308 SW 13 plate non starting

[Romtag]

Hi Amazing people

We changed the clutch and starter on my 308 SW (1.6 D) last weekend, and rebuilt the car and engine, it fired up once when we reconnected the battery after the rebuild.

but then accidentally snapped the end connector off of the negative terminal that has the two wires that go back into the wiring loom. I have sourced a replacement, but now the car will not start at all, any one got any ideas?

We have checked earth to the gearbox and that seems fine, and I have checked, and triple checked the fuses in the car too.

The diag tool my friend has only found a single error of p1349.

Any suggestions or pointers would be helpful!

[RichardW]

Crank no start, or no crank?

[Romtag]

The engine doesn't even crank, the new starter clicks but nothing at all.

[RichardW]

Where did the starter come from? Will it crank if you apply 12V directly to the small terminal on the starter?

[Paul-R]

Are you sure it's the starter motor clicking and the noise isn't coming from somewhere else in the engine bay?

If it is the motor clicking then the noise is coming from the solenoid and indicates that it's faulty. A new starter motor is the only answer as I doubt that replacement solenoids are available.

[moizeau]

Firstly, what is your battery voltage and is this the same at the large red wire on the solenoid?
If the solenoid clicks but the starter doesn't turn it could be a duff solenoid. Does the starter spin if you bridge the 2 thick red wires between the starter and solenoid with a spanner/screwdriver/pair of pliers? MAKE SURE THE CAR ISN'T IN GEAR or you'll run yourself over! If the starter turns the engine it's a duff solenoid, if it doesn't, and you have full battery voltage to the thick red wire on the solenoid (12.6 volts approx), then the starter is duff.
One other thing, did you count the teeth on the new starter pinion compared to the old one.
What was the issue with the original starter?
All the starters I've seen have piggy back solenoids that can be replaced individually. The solenoid is normally the week spot

[Romtag]

Where did the starter come from? Will it crank if you apply 12V directly to the small terminal on the starter?

It was a brand new starter motor from euro car parts.

[Romtag]

Are you sure it's the starter motor clicking and the noise isn't coming from somewhere else in the engine bay?

If it is the motor clicking then the noise is coming from the solenoid and indicates that it's faulty. A new starter motor is the only answer as I doubt that replacement solenoids are available.

Brand new starter motor from euro car parts, it worked once and then once I accidentally broke off the negative voltage adapter on the end of the negative terminal it hasn't started again

[myglaren]

ECP have a reputation for the quality of their parts and how short lived they are, I had to dump the battery from my most recent purchase and replace with one from Tayna. Others have suffered with starters and alternators.

Try such as GSF for a more reliable supplier. More expensive usually but at least they last.

Your case does sound to be a bit different. Nevertheless I would avoid ECP.

[RichardW]

Where did the starter come from? Will it crank if you apply 12V directly to the small terminal on the starter?

It was a brand new starter motor from euro car parts.

Ah.... Def check power at the motor.

[Paul-R]

Try running a jump lead directly to motor housing from a good earth. It's possible that there's now a bad earth return.

[wheeler]

It was a brand new starter motor from euro car parts.

Let me guess the brand of starter…… RTX by any chance ?
If so you are lucky it even started the first time. Not unusual to get these faulty straight out the box.

[Romtag]

So, the car is fixed.. turned out after a bit of work that the earth strap had a break in it. All sorted and runs sweet.

Very proud of myself as changed clutch and, starter, cam and aux belts by myself with help from a mechanic friend.

Thanks for all the tips and advice as ever on here, really helps so much!!