Starter motor?

[ChefClay]

For some time my Maverick has failed to start due to insufficient charge in the battery. I charge it up and it starts first time, this occurs about every three weeks. I thought it may have been either battery/Alternator/Earth/Starter Motor causing the power drain. I got all these checked by a garage at the cost of £25, all they could find was a loose earth which they secured.
Can anyone suggest what else could be causing this please, otherwise the motor is running excellent.

Cheers, Paul

 

[lacroupade]

For some time my Maverick has failed to start due to insufficient charge in the battery. I charge it up and it starts first time, this occurs about every three weeks. I thought it may have been either battery/Alternator/Earth/Starter Motor causing the power drain. I got all these checked by a garage at the cost of £25, all they could find was a loose earth which they secured.
Can anyone suggest what else could be causing this please, otherwise the motor is running excellent.

Cheers, Paul

Replace the back plate of your ignition switch. Cheap fix and very common.....contacts in switch burn out over a period of time and either fail completely or just work under limited conditions.

Also check the battery post connection - older ones tend to fail under the rubber shroud from fatigue/vibration....if so, replace with a new terminal from Halfrauds or your local MF.

How old is your battery and what size is it (Ah and Cranking Amps)??

 

[macabethiel]

starter motor

I had a similar problem for the first two winters of owning my Terrano R3mR.

It had a new battery on it with a warranty just before I purchased the vehicle and I had that tested as it was getting close to the expiry of the two year warranty.

Tyre depot (Challenger) tested alternator output and battery and said I must have a drain of some sort.

Some 6 months later and battery out of warranty and the same thing again barely cranked over the engine, overnight charge and all OK.

Decide as it was now November that I would have to bottom the problem. Lad at work had this really smart battery condition checker - a computerised one where you entered the battery details - cranking ampage as well as amp hour rating and the unit then tested the battery after a light drain such as headlamps and then starting the vehicle - it pronounced that the battery needed replacing even though the voltage seemed quite good. As it can due to surface charge effects.

I then shopped around for a battery and realised that some of the batteries are expensive for a reason - like the cranking specification.

I fitted a 95 amp hour 800 SAE cranking rate Snapps Gold Battery at a hefty £74 and its been perfect ever since and right through the cold spell including leaving it for a week unused.

I would start there !!

 

[clivvy]

yeah, check the battery, could be losing charge because it isnt powerful enough in the first place perhaps? Ignition switch a good idea BUT if you are sure the battery is actually running out, and NOT running out during your attempts to start, then i'd suggest try new battery.

it does make me think though, that your battery isnt charging, are you sure the garage checked your cables correctly? if they are corroded or brittle, then you wont be getting enough charge through...

 

[jims-terrano]

I had a similar problem which after a year or so of doing that turned out to be the starter motor. I was convinced it was the battery but no it was the motor.

Jim

 

[briggie]

im assuming you have checked the output from the alternator ?

 

[clivvy]

could very well be the starter, mine starter did the same last year, ende dup changing the ignition module as well (combination of the teo plus bad earth and bad main power-replaced these as well)

 

[ChefClay]

Re Battery

Replace the back plate of your ignition switch. Cheap fix and very common.....contacts in switch burn out over a period of time and either fail completely or just work under limited conditions.

Also check the battery post connection - older ones tend to fail under the rubber shroud from fatigue/vibration....if so, replace with a new terminal from Halfrauds or your local MF.

How old is your battery and what size is it (Ah and Cranking Amps)??

Hi, checked the battery details;

Shows - CCA SAE 800 amps
AH (20h) 115amps
Vapomatic Heavy Duty
30/01/07 date on battery

Have taken into account all the other replies, but do you suggest I replace the battery?

Cheers, Paul

 

[rossco]

Before you run out and buy a battery a simple check with a vault meter.

Once you get it started check to see what vaults are being put in it by the alternator by placing the vault meter on the battery terminals while the engine is running, should be any where 12- 14 volts the higher the voltage the better normally 13-14 volts.

If you not getting the voltage then the alternator needs work.

The other one is when you have switched off and park the vehicle for the night after a run check the voltage in the battery and see what it is should be around the 12-13 volts then in the morning check it again before you start it. This will till you have much you are losing over night and means the battery is on it's way out.

If none of the those then could be starter motor

Good luck

 

[briggie]

Before you run out and buy a battery a simple check with a vault meter.

Once you get it started check to see what vaults are being put in it by the alternator by placing the vault meter on the battery terminals while the engine is running, should be any where 12- 14 volts the higher the voltage the better normally 13-14 volts.

If you not getting the voltage then the alternator needs work.

The other one is when you have switched off and park the vehicle for the night after a run check the voltage in the battery and see what it is should be around the 12-13 volts then in the morning check it again before you start it. This will till you have much you are losing over night and means the battery is on it's way out.

If none of the those then could be starter motor

Good luck

exactly what i said earlier rossco , check alternator output first .... thanks mate :thumb2

 

[macabethiel]

Battery Test

If all you battery terminals and starter motor wiring is good & if your alternator is charging OK you need to test the battery properly.

Your battery specification looks spot on. What you need is a proper battery test befor you replace it needlessly. My old battery was just under 3 years old and it was only testing at 12.3 volts so I replaced it & cured my problem as per my earlier post.

If you have an accurate voltmeter I would start by checking the battery voltage at the terminals first thing in the morning by doing a simple test as follows.
Put the headlights on for a couple of minutes with no engine running.
Switch off the lights and 5 mins later check the battery voltage at the posts it should be around 12.4 volts or better.

I checked mine this morning and it was 12.61 volts the battery is about 8 months old.

If your battery is testing at 12.3 volts or lower I would have it load tested by a tyre depot they will usually do this f.o.c. in the hope of flogging you a battery.

I hope this helps.