Help!

[solarman216]

Cheers everyone for your help last night at silly o'clock!

Tried reconnecting the battery at 0430 this morning and the motor kicked in once again. Left the vehicle at home all day and on returning at 1800hrs earlier, I decided to the brave the snow and give it another go. On this occasion when I connected the battery, the starter motor made a loud pop and then went quiet. I left the battery connected and tried the key in the ignition and hey presto, started first time. I did notice however that the key didn't spring back from the start position very easily at all.

So those that suggested the ignition was at fault were entirely correct. As long as I make a conscious and deliberate effort to turn the key back a touch once the engine has started, all appears well. I'm presuming the pop I heard was the solenoid releasing.

I appear to have been pretty lucky that no permanent damage was done to the starter when it was stuck on.

Next question is, do I need a new ignition or is there some way of "freeing" it up?

Cheers guys, all much appreciated!

The reason the starter survived is because the drive gear has a one way clutch, starter can drive the engine but engine cannot drive the starter, Rick

 

[glanrichbex]

Just been out to take another look.

As soon as I put the positive terminal back on, the motor started up.

Tried wiggling the key in the ignition first, with no effect.

Couple of taps with the rod and hammer, no effect.

Only took about 3 mins to do all the above, during that time I didn't notice anymore smoke or anything, just an awful noise.

Somehow I think sourcing a new motor and fitting it before 0500 in the morning is unlikely :-(

Don't bang it with a hammer:doh, you could distort the case and your field cores may become missaligned and rub the armature, You may also find the unit may be rejected in part exchange ( would you be happy with a recon unit with bang marks all over it? )

A hammer is not the tool of repair unless you are driving a pin punch, drift or nailing.
If the motor has stuck than it is because the bendix has ceased due to corrosion, damaged inertia mechanism, damaged / worn teeth or a dry shaft, The proper way to go about this is to remove the motor and adress the problem to prevent it happening again,

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Don't bang it with a hammer:doh, you could distort the case and your field cores may become missaligned and rub the armature, You may also find the unit may be rejected in part exchange ( would you be happy with a recon unit with bang marks all over it? )

A hammer is not the tool of repair unless you are driving a pin punch, drift or nailing.
If the motor has stuck than it is because the bendix has ceased due to corrosion, damaged inertia mechanism, damaged / worn teeth or a dry shaft, The proper way to go about this is to remove the motor and adress the problem to prevent it happening again,

While you are right that there is a problem that will not go away, and needs to be sorted ASAP, in a time of "Needs Must", removing it is a luxury that has to wait for another day/Time. No one said to "Beat three barrels of rabbit poo" out of it, just give it a thump. In all my life, a solid knock on a starter motor has been a tool of the trade used by not only the main dealer to get my car from the car park into the workshop, but most roadside recovery companies as well.

I guess if we were messing around with some wonder of modern light weight aluminium and carbon fibre, overpriced and under built car, then you would need to worry about a hammer thump putting a dent or distorting your starter motor, but in the case of a T2, they are built in the good old fashioned way of steel and hard bits, specifically designed to take a few knocks and survive.:lol

 

[solarman216]

simply remove the small wire from the motor, if it stops then it is ignition switch/wiring short, if it continues then starter motor, but in all honesty if it was the switch then the engine would be turning over, Rick

 

[makeitfit]

In other words if a judicial hit don't fix it , hit it harder :sly If that fails your hammer ain't big enough :lol

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

In other words if a judicial hit don't fix it , hit it harder :sly If that fails your hammer ain't big enough :lol

Ahhhh.. so that is what I keep doing wrong...:lol:lol:lol

Now where did I put that steam hammer...:augie