Starter Motor

[Jecs]

tails of my VZ SS continue:

lately ive noticed that once the motor is warm, and the extractors have heated up the starter motor, the car wont turn back on.

it'll make a click noise (once) but thats all. sometimes you can keep trying and eventually she'll kick over (bit rough)

im assuming its the starter motor and the solenoid is on its last legs.

i called repco today and they want $550 for a starter, was blown away by this. called a mate at bursons he said cheapest is $340.

Starter Motor TO FIT Holden Commodore VE SS SS V 6 0L V8 L76 L77 L98 ENG | eBay

ive found these one on ebay which are a hell of alot cheaper.

can anyone recommend me why i should buy this cheap Chinese one?

 

[Hoska91]

I can't recommend that you should, have seen a few of the guys in perth use these and they flog out pretty quickly.

Ironically enough mums VN is also having the same issues haha

 

[Jecs]

well i just spoke to these guys, he said its same starter motor bursons sell.

their ebay site does 'This quality product from auto 8 comes with a 5 year full replacement warranty'

and i doubt ill keep the ute that long tbh.


my main concern is if it was all going to bolt up the same. he said it would.

 

[mpower]

Is it a relay click or a solenoid click?

Relay click normally indicates cables and connections or the relay itself/

 

[Jecs]

whats the best way to tell the difference? stick head under the bonnet and try to hear the relay?

 

[EYY]

Hold a screwdriver against the body of the solenoid and get someone to turn the key, you should feel a solid click.

I've purchased one of those starters (although for a 6 cylinder) and it was very quiet and seemed to work well. I ended up selling the engine/trans with the starter 6 months later though. I'd buy it and make sure you keep the warranty certificates/receipt in a safe place.

It would be a good idea to heat wrap the extractors near the starter, or make a sheild from thin sheet metal with an air gap of at least 5mm I'd say. The starters (especially older ones) tend to struggle when they heat up. It's not usually a problem with the stock manifolds.

 

[mpower]

get someone to stand in front and tell you which side of the car it's coming from if possible.

solenoid is louder and on the opposite side of the car, also does your secondary fan go on and off with the a/c? You'd hear a relay clicking at the same time so you'll know what it sounds like.

 

[Jecs]

thanks for the advice boys!

mpower ill take it out for a drive tomorrow and get it warmed up then get someone to kick it and see if that single click noise is the relays (im assuming driver side shocker tower) or if its coming from passenger side door.

 

[Trayner]

Thats the same one I put in mine man, and yeah i was having the exact same problem as you. Turned out to be the starter solenoid was gone/sticking . Best way to check is to bridge out the relay under the hood to bypass the ignition to see if the starter is kicking over/ the solenoid is clicking

 

[Immortality]

Or maybe try something like this

OR if you want to be real cheap just use some 2" exhaust heat wrap.

A heat resistive sleeve over the starter cables around the headers can't hurt either.