Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I need help . My hilux wouldnt start the other day after being stopped in my Carport. It had been on a good run with no problems.When i went to start it i could hear the power making it to the Starter but the Starter would just click. Rang a Auto Sparky and he told me to get a new starter motor .I borrowed one off me mates Truck and it was just the same . Kept trying to start it and every now and again it would fire up but more often than not it would just click at the starter ( not continuous clicking just when i turned the Key to start ). Tried a brand new starter motor today and is still the same. Any ideas anyone

Starter motors 101.

The starter draws a bucketload of current, too much to run through the ignition switch. So a heavy duty switching device is required, which (in starter motors) is typically called a solenoid.

The solenoid is an electrical coil (mounted on the starter motor) which operates some heavy duty contacts to switch the large current required by the starter motor. Activating the solenoid creates an audible click as the contacts close.

If you've tried two other "good" starter motors and have the same problem, it's unlikely that the problem is in the starter motor itself.

The next most likely culprit is a high resistance (or dodgy) electrical connection. When you replaced the starter motor you would've connected a thick wire to a bolt on a small can on the side of the starter motor. This can is the solenoid, and the bolt is one side of the heavy duty switch. There should be another very similar bolt alongside it. Try shorting these out with an old screwdriver (ignition on, handbrake, neutral, be prepared for sparks).

If the starter spins every time, it's got me farked.

If the starter only spins some times, then the starter is fine and you have a dodgy connection / wiring somewhere.

Thats another story.

You could check to see if the starter circit has a relay in it, if it doesnt try putting one in. easy job only takes about 10 minutes. First of you need a relay just like a driving light relay will do, run a main power wire from either +of battery or from main pin on alt, run that to 30 on relay, then the push on terminal from on the starter, take off starter, it should have a female spade type push on fitting, extend that wire up to relay, that has to go on one of the side terminals, number 85 or 86. Not to sure of the number, but it will run the same way as the 30 terminal, then put an earth wire on terminal opposite the last one, then should have 1 or 2 terminals left that run the same way, but run different to all the others, run a wire from this to your starter and put it on where you took the other wire from, wont be a very big wire, maybe about 3-5mm. If it is a current problem then this may fix it, as alot of early fords and holdens have this problem, I have fixed alot of starting problems this way. If you are not sure about doing this, contact your auto electrician and they will be able to do it. Hope it solves your problem.

The first thing to do is, with the car in NEUTRAL, to place a short wire across the terminals on the starter motor to see if you can get it to turn the engine that way. You just get a short piece of wire and touch it to the terminals for a sec to see what happens. If it spins the motor then you work your way back from there, possibly adding a relay in as BlueMQ suggests.

Here's a typical starter motor terminal layout:



What you want to do is touch a short piece of wire from the B terminal to the S terminal. This will activate the starter motor (if things are working) so the gearbox must be in neutral for safety reasons!

If this works then you can track back from there to your electrical problem. If it doesn't then there are different diagnostic steps to take but I won't type them in just now

A sparky who told you to get a new starter motor with your symptoms was giving pretty average advice imho.

He has a "click".

If this is the solenoid on the starter motor, it is switching, so adding a relay won't help that.

If the "click" isn't the solenoid, then there is already a relay somewhere in the circuit.

I don't see how adding a relay will help.

If you have a multimeter / test light, see if you have 12V at Terminal S and Terminal B.

Thanks for the advice . I have traced the problem back to under the dash somewhere . Not exactly where but it may have something to do with the immobiliser . Had a tidy up under there yesterday and found some dodgy looking wiring coming from there. Got the old girl started took it for a run and then started and stopped ten times without a problem. So it looks like a crash course in Auto sparky 101 for me . This is a great site guys and the advice you guys give is terriffic. Again thanks to all hands

Yep i fitted up the Relay like Blue MQ said and she is a runna. It was a voltage drop at the starter and the relay idea has fixed the problem. Cheers