Starting Issue

[DSG85]

I drove my '68 IIA on Monday morning with no issues. I started it twice during that trip. On Tuesday afternoon, I went to start it and it turned over once slowly and then stopped. Further tries were about the same. I figured it was a dead battery, but I have since charged the battery and tried the battery out of my daily driver with no change in the behavior of the starter. Also, trying to jump it didn't help. So, it's not the battery. I have have cleaned the terminals and connectors on the battery end and on the starter end. I haven't cleaned the connections at the solenoid yet, but they don't look too bad. Nothing I have done has changed anything. Every time I hit the key it turns over slowly once or twice and then doesn't have enough ummph to keep turning over. If I turn on the headlights, they look just as bright as normal.

I'm wondering if this is surely a cable/connection issue or if this could be the starter? It seems like it shouldn't be the starter if it is turning over at all but maybe that can happen? I haven't had any starting problems before, but I've only had this truck for about 4 months.

[slowmo]

Try this:

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/misc-index/starter-motor-on-car-tests-1

[SafeAirOne]

You might also clean the ground terminal where the negative cable grounds the engine block and/or chassis. Also, make sure the starter is well-grounded.

For troubleshooting purposes, you might make sure the vehicle is in neutral with the handbrake on, then hook a set of jumper cables to the starter's power lug and to a chassis ground, THEN to the battery on your other vehicle to see if there is any improvement in spin.

Keep doing this, working you way upstream (starter side of the solenoid, battery side of the solenoid, etc.) till your starter misbehaves.

[bugeye88]

Mark is right. The usual suspect in these British car electrical issues is not having a GOOD ground. I collect several British cars and I can't count how many times electrical gremlins boil down to not having a very good/clean ground.

Cheers,
Rob
Bugeye88

[triumphtr7guy]

check the power cable to the starter itself, the end of mine had corroded and boom, nothing, thought sure the starter was dead, little wiggling and the cable came out of the connector. Strangely enough that end was steel, the end at the solenoid copper. Went to the parts store, got a copper one, held it in the vice, filled it with molten solder, stuff the cable into it, let coo., new COPPER connection.

[DSG85]

For the record, it looks like my issue is a broken brush spring in the starter. There are two springs and 4 brushes. With 1 broken spring only 2 of the brushes make good contact causing the starter to work partially but not have enough torque to spin the engine over.