Nine times out of ten, car will crank and start just fine. Turn the key, wait for the fuel pump to spool up, and start the car. On the tenth time, turn the key, fuel pump ok, starter just gives a click, no cranking, no nothing. Solenoid? Dead spot on the starter? If I roll the car and engage the clutch, then stop and crfank the car, it starts after these episodes. Sometimes just letting it sit for a minute will make it ok. Final piece of the puzzle. At least so far, only happens after the car has been out for a while, and the engine is good and hot. Has not happened, ever, when the motor is cold. Any ideas?
Could also be an electric issue if just rebuilt. You would need to make sure its getting 12v to the solenoid when cranking, or you hear the solenoid click. I'd check the connections make sure they are clean and tight also.
They may have charged you for something they didn't do!!!!!!!! I am rebuilding my Boxer distributor........even after seeing reciepts that it was rebuilt by the PO, only 3 years ago. The advance mech is frozen, from lack of any lubrication........they obviously didn't touch it. And people say that my car is worth less because I do the work myself, and not by some Ferrari "specialist".........well, that is a bunch of BS!!!!!!!!!!!!
You may have undertaken to check the basics here, but I submit the following in hopes that the simple answer is the right answer. If the starter always starts the car when the car is cold and you have not heard strange straining noises eminating from the starter and the car sometimes fails to start (turn over) when hot you may want to check all of the electrical contacts relating to the starter. An electrical contact that has a broken wire, loose contact or loose nut at the contact ... doesen't have to be really loose, may lose contact when hot due to expansion from the heat. I beleive that the starter must have a "strong" electrical charge to begin to turn. I would probably try to check the continuity of the electrical leads that go directly to the starter first. There may be a broken wire somewhere in the system. Probably need to disconnect the cables at the battery when working around the starter ... disconnect the leads on the starter one at a time and clean the cable ends and the contact area on the starter. Reconnect the leads once cleaned. Clean the battery cables and the battery posts and reconnect the battery. Check that the ground in the battery system to the chassis is celan and tight. One note: if your car is equipped with any electronic item such as a radio that requires an activation code to begin to work, please be sure that you have the activation code before you disconnect the battery. I suggest the simply solution as the odds that the starter would land on a "dead" spot only when hot are pretty high which would suggest that a "dead" spot in the starter, or a bad or broken tooth on the ring gear or starter gear are probably not the problem. In this case, If it does not appear to be mechanical, it must be electrical. Let us know how things work out, Best wishes
Algar did the rebuild, and Tony, my mechanic, is very diligent. I'm 100% sure if it says rebuilt starter, he did it. Electrical probably is the issue. I'll start checking leads and see where it takes me. He would not have seen the problem, based on his test drive/starting procedure that we went through prior to completion of the work. Battery is new, seems to charge ok. When the starter cranks, it is very strong, and, within the limitations of the dino itself, starts rapidly. So, heat/connection/bad wire may be the cause. does anyone know if the small connection block on the firewall, passenger side, is in any way associated with the starter. See photo. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your comment: "If I roll the car and engage the clutch" makes me think it's more a problem in how the pinion gear on the starter engages (or doesn't engage) the ring rear on the flywheel -- i.e., rolling the car slightly in gear only changes the relative position of the flywheel -- it does not rotate the starter motor internals (so doesn't directly help a starter motor commutator "dead spot" problem). When the problem occurs, does it "click" strongly at repeated start requests yet no starter motor cranking occurs? If the ends of the pinion gear teeth hit the ends of the ring gear teeth (or the teeth flanks contact in a way that prevents full engagement), the plunger in the solenoid won't travel far enough to close the internal switch that puts the main +12V power on the starter motor itself. Can you see (thru the timing inspection hole) any damage/contact on the ends/corners of the ring gear teeth on the side towards the starter? Otherwise, I think the best first diagnostic measurement would be to see if +12V is present or not at the starter motor input connection (i.e., the output of the internal switch at the back of the solenoid) when the problem occurs -- good hunting...
I have posted in the past a slightly different situation that may cast light on this issue. First, as mentioned below, check the integrity of the battery terminals AND the clamp that holds the wire to the lead battery connector. High contact resistance at the battery will lead to intermittent starter low voltage and the symptoms you describe. However, the other possibility is that the starter is not correctly aligned with the ring gear around the flywheel. This was suggested below by 91tr. My experience has been that the misalignment leads to the starter continuing to turn after I take the key out of the ignition. The ring gear and the starter gear become "bound" and the starter is unable to retract away. THe electrical contact continues. If the engine starts, then the load is released and the starter solenoid retracts. My problem was accentuated by a weak battery, which often lead to insufficient cranking and non-starting. The point is, if the starter is not aligned correctly with the ring gear, you may be hitting between teeth. I would first clean the heavy cable end at the battery and the battery terminals. The alignment of the starter can be accomplished by simply adding a washer to the bolts that hold the starter in place. You can access this easily by removing the trunk fire wall. Jim S.
Mechanic is pretty sure it's not shimmed properly. He'll be tweaking it next week at it's 500 mile checkup.
