Starting problems!

[cortinaman]

Hi folks

Both my cars have developed starting problems, at the same time! On the Mk1 Cortina, the starter motor turns very slowly - not quick enough to fire, without a jump start (and even then it is slower than it should be). The battery shows 14.5v when I put a multi-meter across it, and 16v when the car is running. I took the starter off, and tested it by connecting it directly to the battery and it span up nicely and the bendix moved as it should, but back on the car it was back to normal - turning too slowly to start the car.

On the Mk2 Jaguar, the car won't start when it is warm, it fires fine when the engine is cold, but needs about 20mins to cool down before it will start again when the engine is hot.

Any thoughts or ideas would be welcome.

cheers

Cortinaman

[curly89]

I have a few thoughts that may be useful, with the 'Tina it would be worth seeing what happens with the voltage on the battery when you turn the key, I'd imagine you may have dead cell and the power drain when you try and start it creates a massive voltage drop. Or you could try a different battery that you know to be good.

With the jaaaag, it could possibly be fuel turning to vapour before it reaches the combustion chamber due to heat, depends in where you fuel lines are and if its running warmer than normal.

[cortinaman]

Aug 28, 2013 7:10:44 GMT curly89 said:

I have a few thoughts that may be useful, with the 'Tina it would be worth seeing what happens with the voltage on the battery when you turn the key, I'd imagine you may have dead cell and the power drain when you try and start it creates a massive voltage drop. Or you could try a different battery that you know to be good.

With the jaaaag, it could possibly be fuel turning to vapour before it reaches the combustion chamber due to heat, depends in where you fuel lines are and if its running warmer than normal.

Thanks for the swift answer Curly89.

I assume that if there is a dead cell in the Cortina battery it would show the voltage dropping well below 12v when you crank it over?

On the Jag, the engine is not running noticeably hotter than normal, but I might look at insulating the fuel lines to see it helps.

cheers

Cortinaman

[andyf]

It could still be a sluggish starter problem on the Cortina because if the starter is off the car there is no load on it so it may seem better. If not, try the cables especially earth just to make sure you have good connections.

[taurus]

I second the earth suggestion. I had one on Monday which was turning over fine just not firing, mind you it was a V12 so it needed some grunt in the ignition to fire up. A new earth and it fired first time.

[cortinaman]

Good point on the earth. It looked ok but I'll give it a proper check.

[retrowrongun]

Check the battery terminals and the live down to the starter itself have seen these corrode or have breaks in them too that cause a lazy starter

[curly89]

Not a problem, if everyone helps each other we can over come any problem.

When cranking you would see the voltage drop, but if it drop to less than 7-8 volts. It Could suggest a battery fault.

Any luck with things?

[cortinaman]

Aug 29, 2013 18:08:47 GMT curly89 said:

Not a problem, if everyone helps each other we can over come any problem.

When cranking you would see the voltage drop, but if it drop to less than 7-8 volts. It Could suggest a battery fault.

Any luck with things?

Thanks for the info curly89, no progress as I'm off on holiday early hours of tomorrow. Hopefully check the earth and test the voltage on starting when I get back. Will keep you informed.

cheers

Cortinaman

[theheap]

Last week my starter was just clicking. Took it out put leads on it and it worked fine. Back on car, click!
Back on bench, fine. So out came mr d faulty and its been fine since.
As suggested, could be week or slightly oily/sticky

[cortinaman]

Its taken a while, but I have sorted the starting problem on the Cortina. I checked all connections, earths etc and concluded it must be the starter motor. While speaking to my mate Scott he said that he thought the starter in the Mk1 Cortina was the same as a Mini, so Moss in Feltham should sell them. Off we headed to Moss and after about 3/4 hour of comparing my starter with their stock, we concluded that it wasn't quite the same! The chap at Moss said, why don't you try the old Sikh chap up the road who specialises in car electrics. So 100 yards up the road from Moss, I found this little shop unit piled floor to ceiling with boxes of random car electrical components with the proprietor sitting outside as there was no room inside! Showed him the starter motor - and off he went into the back of the shop and climbed up on two stacks of boxes to get one off the shelf. £30 - bargain. So thank you A T Auto Electricals 02088933959.

Got home, fitted it up in about 20 minutes, spun up nice and fast and fired up!

So just got to sort out the Jag now - I've wrapped the fuel lines in the engine bay in tin foil, which may or may not be working.

cheers

Cortinaman

[retrobarmy]

Check the carbs for correct oil levels in dashpots (SU's?) or split rubber diaphragms (if it has them). Either of these will cause over-rich mixture and non start due to premature lifting of the needles.

[cortinaman]

Just a little update for anyone who is interested, and it might add to the general bowl of knowledge. I seem (touch wood) to have sorted the hot starting problem and random non-starting problem with the Jag.

I replaced the starter solenoid which cured the random non-starting

When I took it for an MOT it stalled and wouldn't start during the test, fortunately there was only the brake test left to go and they pushed it onto the rollers! The tester thought the coil was getting rather hot and this is often a sign of it breaking down. The coil on the jag is on top of the engine - so not the best place for heat! I replaced the coil and the hot starting seems to have gone away - whoopee!

So all is well now, apart from the battery going randomly flat at the Revival!

cheers

Cortinaman