924Board.org

[awilson40]

Hi Guys, This has happened twice and has me concerned. The starter wont turn. Its not that it is laboring or not engaging. No click like its a solenoid and the battery is fine, grounds look fine. I turn the key and the indicator lights dim slightly, but it wont turn over. I push start it, and the starter works fine after that. No noise, no laboring. Its done this twice in a couple of months.
Any Ideas??
Thanks

[924martinirossi]

Try cleaning the 4 pin connector near the battery box that goes down to the starter.

Michael

[awilson40]

Will do...
Thanks

[eturbo924]

Just a question... have you done any maintenance recently that might have pinched an electrical line?

[larso]

Might be a sticky or dirty solenoid, or the starter motor needs greasing where the solenoid arm/lever is. You could check for voltage at the starter motor when this happens and if there is none then it's something like a wire as others suggested tho.

[Rick MacLaren]

The 924 is notorious for shorting out the electrical circuits. Heat builds up near the line from the battery to the starter and burns off the rubber. Then it (sometimes) shorts. My advice would be to clean everything and insulate if you have something apart.

[numbers]

Your symtoms are typical of a very worn starter. The brushes are so worn that they barely make contact with the armature. Sometimes they will not make contact at all, and your starter will not crank. However, after you push start your car, the vibration of the engine running is enough for the brushes to make contact again. Most likely, the problem will continue to get worse until you replace the starter.

[Smoothie]

My starter needed some attention almost a year ago - and it finally got it a couple months ago. Some of its' symptoms were like yours and some were different. Always, when cold, the starter wouldn't engage for a couple of seconds after I turned and held the key to the start position. Then very rarely, it wouldn't start at all unless I gave it a jump. As time went on, the problem progressed to where it wouldn't start when hot. During that phase, several times I got it going by running cold water from a garden hose on it for a few minutes, then it would start, usually with the few seconds delay. It didn't click then wait a few seconds then start. It was just silent before and during the delay, then it would suddenly start. That's where its' symptoms were similar to yours - no click. Anyway, when the waiting around for it to cool off or looking for a garden hose got too annoying, I finally took a guess and ordered just a solenoid. When that arrived, I took the starter off and took the solenoid apart. It was all gummed up and not sliding freely. So, that was it - just needed a new solenoid. Could have just cleaned and replaced the old solenoid, but; the plastic around the connections was cracked because I tightened up too much when I first installed that starter. The starter is a rebuilt one that was replaced just a few years ago, so; I guessed that it was ok - and it was.

[Rick MacLaren]

After thousands of dollars spent on electrical problems, all I can say is "Dirt, shorts and heat are your enemies. Reduce heat, shorts and dirt and, other things being equal, it'll start"

Solenoids are cheap. Replace it when you've got your butt under the car, you might as well. (I paid like $30 for mine).

[awilson40]

Numbers... I think you may be right...I need to pull the starter and check it out. Then I can inspect the brushed, solinoid and connections.
Thanks for all your help

[larso]

Does your solenoid click or doesn't it? in your post it is hard to tell.