Starter solenoid doesnt engage??

[Matatak]

so..very recently my starter has stopped engaging (or the solenoid isnt engaging i guess) with each turn of the key, sometimes be every second or sometimes not noticeable and work well or etc.. and the other day it would only start to crank on like every 10th turn.

battery had 12.6 volts but there was only 11.3 going to the Starter from the wire off the Key barrel.

so after this. i quickly installed a Relay to it and got it buck up to 12.6 volts at the starter, and not really surprisingly to me it cranks evreytime so far now.

Question here is, is 11.3 volts not enough to engage the solenoid inside the starter motor or was there something else amiss here? ie keybarrel the problem? or has resistance more likely increased through the original wiring somewhere to do this and my new relay has simply fixed my problem.

is it likely to be the actual starter and may return later on?

Cheers

[Gannon]

More likely a high resistance joint somewhere.

When there is only a small load, like a multimeter with 1mA current draw, there is 11.3 volts

When a larger load is applied, like a solenoid that draws maybe 1A, voltage will fall down to maybe 4-5 volts, because the high resistance joint causes a voltage drop somewhat proportional to load.

Check the voltage while cranking and report back

[vincentvega]

spot on suparoo

does connecting a wire directly from battery to started fix it? If it does then you have to use a multimeter to find the dodgy connection.

My guess is your ignition barrel is tired. Or.. do you have an immobiliser?

[AndrewT]

This seems to be a common problem for older cars.
If the voltage isn't enough to kick the solenoid in and you really need to get driving and don't have time to mess with wiring then you can get somebody to hold the key in the "start" position while you go around to the engine bay and give the starter abit of a whack with a reasonably heavy lump of wood or similar - this will kick it into action most of the time.

But yeah, I had to do the relay-mod to my old VK commodore and also to my Grandpa's old `81 Sigma. Fixed the problem straight away for both of them.

[vincentvega]

the problem with adding a relay is you havn't fixed anything, you have just bypassed the problem.

with a multimeter measure voltage drop from your ignition barrel all teh way back to the connector on the starter. you will find the problem and then can fix it properly.

when my lib was doing this i found voltage drop in the immobiliser relay i had, and in the barrel itself. new barrel + new immobiliser and its all sweet without having to dodge a relay in.

[Matatak]

the problem with adding a relay is you havn't fixed anything, you have just bypassed the problem.

with a multimeter measure voltage drop from your ignition barrel all teh way back to the connector on the starter. you will find the problem and then can fix it properly.

when my lib was doing this i found voltage drop in the immobiliser relay i had, and in the barrel itself. new barrel + new immobiliser and its all sweet without having to dodge a relay in.

wts so dodge about it? u put a relay into ur spottie' system dont u? its just another relay...wow

ive seen Experienced Auto Electricians do it which is why i thought of doing it.

far far far far far far cheaper than a new immobilizer and ignition barrel isnt it.

if it lasts the rest of the time im likely to have the car then its served me fine, and saved me money.

[vincentvega]

I didnt say it wouldnt work.
I didnt say you shouldnt do it.

I did say the way to fix it properly. I am sure you have seen all sorts of things in your what 17 years experience on this planet so fix it however you want.

The way I look at it is, the starter isn't the only thing hanging off your ignition barrel. If it was to fail completely down the track you would probably wish you had fixed it properly....

[Matatak]

if that shall happen, then i shall fix it another way yes.