Hello All, Looking for help, battery failed last week, bought a new one [ not a Varta that was on before ] , but a cheaper alternative. Car ran okay until putting her away in the garage, ticking from a relay and the rev counter going crazy, car then died. Nothing working, no ignition nothing. Looked later and the clock is working but no ignition, Any ideas ? Could it be i bought the wrong battery eg a cheap one rather than a Varta ?
All sorted, managed to buy the same type of Varta, fitted and all is ok, this will teach me not to buy cheaper !!!!! My mechanic tested the cheap battery against the Varta, [ the cheap one is to the same spec as the Varta allegedly !!!! ] and found it produced roughly half the power !!!!
The plot thickens !!!!!!! still have a problem, started ok, outside for a last wash and brush up before winter, tried to re-start, no ignition and clicking from relay, after much swearing etc, eventually started, anyone any idea,s ? dodgy relay / starter motor issue ?
Remove, clean and re-tighten the fat cable connector on the starter. The B+ cable from the battery goes all the way back to the starter where another big cable brings current back up front to the fuses and relays. The 'click' usually means there is enough of a connection to pull the solenoid, but not enough to spin the starte.
Thank you, does the fact that when i turn the key there is no ignition light and no starter tie in with your thoughts above ? She did start after a bit of juggling with the relays [ no clicking ]. Would it be beneficial if i bought some new relays as they look as though they have been in situ since 1979 !!!!
Hard to diagnose without seeing it, but IMHO the simplest and easiest to check is usually the best place to start. Like I said the B+ (positive) cable from the battery goes directly to the starter, then a cable from the starter goes to the rest of the power distribution in the chassis. So you can consider the starter lug to be the same as the B+ (positive) post on the battery. If that connection is loose, dirty or not making contact for some reason all the electrical systems are suspect. I wouldn't even bother messing with the relays until I had checked and verified that starter connection.
