Hi all, My Mk2 16v has always had a starting issue. The engine turns over but sometimes won't fire up instantly. Now, I've also had a Cobra alarm fitted, and the central locking motor keeps playing up. Took it back to Cobra today, and they reckon my car is not holding enough charge, and hence the motor hasn't enough power to unlock the doors. Without load, the current provided by the alternator was 3ohms, while under load, it was practically zero. Could replacing the alternator aid both the starting issue and the alarm problem? How easy it replacing the alternator? Is a Bosch one the best to go for? Thank.
replacing the alternator is practically the easiest job you could undertake on your car. Its easy to get to, dead easy to undo, (one main bolt which is also the alt belt tensioner, with two on the mounting to the block). If your unsure then haynes is a best bet as its quite obvious. Have you drop tested your battery as that could also be a problem?, you might have to change that also. good luck mate
Thanks guys. The battery is almost new, and has enough power in. Quick question, how easy is replacing the belt. Do you have to remove the outer-most belt (water pump) to get to the alternator belt? Also, just tried something with the car. Kept starting and stopping the engine briefly. Start up seemed to get worse everytime (i.e. to drain power). Could this back up the need for a new alternator? Thanks again.
Ok, just fitted a brand new alternator. Car seems to turn over quicker which is good, though seems to struggle to catch/fire up. I must check my spark plugs. No idea how old they are. I'll keep you updated. Thanks.
Hi all, Right, I'm not sure the alternator has done much in helping the issue. I've noticed that the car struggles to turn over almost. Sometimes it turns over fine, and with a little help from my right foot, it fires up. However, other times, it struggles to turn over. It kinda does it in leaps, with delays in between each stroke. Its hard to explain, but it can be slow to turn over. Basically, the problem is not with it catching, but more about it turning over. Could it be the starter motor? I thought this either works or not? Any suggestions. Thanks.
Just uploaded a video of the problem. What I've done it turned the alarm/immobiliser on, so the car won't start up, but will turn over. The video shows three attempts: 1)Engine turns once, delay, then turns over as normal. 2)Engine turns over as normal. 3)Engine turns once, delay, then turns over as normal. Its this sluggish motion/delay that appears at the beginning of attempt 1 & 3 that I'm talking about. Quite often it will be worse, and turn over poorly a few times before turning over quickly ready for ignition. Any suggestions? http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wwg1z02734
check you main earth cable on the gearbox. Also what i did on my car was replace the starting circuit cable to bigger stuff. There is one cable which runs to the starter from the + side of the battery,then from the starter to the alternator. Change these and the small blue cable and it should starter better. if you haven't got or can't get some cable, you can have the ones from my old 8v, there about 4 months old PM if interested
Thanks very much. Just had a look at the wiring. Its all a bit of a mess. Ridiculous number of cable ties, lol. I must admit, I'm not sure where the earth is on the gearbox. With regards to the other wiring, should I be replacing both the red(?) and thin blue wire that runs from the battery to the alternator via the starter motor?
you should have a thick ish cable which runs from the + side of the battery to the starter then another cable which runs from the starter to the alternator, the blue cable thinner runs from the alternator back into the loom near where the battery is but shouldn't be connected to it! gearbox earth is on top of the gearbox, just back from where the clucth cable is, this should connect to the - side of the battery
Right, just taken some pictures. The wiring around the starter motor is looking very tired. Gearbox earth looks ok, though there is some slight wear on one bend. Is this worth replacing? Has anyone else experienced this problem? Thanks for your help Setone.
yeah worth changing it mate start cable looks a little worn, is the gearbox earth connected to the gearbox? from the - side it should loop down, half way should be a tag, which bolts to the chassis near the washer bolt, then down to the gearbox, so its fixed in 3 places, battery, chassis and gearbox
Yeh, its connected at the battery, chassis (just behind the battery) and the gearbox. The terminals looks a bit dirty so could probably do with being removed, cleaned and reattached. Would this be good enough?
Your starter motor is on it's way out. Soon all you will get is an audible click from the solenoid. Refurb it or replace. Also replace all wiring.
Thanks a lot. I did have my suspicions. I'll buy a new/refurbed/used starter motor. How easy are they to fit? Is it a simple, unplug the wires, undo two(?) bolts are replace with shiny new one? I unfortunately don't have the equipment to redo the wiring so I'll probably leave it for now. If the problem still occurs after replacing the starter, then I'll buy a crimper etc.
What part are you referring to? Also, I read something about supporting the engine while you do this. Haynes mentions nothing about this, though I rarely trust Haynes these days. Is this right,or is this for Mk3's? Thanks.
It's a bearing bush. For the drive shaft. Idependent part. ETKA illustration 208-00. No need for engine support. Cheers.
