A very big thankyou to all who have posted words of wisdom about the starter problems in the past. In the teeth of strong opposition from the garage ("The things knackered - bin it!") and disbelief from the electrician who wired up the mod ("OK I'll do it - but it willnae work, mon!") I arranged for a relay to switch in 12v DC from the heater plug circuit to the starter solenoid, and Eureka! my trusty lump hammer can now be retired. The starter is now so good that there is no perceptible gap between turning the ignition key and the engine firing.

It really is worth sticking out to have the mod done before forking out £200+ for a recon starter. Well done again, BOK!

- (#11156) Tom, 14 Oct 03 18:32

Hello,

I just wanted to write to you with a question on a problem I am having with my starter. Basically in when the truck is cold (hasn't been started for a few hours) or in the really wet weather when I start my truck you can here the starter begin to crank the engine and then it seems to stop or get stuck for a brief moment then it continues and starts the truck. The wet weather makes it worse and sometimes I can hear a grinding noise when I start the truck. Now I just had the starter replaced in the truck back in three months ago and the old starter had the same syptoms before burning out.

I have brought it back to the place that replaced it but they can't find the problem because everytime I bring it to them the truck starts fine like normal. I was just wondering if you had any suggestions as to what the problem could be because I can't be replacing the starter every three to four months.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely

Kevin

- (#11157) Kevin, 14 Oct 03 20:27

Kevin. Tom Lister's posting above says it all regarding the Townace starter. Are you referring to a Townace ?
I have not carried out the "direct feed" modification but, a number of owners have and this has cured the problem. One thing that I do think is important is the condition of the battery terminals. On our vehicles, these sometimes get overlooked and there is a build up of corrosion which inhibits the high load transfer of current to the starter. Clean solenoid contacts and clean battery terminals will help with these starter problems but,in some cases, there is definitley a reduction of power betweeen the starter relay and the starter solenoid, and the above modification overcomes this.

- (#11158) John Davis, 15 Oct 03 3:54

Dear all who have this problem but have overcome it.
Can anybody advise me how to apply the mod to allow for ease of starting. HAve just carried out a cylinder head gasket change with great success but need to sort out this starting problem. Many thanks

- (#11159) Andrew Stancliffe, 16 Oct 03 13:56