Engine slow to turn over (post moved from Elan forum)

PostPost by: john.p.clegg » Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:21 am

No,you're right,the " older " generation used to build "Tarzan" rope swings and climb trees etc.etc.etc. while the " younger " generation sit in all day watching TV and playing with Xboxes,PS10's,Ipods,Ipads,Tablets....whatever they are...

John :wink:
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Sun Jan 04, 2015 8:47 am

Yup, well I guess you're right. I work in a high school and see every type of teenager and every style of parenting. Things are, generally, different today than 50 years ago (whoa, that's a half century!!! :shock: )

:wink:

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PostPost by: Elanconvert » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:20 am

talking of the 'old days', I remember my old man used to use a length of steel wire specially bent for the purpose of testing the charge of a 12v car battery.........the brighter the spark, the higher the charge!!!!

:D fred :D
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PostPost by: stevebroad » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:27 am

The beauty of the Elan electrics is its simplicity so I don't agree with all this mamby pamby faffing around with meters and talking about amps and volts (whatever they are).

KISS

Car won't turn over.

Battery
Solenoid
Starter
Connections.
Earth straps

Order of checks, IMO:

Battery charged and healthy and terminal clamps tight
Undo, clean and tighten all other connections including any earth straps.
Spanner across solenoid (only way to do it :-) ) If car starts, replace. If not
Jump lead from battery to starter. If doesn't turn over, remove and repair/replace.
Start car and drive off :-)

There is a slight chance that the starter cables are breaking down.
Last edited by stevebroad on Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
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PostPost by: Sea Ranch » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:38 am

Love it. Thanks, Steve!

And I love the approach of Fred's father, too! :mrgreen:
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PostPost by: oldchieft » Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:42 am

If you put a volt meter across the solenoid and turn the key, the reading you get is the volt drop.

This work of any part of the system, i.e. ground terminal of battery to body of starter will test the bonding of the return part of the circuit.

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PostPost by: AHM » Sun Jan 04, 2015 12:44 pm

Elanconvert wrote:talking of the 'old days', I remember my old man used to use a length of steel wire specially bent for the purpose of testing the charge of a 12v car battery.........the brighter the spark, the higher the charge!!!!

:D fred :D


I used to do that, then one day the battery blew-up in my face. Acid everywhere luckily I was in inside and my Mum rescued me, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the carpet in the spare room, which fell apart a short while after.

Now I'm older and wiser I'm a bit wary and I try to keep my head out of the way!
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PostPost by: Elanconvert » Sun Jan 04, 2015 3:08 pm

agree with steve that troubleshooting should be straightforward.......here's my approach...

[1] connect jump leads from external fully charged battery to starter side of solenoid and earth to engine block - if starter motor does not crank away happily, then likely starter motor needs attention. check lead by connecting directly to supply terminal on starter motor. if this works ok, then it's the starter motor lead at fault.
[2]connect jump lead to battery side of solenoid,then turn key. if a problem, then the solenoid is at fault.
[3] connect jump lead to battery positive and earth at engine. if a problem then fault is in positive lead from battery to solenoid
[4] connect jump leads to battery. if everythbing ok,then battery at fault. if problem, then earth lead/connection is faulty.

just my [hopefully logical] method!!!

:D fr :D ed
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1959 lotus elite type 14
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PostPost by: alaric » Sun Jan 04, 2015 11:11 pm

Hi. A quick comment about the use of typical jump leads with croc clips. They have a very small contact surface area. It's possible that your engine won't turn over quickly just because of the current going through the jump leads and the small contact area. You may have some shorted windings in the motor. I had a similar problem which ended up being due to poor connections, but I decided to fit a modern starter motor anyway. Mine's a Brise and has been great, but there are similar ones that are direct replacements. It gets rid of the clunk and is able to turn the engine over even with a low battery. I searched for Brise and found: lotus-twincam-f39/brise-starter-t17791.html

Sean.
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