Starter motor intermittent

Sorry to hear about that. It may be something going on which was unattended, then is causing the starter to fail. The electrical connection is a good first place to look.

For diagrams, check out Ricambi's website... http://www.ricambiamerica.com/parts_catalogs.php?M=FE&V=model&I=41

See number 16 in diagram below...
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I have the same issue with my dry sump.
Not a big worry, the solenoid (#1) fails to engage from time to time.
You could rebuild your starter next time the car is on a lift or simply remove it and replace with a lighter, less current hungry modern alternative and keep the original safe.

 

oops - yes! I meant number 1 (motorino avviamento).

 

Before pulling the starter, I'd check the battery and make sure it is delivering enough voltage. One sign that your battery is going bad is the starter not cranking. It's a lot easier to test the battery than to pull the starter.

If the battery tests out okay, then check the ground connection from battery to chassis. Most electrical faults can be traced to a bad ground. So pull the cable off the battery negative post, clean both thoroughly. Also remove ground from chassis connection, clean both thoroughly and be sure you are making contact with bare metal on the chassis. Then check the grounding strap from engine to chassis in the rear of the car. That grounding strap can get very badly corroded and the voltage across it will drop dramatically.If it looks corroded or frayed, replace it with a new one (you can pick one up at NAPA or most auto parts stores).

Once all that is good, if you are still having problems, check the connections to the starter from the battery (that big, thick cable). If you still have a problem, well, pull the starter. They can be rebuilt, or buy yourself a new hi-torq starter. I did that on my '78 308, and it works great.

Have fun and good luck with it.

 

Two causes.

Solenoid contact plate is badly pitted/corroded, sometimes not closing the circuit to the starter windings, other possibility is you have a dead winding on the starter rotor. There are several sets of winding on the rotor, each connected by two commutator bars 180 degrees apart on the commutator ring.

When the starter comes to rest with these bad commutator bars contacting the brushes, the starter won't turn at all, or may turn after several tries because the action of the starter drive slamming forward on its spiral path will usually force the rotor over far enough to engage a good set of windings.

If you have click, you have power,and the starter or solenoid needs to be replaced.

Doug

 

I have the same problem on my 328. It seems to be worse when its warmed up or parked after a drive for a few minutes.

I bought a new lightweight starter from "British Starters" or some name like that. Its much smaller and lighter and apparently has higher torque but I've been putting off fitting it as the job looks like a pain in the rear to do.

Good luck

Mark

Taiwan/UK

 

Hi Ossie,

The battery and bad earths would be the 1st place to check.
If you've only just got the car then a new battery is probably a must so you can eliminate it from any further electrical faults you may/will get.

If the starter is the issue then a replacement gear reduction Gustafson unit is the way to go.
They have a low current draw and higher rpm than the stock bosch unit and weigh a lot less.
If you muck up a start and have to crank for a while your battery will survive with one of these units.

I keep tripping over my old bosch unit in the garage, best used as an anchor I recon!

 

If it happens after the car is hot, its likely the solenoid. Cheap to replace them and common issue. Do a search. Bought mine from "ACE" electronics some years ago for 12 bux.