Last February I changed the starter motor on my Ace, a few months ago after almost a year of trouble free starting the symptoms came back again. At first I thought it was the battery losing current, but I had it checked by the suppliers of the battery who said it was fine. I then contacted the starter suppliers who have said that I would have to pusrchase a new starter & that they would send the old item back under warranty. This morning I tried to start it but it would not, after checking all the conections I found the voltage was 11.5V. a jump start got it going. I am now in a dilema as to what to do next, do I pay £150 for a new starter & pray for the old one to be Faulty or is it the battery?

- (#7804) Arshad Mahmood, 12 Jan 04 15:03

Hello Arshad,
I know this is a daft question, but you haven’t got a squealing fan belt have you?
I looked up the correct battery rating earlier, and it should be 90 amp/hour. If its not, and I believe that the standard rating is 30Amp/Hour and even heavy duty is only 70Amp/Hour, then this could be the cause of the problem. The battery may test out as if nothing is wrong, as will the charging circuit, but as soon as you turn the key, a low rated battery just can’t produce the current quick enough to spin the engine, and run the glow plug circuit.
Dennis has given some information on checking the battery and charging circuit on another thread titled Battery drain. Need answers.
Hope that helps
dave Bright (Bournemouth)

- (#7804) dave Bright (Bournemouth), 12 Jan 04 15:59

You could be right about this as the battery/starter problem started after I rebuilt the head & replaced the water pump & rad. Sometimes the bus starts instantly but I hear a "loose" noise from the area of the when it is on a long run it will always give this problem once on each journey. I will check & adjust the belts once the weather clears up.

- (#7804) Arshad Mahmood, 12 Jan 04 17:04