So....i Think My Starter Motor Has Died.

[Pft shh 89]

So basically car won't start, turn over, nothing, even when trying to jump it starter won't crank at all. The other day (Sunday just gone) it was slow to turn over, started fine in the morning then progressively got slower till it barely started, so i parked it facing down my boss's driveway thinking if it didn't start i could let it roll down and effectively push start it, without the pushing part lol. when i got in that time it started perfect, full normal crank speed. then was starting ok since then.

Missus goes out to her mates today, and i get a phone call half way through my after work grandpa nap saying the car won't start. and that it didn't turn over at all. so over there i drive and try jump it off her car, (little getz but have used it when my old battery was rooted) and still absolutely nothing. so we had to get her mum to come pick up her and bub and bring them home.

Any thoughts on whether i'm on the right train of thought, or anything else i could check, checked all fuses, and engine bay connections i could see while i was there. and battery is only bout 4 months old.

[Duncan]

Yep probably the starter. They have a large solenoid (electric switch) that triggers when you turn the key to start, you should see if it clicks.

If you feel brave, pull the starter motor out. Hold it firmly and apply 12v. That will tell you if it is starter motor or some kind of wiring/trigger issue.

In the meantime....park on hills

[66yostagea]

I had that problem a while back. No starter, could not jump. Battery seemed fine when tested with multimeter. Ah Ha! alternator stuffed. $120 later still stuffed. The battery was one of those sealed type with windows. If the green one showed up the battery is supposed to be OK. But it only says that cell is OK. Measuring the static voltage was 12.7, but when trying to crank SFA. New battery fixed problem.

How old is your battery?

[Pft shh 89]

yeah battery is one of those with the green light, only bout 4 months old but alot smaller than the one that was in there originally, they assured me it would be plenty big for this car as it's what the book says for skylines, i dunno. not feeling that brave with the starter, definately didn't hear it clicking,

earliest i can get into auto elec is monday, which i guess isn't to bad. was thinking i might get some mates 2morrow arvo after work or on the weekend to see if we can push start it to confirm it's not the motor or anything, ie if the motor runs fine then it must be something to do with the starter.

[Jezboosted]

I'm with Hugh on this. I have had very similar issues as well. Battery was the problem. I can't explain the technicals but apparently some of those batteries do not charge properly and so it will go flat. When driving it may perk up for the next startup, but if left a day or more the grunt is gone. Jump starting a dead/faulty battery with a good one gives mixed results too because it is hard for the good battery's current to flow well through a half dead battery.

Simply remove your suspect battery and replace it with someone elses as a test. Won't cost a thing and then you can rule it out. Battery's can even get bad connections internally to the terminals and so random results occur.

Hope you get it sorted !

[Pft shh 89]

yeah might give that a try i guess, as you said, it's free and won't hurt anything if it doesn't work. cheers guys, will let you know how it pans out.

[66yostagea]

Just on batteries. On the RS4 I now use two Advance Power gel batteries as used in Aircraft Had them in for two years now no probs. I used two to get the required CCA and was the only way to get this when fitting the forward facing plenum. The batteries are fitted L shape in the normal spot as I ran the FMIC pipe thru the battery support. Incidently the two Advanced Power units were about the same price as a normal 660 CCA acid type

[pipster11]

mine used to have a 40-series battery

pretty sure you can fit a 60- series no worries

soemthing along the lines of this fits well (same width as the stock tiny one but wider and more cca) :http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/Century-Car-Battery-NS60LS-430CCA.aspx?pid=287272&menuFrom=70701#Description

the spot in there is huge tho, so you could probably whack a dunnydore/falcon battery in there with ease (and a new tie down)

get the car going and whack a multimeter across the terminals, if its not up near 14v then your alternator is screwed

[Pft shh 89]

so i've tried a new battery with a much higher cca than mine, both via jumper cables (disconnected my battery so straight to my cars terminal leads) and then swapping completely and bolting my leads onto it, with the same result. Car doesn't turn and starter motor makes no noise whatsoever, not even a single click. gonna try a push start when my mates finish work and see how that goes.....

[Chris_Beli]

The same scenario happened to me and turned out to be the starter, trace your positive battery lead down on the left of the engine block, biggest cable of the positive side should go straight to it, once u find it try giving it a few knocks with something hard like a wrench this can loosen the jammed bushes and ur away, starter motor rebuild cost me about $350 hope that's helpful

Also from experience I would go an ultra heavy duty battery better safe then sorry

Edited October 11, 2012 by Chris_Beli

[Pft shh 89]

so... the auto lec had an opening today and was able to look at my car. may have been the name dropping i did of my uncle who used to work there, and he asked who's son i was, when i told him he was like oh yeah. turns out starter was completely f***ed not even worth trying to repair, so in went a brand new one, not genuine, or hitachi (which the old one was) but brand new, for the total price of...wait for it... $390.50. so i now have my car back for the weekend, which isn't bad considering he originally wouldn't get to it until atleast monday. very happy stagea owner up here in far north queensland

[leetom]

if you wanted to save a $$$ or 2 you could of gone to the wreckers and bought a vl commodore one for twenty$ it might last for years it might not

[Daleo]

The most common thing that happens with RB starters is worn brushes.

Strip the starter, remove the brush plate; get an auto elec to replace the brushes (most people don't own a soldering iron with enough grunt to solder the new tails in), clean up the commutator; reassemble.

Good to go for another 20 years.

I hate the Bosch starter that Holden used on the VL's; makes them sound like a red motor at startup. The Hitachi has a much nicer (quieter) planetary drive.

Edited October 12, 2012 by Daleo

[pipster11]

pretty sure the r31's use the nice sounding one

well my 31 sounds normal, i think my 32 may have had a vl one tho thinking back

[Daleo]

pretty sure the r31's use the nice sounding one

well my 31 sounds normal, i think my 32 may have had a vl one tho thinking back

Yep, the Hitachi one is the nice one; all Nissan's should be fitted with this one.

No idea why Holden went with the Bosch.