Mk 1 Focus Start Motor Issues [My cars Christmas Gift to me]

[Jaiimez]

Hey so earlier today was out shopping drove it from Halfords to Tesco, nothing major, come out of Tesco, load the boot up, get in the car to start it, CLICK, try again, click, so theres me going god damnit starter motor has gone, call out RAC, he uses jump leads to bypass the solenoid and manually get the starter motor to run, great drive home, get home, strip the starter motor off, then take a nice 3 mile walk down to the local parts store, pick up a brand new starter, get home, plug it all in do everything back up, put the key in the ignition, CLICK...

So i'm not sure whats up here, brand new starter motor installed and it still won't start, wiring issue? Has anyone got any ideas. Need her back up and running again by boxing day so am pretty desperate.

[dezwez]

sounds more like a dead battery to me 

[Jaiimez]

battery is fine, I sat for an hour whilst waiting for the RAC guy listening to things on my stereo, he also hooked up the battery to his van to rule out that, it still just clicked, i'm curious if the Neutral Safety Switch is a possibility? That being said everything i'm finding online about it says that it wouldn't even click it'd just do nothing.

Also RAC checked the battery with a multimeter.

Additional things to note are after the RAC jumped the starter motor to get the engine going the entire drive home I had the battery light on the dash on I don't know if thats relevant unfortunately my fault reader is at a friends who borrowed it.

Another emphasis is that it's a single click, even if the key is held, not the usualy click click click of a dying battery, it's a single solitary click.

[mjt]

17 hours ago, Jaiimez said:

he uses jump leads to bypass the solenoid and manually get the starter motor to run

He couldn't have bypassed the solenoid, that's what pulls the starter into engagement with the flywheel ring gear.

17 hours ago, Jaiimez said:

the entire drive home I had the battery light on the dash on

That most likely indicates a failed alternator. The battery wouldn't have got charged during the journey but would have had enough reserve to provide power for the engine electrics, especially if the RAC man jump-started it. Have you tried charging it?

[Jaiimez]

1 hour ago, mjt said:

He couldn't have bypassed the solenoid, that's what pulls the starter into engagement with the flywheel ring gear.

That most likely indicates a failed alternator. The battery wouldn't have got charged during the journey but would have had enough reserve to provide power for the engine electrics, especially if the RAC man jump-started it. Have you tried charging it?

I think i've managed to find the issue, looks like I may have been looking at the wrong end...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/niwr5pue3d7h6g2/Photo 24-12-2016%2C 11 47 08.jpg?dl=0

I'm assuming that this break would be a perfectly legitimate reason for the issues, especially since it seems to be the cable leading to the starter...

So next question, whats the best way to go about fixing it, there is no way to loosen the part it broke out of, I don't know if I just put a ring connector on it and attach it to the screw with the rest of the cables if that will be fine, or is the voltage too high that it needs to be connected the way it was and if so whats the best course of action?

[stef123]

Get someone to crimp a lug onto that and use the stud that's already there to attach it. 

You can buy battery terminals with longer studs too if that's not big enough. 

[mjt]

I agree with Stef. However it looks as if the existing stud is too short to take another lug so I'd go for something like this. A split clamp like this is better than your existing wedge type anyway, in my opinion. Make sure it's a tin-plated brass type. There are some cheap and nasty monkey-metal ones around.

[Jaiimez]

We managed to fix it, we drilled the damaged wire out of the existing terminal, stripped the wire down a bit, put it in then soldered it in place, cars starting fine again :)

Was a little suprise the RAC bloke didn't spot it, that being said it's 2 days before christmas I imagine he's a bit manic and isn't paying as close attention as he usually would.

Thanks for the help though guys, still learning all this mechanics stuff getting there slowly :)

[mjt]

I nearly suggested that but thought you probably wouldn't have the equipment to do it.

Anyway I'm glad you got it fixed so simply.

[stef123]

I think you should look for a better fix after xmas as I very much doubt the soldered connection is going to be reliable - what size of soldering iron did you use? as it would take a fair old amount of power to heat that joint up enough to get a good flow of solder. 

[Jaiimez]

I'll definitely look at a more long term fix in the new year and it was pretty heavy duty solder my moms fella is a plumber and used a blowtorch to heat it.

[stef123]

4 minutes ago, Jaiimez said:

I'll definitely look at a more long term fix in the new year and it was pretty heavy duty solder my moms fella is a plumber and used a blowtorch to heat it.

That's no so bad then, thought you had used an electric type one, would take an iron with a good few watts to heat that chunk of metal up lol

[Jaiimez]

Ha no used a big ***** blowtorch had to wait 10 minutes for said chunk of metal to cool down.

[mjt]

In his profession he'll know how to make a sound soldered joint so you shouldn't need a longer term fix.

[stef123]

1 hour ago, mjt said:

In his profession he'll know how to make a sound soldered joint so you shouldn't need a longer term fix.

Have you ever worked alongside a plumber  

[mjt]

Nope. I have done a bit of DIY plumbing though. Any plumber that can't do a decent soldered joint is going to spend a lot of time fixing leaks.

[stef123]

16 minutes ago, mjt said:

Nope. I have done a bit of DIY plumbing though. Any plumber that can't do a decent soldered joint is going to spend a lot of time fixing leaks.

Why do you think they all use speedfit stuff now  

You won't find a single bit plastic pipe or speedfit in my house. 

[mjt]

Nor in mine.