One of my P38’s won’t start... the starter motor has been sluggish for a long time and on Tuesday it dies completely with smoke coming out of it whilst trying to turn over.

I whipped the starter off my breaker and fitted it but it just clicked when it tried to engage the starter. As it had been sat there for years I suspected the starter.

I ordered a new starter on Tuesday evening and have just fitted it now and at still just getting a single click when trying to engage the starter.

Have ran a jump lead from the engine to the chassis in case it was an earth problem but that’s made no difference either.

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks,

David.

Sorted now. My brother had loosened the bolt on the positive terminal so the heavy cable that runs to the starter wasn’t working. I told him half way through doing it I only needed the negative off so he stopped. I didn’t realise he had loosened it though. Shame, the starter from my scrapper would have done it. Oh well, one for experience.

I had the exact same problem a few years ago, with the same results. The first time it did it I dropped a jump lead down the side of the engine, clamped it to the positive battery terminal, crawled underneath and splashed it onto the positive terminal on the solenoid that was connected directly to the starter to spin it over and the engine started. Ordered a new starter thinking the solenoid contacts were on their way out. It was intermittent and would sometimes be fine but not at others and I could start it with the jump lead anyway so not totally critical.

Then went out in it and on the way home I started to get faults coming up on the message centre. EAS decided it wasn't gong to do anything, then gearbox fault, then ABS fault then the radio and HEVAC shut off, then it died..... Checked it and found about 8V from the battery so called the AA. While waiting for them checked the battery terminals and found the loose bolt. Tightened it up, AA gave me a jump start and all was back to normal. As it was before I'd added the extra cable from the battery to the alternator, as well as there being no feed to the starter, the alternator output wasn't getting to the battery either. Clamping a jump lead to the battery terminal had pressed the cable against the main terminal so it worked fine while the clamp was on there but not once it was removed. New starter became a spare.