STARTING PROBLEMS

[ramayah]

In March 2009 I bought and installed a Bosch Starter SR0445x since I was having difficulty starting my 1976 02. The car started fine and worked great until today. I have driven only 600 miles since that time. Most of the time the car was just sitting in the driveway. All week I drove it,and also this mornig and it was fine. But this afternoon it wouldn't start. In turning the key, all I heard was the clicking sound from the starter. The battery is fully charged and the horn blows.

Could it be that the started is shot after only 600 miles. Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Randy

[02for2]

Not likely the starter is shot after so few miles - esp. since it worked OK up to now.

Suspect poor wiring connections, or the engine last stopped at a point not allowing the bendix gear to mate with the ring gear.

First thing to do is push the car forward about a foot while in 5th gear. This will rotate the engine to a different point on the ring gear.

If no-joy, un-do all the starter connections one at a time, clean them and re-attach.

If still no-joy, check all fuses, check for power to the starter when the key is in start position.

If still no-joy, suspect ignition switch. Remove the electric switch from the back of the ignition, and check for continuity at all the positions while rotating the switch.

Cheers!

[ramayah]

To 02,

I'll do what you suggested in the morning. Thanks.

Randy

[OriginalOwner]

the craziest starting problem I had: some kind of liquid goopy stuff formed on the battery terminal. This prevented a good solid electrical connection with the battery cable.

I had started the car and driven to the market. When I came out, I got the dreaded solenoid clicking. Gauge lights worked OK, headlights OK, everything normal. Just not enough "juice" to spin the starter.

Everything looked perfectly normal, and the cable was tightly clamped to the battery terminal. No corrosion junk, nothing visible that would be problematic. It wasn't until I removed the cable from the battery terminal that I found it. After a thorough cleaning, everything was just fine.

Never did learn how the goopy stuff formed.

Cheers,

Carl

[ramayah]

Carl

I believe the battery is dead. I thought it was fully charged but I was wrong.

When I put the charger on yesterday the green on the charger shows full charge. However, after reading your post I cleaned out the terminals and tried to start it, I again saw the green on the charger. After looking carefully at the charger, it was set accidentally on the 6 volt settiing. I changed it to 12 volt and the battery showed almost dead. It is now charging and I hope it will start after being fully charged.

Another Problem: Why the battery died. The rebuilt alternator was installed in March 2009, only 600 miles ago.

Thanks for for help

Randy

[02for2]

Hopefully, you didn't impact the battery with the charger. If the battery is 5 yrs. old or if it has been discharged 5 or more times... ditch it!

The SAE published a study showing that a battery loses it's ability to hold a charge, on avg., by 15% with each discharge. After 5-6 discharges, the battery is incapable of recharging even the amount that is drawen from it for a single engine start. So, if your battery falls into this category, there may be no other cause than this.

Assuming that the battery is OK, you need to pull the positive terminal and hook up a DMM (digital multi-meter) between the positive terminal of the battery, and the positive post on the battery itself. Set the DMM to VDC (smallest scale allowable). This will show you if there is any drain on the battery.(if you have a stereo with a clock and presets, disconnect it now because it is a source of battery drain).

Once hooked up, start removing fuses, one by one, keeping an eye on the DMM. When the voltage drops to 0, you have found the offending circuit. Now check all wiring, connections and grounds in that circuit to fix the problem.

Cheers!

[ramayah]

Hello 02,

The car started after charging the battery for an hour. So, the problem was a dead battery. Sorry for misinforming everyone. I apologize.

The battery is a 2 1/2 years old Exide and so is the alternator. How to check if the alternator is functioning. The procedures you outlined will check to see which circuiit is faulty that is draining the battery, I assume. How to check the battery if it's good

Randy

[02for2]

To check battery - connect DMM to each the +/- terminals and read the VDC - s/b 12.6-13.2 - any less or more the battery is faulty.

To check Alternator current - connect DMM same as before, only start the car. DMM should now read 13.5-14.5 VDC. If less/more, check belt for slipping, or diodes making up voltage regulator are fauly.

Cheers!

[ramayah]

Hi 02,

Thanks again.

It took 7 hours to fully charge the battery today. I will do the test in the morning and hope everything is OK with the battery and the alternator.

Randy

[OriginalOwner]

I hope it's that easy !!!!

Cheers,

Carl

[ramayah]

Hi 02,

The alternator isn't charging the battery. It has only 600 miles on it. The reading with engine running is 25.58 volts. The battery is good at 12.85 volts.

My mechanic said I need new alternator and rugulator. He doesn't know how the check the regulator diodes if it's good. What's your recommendation. Should I get them and from whom. And what amperage and brand must I get.

Thanks

Randy

[02for2]

You don't state you location, but most medium to large cities have independent starter/alternator rebuild shops. Thes guys often produce a better rebuild than major rebuild centers and can often increase the capacity with the same core over spec.

I would check into this 1st, as it's likely the cheapest route. If not an option, check with BLUNT, he can supply what you need and offer some alternatives as well.

Cheers!

[ramayah]

Hello 02,

I am in Long Island, New York.

I saw on Ebay, from Eagle Electric, a regulator and the alternator for about $100 including shipping. Have you heard of them?

How do I contact BLUNT.

[ramayah]

Hi 02,

Thanks for all your help. I am indeed grateful.

I found BLUNT. Their price for the Alternator and the regulator including CORE is $152.64 excluding shipping. Nos: WO133-1606339 and WO133-1619584 respectively.Alternator is Bosch AL89X, 35amp.

Autoparts Warehouse Has the same as above for $159.74 with free shipping.

The latter looks like a better deal. What do you think.

Regards, Randy.

PS. I don't think the $100 deal from Ebay's Eagle auto Electric is a Bosch.

[ramayah]

Thanks Everyone for all your help.

I installed new Voltage Regulator and a rebuilt alternator l and my problems are solved. The regulator was water -damaged and thus burned the stator in the alternator.

Thanks again,

Randy