(Home) Sticky starter (Sp+)

Following my thread from a while ago - my success was short lived. The starter began to fail AGAIN after cleaning and modification - although this had had beneficial effect. Soon became totally unreliable. Auto electrician was as baffled as me. Starter worked well on the bench but not on the car. decided to test with a direct line from the +ve terminal on the battery and presto - worked perfect. We reconed on a high resistance on the signal wire from the relay . . (where ever that is) . . . i.e a voltage present but insufficient current to fully engage the starter solenoid. So by-passed it with a 30A relay from the battery using the original wire for signal. So now it works and Auto-electrician happy but for peace of mind i'd quite like to find the proper relay that must be failing - any ideas anyone? . . Dave?
Mark - (#808) Mark Adams, 14 Aug 01

You've copied my logic 100%, Mark. As far as I've seen, there's no relay.The ignition switch is supplied from the AM1 fuseable link under the drivers seat. From there, ignition switch, neutral start switch. I know that when mine fails to start, there's about 7V going to the solenoid.
Flashing the solenoid wire onto the main feed terminal is an easy fix in the no-start situation, BTW- you can reach down in front of the fuel filter, unplug, and short the terminals. I can even do it in the dark...
David - (#809) David Miller, 14 Aug 01

Thanks Dave, seems a common fault to both of us. I am happy with the relay - all out of sight and in any case the wife objects to getting oily. I have owned a long line of vehicles that in some way or other have required the 'fiddle about in the dark' type of treatment that you describe in order to keep it going. It all started with my Triumph Herald with the dodgy starter, the opening doors on cornering and the bonnet that popped up at speed . . great against car thieves but not if you want to sell the vehicle. - i had hoped that a Toyota technology might be above all this!
Thanks again
Mark - (#810) Mark Adams, 15 Aug 01

I had this problem on my 87 spacecruiser I took the starter motor apart and found that the copper contacts to the armature were worn thin
(ther're not like the the carbon brushes on other cars I've had, its like a slip-ring arrangement) I replaced these and everything was ok.------
Till my alternator problem. I dont think the two are related just the car has got to that age where everythings going wrong with it (bit like me)
Hope this info is of some help. - (#863) Ed Ben, 22 Aug 01


Sorry Dave Miller you may be my only hope!- my 'fix' has now failed. After a few days of excellent starting it has become as unreliable as ever there is now insufficient voltage to even signal the relay. I have wired a flasher switch in as a temporary signal but am not a happy camper. You mentioned terminals under the fuel filter - i have looked to no avail. There is a cylindrical relay affair under the hinge of the passenger floor pan with two 10mm threaded terminals - above the filter - is this it? It clicks with the ign switch but I cannot trace it from there.
exasperatedly
Mark - (#823) Mark Adams, 17 Aug 01

The relay you refer to is for the glowplugs. If you reach down towards the starter from above, you should be able to feel the solenoid wire coming from the starter with it's spade terminal. I just reach down, disconnect it, and touch the starter end of it to the mail terminal on the bottom of the starter.
But that doesn't explain your voltage drop, and the only way to find it is with a meter when the car is actually faulting... No relay, AFAIK, so it's back to ignition switch, and AM1 fuseable link under the drivers seat. You're happy with the neutral start switch? - (#824) David Miller, 18 Aug 01

Gocha! Yes I have stuck a relay in here to do a temp job. (I thought you had found another relay). Ok, so now I suspect the ign switch. It behaves funny - when faulting
turn key as to start - hear the 'click' of the heaters relay but no starter
then by turning key harder against what feels like a spring the clock light 'dims' but still no extra clicks or starting. i.e. seems to be drawing a current somewhere but no extra sounds . . .or smells . . I have to admit to not being a sparkie so perhaps back to the auto electrician . . - (#825) Mark Adams, 18 Aug 01

Ah, exactly the same symptoms as mine. I've disconnected the connector under the steering column and cleaned it, but haven't got as far as the switch... - (#826) David Miller, 18 Aug 01

Hello Mark,
Who am I, also a non Sparkie, to comment on this elusive fault. However, sometimes the simple things get overlooked and, as you have mentioned previously, you have a good starter operation with a direct contact back to the +ve side of the battery but, are both of the battery terminals absolutely clean and tight ? Could there be corrosion on the inside of the battery cable clamp, providing just enough resistance to stop the current flow ? The starter draws massive loads of current and, possibly, all of the other electrical components work happily with a little bit of gunge on the terminals. You have probably checked this but, if not, it's worth a try. - (#827) John Davis, 18 Aug 01

The starter on my SpaceCruiser has started to stick again recently. This happened about a year ago. I remembered a couple of tricks my grandfather taught me.
The first was that a quick tap on the starter case with a light hammer can release the starter. This cured my sticky starter for a year. I must advise caution and if you do this you do it at your own risk.
Secondly, if the starter is stuck, putting the car into gear (with the ignition off) and rocking the car back and forth will often free it. My wife is getting a little tired of this at the moment lol.
Neil - (#1141) Neil, 27 Sep 01