starter motor issues!
09-20-2012, 08:07 AM
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starter motor issues!
hello all,
I have had some starter motor issues recently, and having used this site many times to help me solve issues/answer questions, I thought I had better return the favour by posting about the problems I had (and with hindsight what I now know) in the hope that it saves someone else some hassle/cash...
My starter motor had occaisionally made rumbling noises when the key was released, which suggested that the bearing was not always happy, but this was intermittent and only tended to be the first start after the car hadnt been used for a while.
I then got the car serviced and the belts all renewed as they were looking a bit old. Car is a C4 with Aircon.
about a week after this, the car started to make a whistling sound, changing with engine revs after startup. it sounded a bit like an alternator whistle and was more in the background than anything, but sounded like it was coming from behind the drivers rear wheel.....
I went back to the garage, who had a look and confirmed it was not the recently changed belts, and that it was indeed coming from the area of the clutch. (they though possible clutch release bearing, but confirmed that it didnt stop when the clutch was depressed). This whistling was also intermittent and reduced/appeared to stop after driving for a while.
after my garage visit (we had also discussed the intermittent starter noise and I managed to get it to happen whilst at the garage) my engineering head started to put 2 and 2 together, although this was helped by the fact that the starter spun up but failed to engage when I tried to start the car to put it away.
I resolved to book the car in to get the starter replaced on monday, but needed to drive the car on saturday, so decided to park on a hill in case the starter again refused to engage in the meantime.
saturday arrived and I had to stop at the petrol station. fingers crossed, but no, the starter spins but no cigar... I rocked the car and the starter then engaged. but then jammed on as the bearing siezed....
the noise as the starter teeth got stripped by the flywheel ring gear will stay with me for a long time.......
car went into the garage for a new starter motor on monday. The flywheel ring gear survived due (I am sure) to the porsche engineers correctly making the starter teeth from a lower material grade.
The car is fine with its new starter, but the moral of the story is that if the starter gives and rumbling when you release the key, its only a metter of time before it sticks 'on', the bearing then overheats as its not rated for engine revs, and the whole thing goes horribly pear shaped..
I will try to post a pic of the starter onto this post from my phone. I was also lucky I think that the starter jammed with only 1-2mm engagement so less force as the teeth were at their thinnest point on the starter (they are tapered)
martin
I have had some starter motor issues recently, and having used this site many times to help me solve issues/answer questions, I thought I had better return the favour by posting about the problems I had (and with hindsight what I now know) in the hope that it saves someone else some hassle/cash...
My starter motor had occaisionally made rumbling noises when the key was released, which suggested that the bearing was not always happy, but this was intermittent and only tended to be the first start after the car hadnt been used for a while.
I then got the car serviced and the belts all renewed as they were looking a bit old. Car is a C4 with Aircon.
about a week after this, the car started to make a whistling sound, changing with engine revs after startup. it sounded a bit like an alternator whistle and was more in the background than anything, but sounded like it was coming from behind the drivers rear wheel.....
I went back to the garage, who had a look and confirmed it was not the recently changed belts, and that it was indeed coming from the area of the clutch. (they though possible clutch release bearing, but confirmed that it didnt stop when the clutch was depressed). This whistling was also intermittent and reduced/appeared to stop after driving for a while.
after my garage visit (we had also discussed the intermittent starter noise and I managed to get it to happen whilst at the garage) my engineering head started to put 2 and 2 together, although this was helped by the fact that the starter spun up but failed to engage when I tried to start the car to put it away.
I resolved to book the car in to get the starter replaced on monday, but needed to drive the car on saturday, so decided to park on a hill in case the starter again refused to engage in the meantime.
saturday arrived and I had to stop at the petrol station. fingers crossed, but no, the starter spins but no cigar... I rocked the car and the starter then engaged. but then jammed on as the bearing siezed....
the noise as the starter teeth got stripped by the flywheel ring gear will stay with me for a long time.......
car went into the garage for a new starter motor on monday. The flywheel ring gear survived due (I am sure) to the porsche engineers correctly making the starter teeth from a lower material grade.
The car is fine with its new starter, but the moral of the story is that if the starter gives and rumbling when you release the key, its only a metter of time before it sticks 'on', the bearing then overheats as its not rated for engine revs, and the whole thing goes horribly pear shaped..
I will try to post a pic of the starter onto this post from my phone. I was also lucky I think that the starter jammed with only 1-2mm engagement so less force as the teeth were at their thinnest point on the starter (they are tapered)
martin
