Bus fails to start. Starter motor or something else?

I had similar - the starter was struggling to turn over and draining the battery quickly - turned out to be the brass bush in the bellhousing was worn out. Changed that and all was good again.

 

You're sorted

 

Interesting! I am hoping I can get it sorted without doing too much faff but I will replace that if I take it all apart.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will let you know how we get on!

 

Whereabouts in Cornwall are you ? ....There is a garage called West Coast VW which are based at Callestick near Perranporth, not far from the Healey's cider farm . You turn off left coming from Perranporth after the White House Inn down a narrow lane for half a mile or so .

 

You and the little ones are safe and warm which is the main thing. Tomorrow is another day. Are you in the AA/RAC etc?

 

Great find. We are by Fistral beach in Newquay. So, not far from them at all!

 

Very true mate! Thankfully I have breakdown cover. An essential part of being a bus owner I think…

Annoyingly, the gearbox and starter were next on my list to get refurbished. So far, the new engine and wiring had been fantastic. They only had to last two more days until home!

We will see what today brings…

 

Whats the battery voltage really ? it may be that the battery is discharging during your trip and the decline is just matching the battery going down.
Like its really due to alternator wiring/brushes/regulator, although ignition switch and starter motor may be your issue.

When I had my bus first, I drove to a Halfords and bought a battery in Exeter because starting was an issue on a trip to Cornwall. The battery "cured" the bad starter and switch for long enough to go on holiday and get home.

Later on I got a new ignition switch and recon starter motor, then new alternator brushes..

Rapid clicking indicator.. put on hazards, get out and go round the bus. One of the bulbs is blown or wiring is loose.. the double speed is the behaviour when there is only one indicator bulb in circuit instead of two..

 

So how'd it go today? Any joy?

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Hi all. Update on today.

I managed to get a new starter and fitted it to the bus. It didn’t appear that there was a starter motor bush in the housing…. luckily the new starter came with one.
Now the ignition is rapid clicking when I turn the key. Battery is charged and I have tried rocking the bus in gear.

Indicator lights etc is fixed, there was a loose connection at the back I think.

It has started raining now and it is pitch black so I am giving up for the day.

Any ideas?

 

See above mate. We posted at the same time.

 

Only wot I said b4 about the earth strap and wot others have said about the ignition switch. I wonder if you can get the plastic housing from around the ignition, indicator, wiper housing and try hot wiring it to see if it is the ignition switch.

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It's all guesswork until you eliminate possible problems ...
Will it start with jump leads ??
Will it bump start ??
Did you spin the new starter off the van before fitting ??
You say the battery is fully charged , but with a clicking solenoid on a new starter I'd be checking battery connections and possibly the battery isn't holding charge ...??


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Easier to hot wire it straight from the battery

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Did it bump start?

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It did not bump start unfortunately. It was a pretty weak attempt though, so will try that again.
I took the ignition switch out from the steering wheel to check and it seems ok.
Shorted the new starter across the terminals and only got the rapid clicking still.

 

I put a battery pack on the battery but same issue.
I am going to try a jump start as the battery pack likely was not enough - as well giving a better attempt at a bump start.

Took the starter back off to check it so I will spin it before fitting it again tomorrow.

Worth noting that the engine does turn over by hand.

Thanks again gang.

 

Great help thanks.

I will try best to eliminate any battery related issues next as the rapid clicking does suggest a weak battery - which makes sense as I keep trying to start it.

 

Clicky starter. That means voltage dropping at the starter every time you draw current.

Battery or wiring.

Did you try shorting the spade terminal on the starter to the incoming battery lead ? Thats the same as the ignition switch start conection.



On mine the crimp on the big wire from the battery had rotted out.. as I found when I dropped the starter when I took the gearbox out.

So theres gearbox earth strap left side forward . Battery ground strap from battery negative and big wire from battery positive..

I am thinking battery. This is one of those cases where a good quality battery booster might be a quick fix, but more expensive than a new battery.

When you get it running , check the battery voltage eventually goes above 14.2 ish.

If it does not really rise up, it could be the starter woes are down to the alternator not really keeping up (brushes/regulator/ loose wiring) so the battery gets more damaged with use.

 

Good news and bad news.

I think you were right on the money with rotten cabling. Probably coupled with a battery being undercharged by the alternator as it doesn’t appear to ever get up to 14.2

Doing my best drowned rat impression, in the dark and the rain I cut and crimped a new cable and fitted the new starter motor.

Good news: The starter turns over brilliantly!

Bad news: Still no start. There is a whirring/whining noise like an electric drill, I don’t think the starter is engaging and is spinning freely.

Likely this is due to the deeper bell housing the previous owners put on (I assume they did this to be able to fit a larger starter motor?). A lot of my time has been undoing their work…

I will put the old starter on again in the morning and see what happens!

Thanks again all.