Problem - Car caught in a Floodand won't start.
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@67a91e6898=Unicorn:
you can't really fix the starter, just buy another from the scrappy, but like i said i don't think the problem lies in the starter itself, i think the engine needs loosening, it could be somethings simply rusted to the flywheel, or the battery like you said.
the cat is only part of the exhaust system, the engine would still work…in a manner even with the exhaust taken off from the cat
like i keep saying you need get the engine to turn over first, and i think it may be the fuel pump, or atleast the wiring like i said on another page
So how can I get the engine to turn over without the starter? or do I need to order a new starter before doing anything else?
The battery is buggered i think, as I just went to check it after a night hooked up to the mains charger and the voltage across it is still only 11.88…
About the engine, the day after it was flooded the engine wouldn't start, the AA were trying to get it going, but had no luck and nothing would have rusted together in 24hours.
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the voltage is sufficent, its Amps you need to look for, basically the amps are what pushes the voltage, like if you get struck by a quarter of a million volts of lightning, chances are you'd survive as theres few amps in it :wink:
first i'd try getting a long bar and a socket on the bottom pulley and turn the engine manually to make sure its free, or until its free, the engine wouldn't be able to fire up while doing this…but keep it off anyway, only when i know the engine moves freely (although it is quite hard) would i look into getting a different starter or battery :wink:
I know the story of the car, but its been sat in a garage for quite a while now, i know when i left mine out in the cold for 3 days the starter wouldn't turn it till i put a jump lead straight from the battery to the starter
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@7b2536ab39=Unicorn:
first i'd try getting a long bar and a socket on the bottom pulley and turn the engine manually to make sure its free, or until its free
Thanks man, sorry if i sound stupid, but I have no idea where the bottom pulley is…I'm guessing its pretty low in the engine, is it better to do this from underneath the car or from above?
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its better to do it from underneath, you know where the cambelt is? well its the pulley at the bottom of that, the cambelt goes around it turning the bottom end of the engine, its a big pulley, you can't really miss it, i dont think its covered up as the auxilary belt goes to it too, the one that powers the alternator, water pump and aircon
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It's just under the bottom red circle in that pic, but that pic shows the crank without the pulley attached.It has two belts running off it, should be pretty obvious now you know where :)
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Well I cant ask for a better description than that!
Unfortunately, I just went down to garage to have a look, but the pit is about 2ft full of water from all the rain, so I can't even get in there!! :(
Hopefully it'll have gone down later today or by tomorrow…
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Hey, finally managed to get under the car and have a look, is it the one on the left in this photo:
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if its the bottom one then yes!
hope it frees up so it'll start for ya.
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how easy is this supposed to turn?
I have a fairly small ratchet on there and it turns a bit when I hit it with the hammer, just a cm at a time or something.
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take the sparkplugs out and it'll turn easier! cos with them in you're fighting against the compression.
a small ratchet is no good go get yourself a brakerbar and socket
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yes it is quite hard to turn, try getting a longer bar on it to make a gradual turn rather than trying to shock it, aslong as it moved abit to show it aint siezed then you should be ok to try turning it over with the starter, if the starter doesn't turn it then you know the problem is either with the starter/battery or wiring, as you know the live part is ok have you tried putting an earth from the battery to the engine/starter?
yes it is the one on the left, the rusty one
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OK, I just stuck a bit of pipe over the ratchet and it turned quite easy. I don't see how this effects the starter motor though… All I get from the starter is a click.
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point was to check it wasn't seized - so the starter has no excuse. So now you know it is your starter or the electrics enroute to it. But you tried directly powering up the starter didnt you? So that would narrow it down to the starter!
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could be the starter solanoid (sp)!
could be worth getting someone to jump start it as the clicking is normally a flat battery or solanoid.
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yes as Marco says, it was to make sure the engine turned freely, if it weren't the starter wouldn't work, i think the last thing to do is to put an earth directly to the engine/starter, maybe get jump leads and put one on the battery negative and clamp it directly to the starter, or other metal part near it, if that doesn't work then more than likely its a problem with the starter as tinyrhino says.
I know you may see what we're telling you as pointless, but the amount of times i've bought something only to realise something else was causing the problem happens, on an old nova we thought the gearbox had died because the engine wouldn't turn, it had been sat for around a month, we changed the gearbox and it did the same…it turned out it only needed a ratchet on the bottom pulley to unsieze it :roll: im sure you'd rather check what it could be than spend uneccesary money :wink:
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wise words :D
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Cool, is it possible to just put the jumps from another cars battery, as mines still flat and takes ages to charge….
Also, which bold does the negative go to? I can see two possible bolts to clip it on.
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yes go get a car (one that works lol), get the jump leads. if it was me I'd do battery - battery first making sure the working car is turned on and running. had to do this last week with the wifes car as her battery died.
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ok i've just had a look at mine, the bolt furthest to the back is the negative, theres another wire coming from it that connects directly to the outer case of the starter, there should be another bolt with a rubber cover over it, this is the live, ies it is possible to connect the jumps from another car battery to it, do what tinyrhino says and try connecting it to the battery first, if it doesn't work try connecting the live from the other car to the live on the starter then the negative to the negative of the other car, but be careful, then get someone to turn the ignition key, if it turns over then its the wiring between the starter and the battery (we already tested the wiring between the ignition and starter a few posts ago :wink: ) if it doesn't work then after all the other stuff you've done previously then its time to get another starter
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Cool, thanks unicorn, I tried it today, but once again the battery had gone completely flat, so there wasnt enough power for the switch…
I've left the charger going on it overnight and will give it another try tomorrow.
