new starter motor is rubbish

[checkrail]

HI all, After many hours struggling I have just changed the starter motor on my Spyder chassis +2 for one off ebay. It was the correct 9 teeth one, before I replaced the anti-roll bar i gave a quick turn of the key, it was nice and smooth perfect. That was yesterday.
This morning it started first time, reversed out of the garage switched off and left it for an hour
Went to start it and it whirred 3/4 times before it engaged, drove around for approx, hour Switched off in the garage and tried to restart and guess what it's jammed.
I've sent them an email and will see how long it takes for a reply. what ever happens I've got that removal job all over again.

If anybody is interested they are APD TECHNOLOGIES Thanks John
.,

[HCA]

Was it new or pre-owned?

Sounds like an original bendix one maybe?

Did you clean the bendix and lightly oil it before fitting?

if it is jammed (I assume you mean the bendix gear is 'locked' in the ring gear - with the car in gear and ign off, gently rock the car and it should click out.

[alanr]

I assume it is a new inertia starter that you have bought ?
If the starter ring on the flywheel is not in a good state it could be that is where the fault lies in causng the starter to jam and the fault may not be the actual new inertia starter motor.
New teeth coming up against worn old teeth, result jam!

Alan.

[checkrail]

As I have stated it is from a business on Ebay with a two year warranty , the bendix is new and very clean.
Perhaps I should have put some graphite on it , I looked through at the ring gear, the teeth are fine,
They replied about my complaint and will send out a replacement, the courier to collect mine.
I still wonder why it intially was perfect

John

[Ray419G]

I had an occasional issue with the starter jamming on my S4; removed it, checked the teeth, cleaned, lubricated, etc, could find nothing obvious, but the problem kept coming back intermittently. I obtained a new starter but before I got around to fitting it the cars battery went dead and I had to fit a replacement. Since then, about two years ago now, the starter motor issue seems to have gone away. While prior to its failure the old battery seemed to spin the engine over ok I can only assume it wasn't always giving the starter motor the initial kick to get the bendix to engage properly.
While your cars issue might be caused by something completely different, if you can free the starter by rocking the car it might be worth temporarily swapping the battery with a known good one just to see if that resolves it.

Ray.

[checkrail]

Thanks Ray, that's interesting, when I first tried it this morning it really whipped it over. this might sound silly but I wondered if it is heat related, stone cold to start with and then sat in the sun for about an hour then not meshing, then a 60/70 mph run and it jammed
I can't tackle it until Friday, see what happens then. I've got to get it freed to drive it up the ramps for removal

John

[cliveyboy]

Its been quite some time since we discussed starter motors.
I always had issues with the original 9 Tooth starter motor with it jamming even when I replaced it with a new one
I changed over some years ago to a 10 tooth one and the issues have never reappeared.
I believe Lotus used 9 Teeth bendix but similar Fords used 10T.

[checkrail]

I went for a 9 teeth one because my old one was a 9. This was replaced only because of electrical issues, broken internal wires etc, in the four years that I've had the +2 It never jammed once.

John

[2cams70]

Did you check the alignment of the starter motor with the ring gear? If the ring gear it too close to the pinion you will get all sorts of nasties. I hope you are using original bolts to secure the starter and not some dastardly hex screws. If the shank size on the bolts is too small or there isn’t a shank you may get slop which will affect the starter alignment. I hope you are using the correct sandwich plate between bell housing and engine. That too sets the alignment.

[checkrail]

Yes the answer to your questions are yes


John

[checkrail]

By 8.30 Friday AM I had removed it, the bendix teeth were badly marked but the flywheel was o.k
This is now where the next problem starts, I e-mailed them regarding delivery/collection twice during Friday but surprise surprise no replies.
I have found out that this motor was reconditioned by CJF Rotating Electrics who have a comprehensive website and are in the U.K. So I'll try in the morning with another e-mail but things aren't looking very promising.
My other option is to take my old original motor to the local guy for brushes and checking which I should have done in the first place

John

[alanr]

Probably teaching you to suck eggs but it can be difficult to check wear on the starter ring with the engine in situ due to the inertia starter working on the backside of the ring gear..A small mirror and light is needed. Just looking into the hole where the starter fits won't tell you if the ring gear is worn or not.
You also need check all the way around the ring gear by turning the engine slowly over (spanner on the crankshaft pulley) because the greatest wear will be in a couple of apposing places only.

Alan

[checkrail]

Thanks Alan will check that , but it still comes down to why it worked nice and smoothly for the first few times.

John

[rgh0]

It may be the ring gear is damaged in only a couple a places and it took a few starts before it to tried to engage in one of the bad locations. Once the engine is turning it can probably power through the bad spots but if it engages at a bad spot it may jam and not start the engine turning.

cheers
Rohan

[checkrail]

In spite of offering to change the motor the trader refuses to reply to my e-mails asking him when he's going to do this. I spoke to the sales guy at CJF who supply APD with the motor and he said he would tell them to let me know what is happening. But no response to this.
It looks like I will have to inform E-bay to get this sorted. APD have no contact number available
I'm tempted to ask for a refund instead of the exchange.

John