretty much does the same job as a relay would, in that the trigger wire from the ignition, the little one with the spade terminal on it switches the High Tension cable from the battery. In theory, that should be good enough.

Having said that, I remember the 80s Fords used to often screech when turning the key. It was a very common problem. The easy fix was to wack a Relay on the low tension lead and beef up the current to the solenoid.

I would suggest trying the new starter motor first, I doubt you will need a relay, but if you do it's an easy add on. You said it has had problems starting since you got it. The symptoms you describe indicate worn starter motor brushes.

Steve

[Red_101au]

Thanks ticky
pretty much what i figured too...
as I said I have ordered a new starter motor for her....
but I will probably have a go at pulling the old one apart and refurbishing the brushes and keep it as a spare.

as for the relay situation
it never had any screeching problems but I figured it would be an easy fix to get the max power to the starter all the same

just something I have done in the past with other vehicles
but I will take your advice and see how it goes with just the starter before proceeding with a relay

thanks for the input

Bob

[Red_101au]

conclusion.....
the new starter motor arrived today (finally)
installed it with out incident and turned the key
what can I tell you.... the engine fired up and I am happy as the proverbial pig

that concludes the adventure of the dead starter motor

Bob

[TomW]

Good to hear the issue is resolved, in fairness mine had done 415,000km on the factory starter before it started playing up so I think it had a good run.

[GHendo]

... mine had done 415,000km on the factory starter before it started playing up so I think it had a good run.

Gees, I reckon. I though mine was pretty phenomenal when I got just over 300,000km. out of it.

Geoff

[Red_101au]

mines currently at 326000.... and I am pretty sure almost positive it too is the original
however having said that... it has been acting up for at least 6 months
turn key, nothing happens but a click and after you do that several times it would suddenly engage

anyways all fixed and I am happy.... so easy to remove and fit on these
didnt even need to jack her up to get under her lmfao

still in 2 minds as to weather it would be worth while refurbishing the old one....
I am guessing the brushes were probably worn so much the metal clips have eaten into the commutator
will still pull it apart and take a gander tho... just out of morbid curiosity

[Red_101au]

new update....
well all was good til yesterday
I jumped in the car, turned the key and all i got was the click from the passenger kick panel again
I tried it a few times and no go.... popped the hood and took a quick look at anything and everything I could think of
jumped back in the car and turned the key again and she spun over and started....

it has happened a couple of times now and I am not sure but I think I have narrowed it down to the ignition switch itself....

I find if I switch it to ON... not start.... and pull and push on the key a couple of time and then turn it to start.... it seems to work....

I am assuming that maybe the contacts in the switch at the bottom of the ignition barrel may be either worn or caked over....
Anyone else come across this ??

Red