just a small click

thamesroverp6

thamesroverp6

Member
hi all ,could you guys help me plse, my wife took the rover to auck (nz) from home(thames) today to go to a funeral (at short notice too). i hadnt had her ready for the trip of course, but the telstar keeps back firing (something wrong with alt,we think). with no spare,jack,brace, 3 young kids, off she goes from my wrk afta oil check( needs a little to top up ,but a 60 dollars for 5 ltrs! and and it just requires topping up from oil/filter change, it can wait. i get a call at 4.30 at wrk ,rover died at lights on cbd street and caused a traffic jam (oh no!) seems that it died (why? so far unsure) but she just goes click(small clonk) at starter motor and nothing.seems like a flat battery, but using another car to jump battery ,still nothing. i seem to think that its the starter motor.would it be the solenoid? shes a series 1 v8 1970. i have to retrieve her this weekend and i dont wanna tow her!not good for the auto i understand? any help appreciated.

karl
 
I put my Rover into drive once in the CBD in Adelaide during peak hour when the lights went green. There was a bang, and the motor stalled. I tried to start it and it would not turn over. I got pushed off to the side of the road and called the RAA. I also checked the motor, to make sure it was not hot, and it was not, on the gauge, and by feel. RAA came and said that I probably had a transmission issue. I got it towed the next day to an auto trans specialist. They took out the transmission and found that I had a broken drive plate, that goes between the crank and the torque converter.

My P6 is a 2000, and the 4 cylinder model is a little prone to break drive plates. I have not heard of that problem occurring in the 3500's, Harvey P6 would know though.

I would hit the starter motor with a hammer and see if that makes it crank over. If that does not help then turn on you headlights, then try again and see if they dim considerably when trying to start it. If the headlight do dim considerably then this indicates that the starter motor is drawing current, but cannot turn.

What can also happen sometimes with pre-engaged starter motors is the solenoid will engage the pinion into the ring gear, but the contacts are burnt out which close the circuit onto the starter itself. It is sometimes possible to have an assistant to turn the key, and then using an old screwdriver, place it across the 2 contacts on the back. This may cause arcing and smoke. You need to have a steady hand to do this, and do not jump when you close the circuit. Sometimes this will work to close the circuit on a starter motor, which has a bad solenoid, and make it crank the motor. However I do not recommend doing this as it is dangerous. You may start the car in gear and get run over. You may well have access issues to the solenoid on the V8 model. I would really only attempt this if I was stuck in the middle of nowhere, and had to make it run to get it home. I have used this method with success on tractors, where you have better access to the starter motor, and you can easily jump out the way if you start it in gear.

James.
 
Hi Karl, have you got the car stored somewhere in Auckland at the moment? When are you coming up? I may be able to help but I'm working some odd hours this weekend. Drop me a PM if you need an assist or another starter, I may have one somewhere.
 
hey thanks for the offer, im going up this friday night and thought i might just take a transporter trailer and trailer it back and look at it from home. figure out whats wrong and go from there. thanks guys for the info,will have somewhere to start looking. i was going to go and look at it,but have to fuel it up to get back,so thought spending money on a trailer may be better option. its somewhere close to a convent (in their car park) close to downtown, so should be safe.my wife was on her way to the cathedral where father terry dibbleys service was being held, very popular guy by the sounds of it. he did marry us apart from being the familys priest ova many years, but i digress.if i need a starter or something, may i purchase it from you if youve got a spare? thanks once again. if your up to nothing and want to, maybe we can meet and have a quick look at it,but only if its convenient,i could text you when we are there. regards karl
 
When I first got my 2200tc back in the road I had a similar problem. Turn the key, get a click and nothing else happens. I thought it was a sticking starter solenoid so tried tapping the starter with a hammer, but this didn't always get things working. It was only when I had someone else turn the key that I was able to listen and identify the clicking as coming from the relay that switches power to the starter solenoid (and a few other things). Cleaning the terminals on the relay has cured this. I assume the times I got it going by tapping the starter, I was inadvertently disturbing the wires to the relay as I lent over the wing. It took me a while to identify this one, I even removed the starter to check that over. The solenoid is on the passenger side inner wing on the 4cyl. Not sure where on the v8, but I assume it has one as it's there to reduce the load on the ignition switch. My car is a series 2 so I may have just described something yours doesn't have.

Anyway, hope it's an easy fix.
 
Good point about the starter relay Tom. It could be that pesky lead on the brake fluid reservoir too.
PM sent.
 
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