I drove my car into San Francisco early today to get a new windscreen fitted (250 out the door, 'in n out autoglass', not too painful!)
Car ran like a top, but when I went to move it at the glass place as they were finishing up it wouldn't crank over and I wound up having to flatbed it home.

I haven't started seriously trouble shooting yet but did record what happens when you turn the ignition key (mp3 audio attached)
Anyone familiar with this sound and what it means having been there and experienced this? Battery is good, I'll check grounds anyway, but it sounds like the starter not engaging, and not a dead solenoid?

 

Ring gear missing teeth? Starter motor bolts backing out? Pinion gear loose on starter shaft? Bendix drive not Bendixing?

 

It does sound as though the bendix isn't pushing the pinion forward to engage the flywheel, haven't been anywhere near the starter motor for it to be my mechanical mistake tightening things up, it's always started on the button until today (except for a minor neutral safety switch gear lever issue that requires a bit of jiggling sometimes to fire the starter)

 

Did the starter come back to life yet? Agreed, it sounds like the starter is spinning up properly but not engaging. Most likely a solenoid failure. Sometimes intermittent.

If the starter was replaced at some point by a PO, the solenoid is the certain suspect. Replacement starters can be junk, even with a "lifetime" warranty. Cheap parts in a rebuilt or even a "new" one from you know where are to blame.

 

Nope I got a new Bosch starter, not a fan of intermittent, non trustworthy components. Pretty certain it's the solenoid that's not extending the pinion. I'm going to replace in my driveway later this week, trying to figure out how much ground clearance I'll need to remove exhaust down pipe etc. I'll be bringing tools, jacks, stands etc from my shop and have read up on the infamous 12 pt bolt.

 

The book says the starter is a Magneti Marelli M80R. Good luck finding one of those, right? I feel good about using a Bosch, as seen on the AJ16. It was Nick that replaced his XJ12 starter some years ago, with pictures, if you saw that thread: Starter Replacement

 

Thanks, yes I've been thoroughly researching what I'm about to do, including Nick's useful post and various xjs12 posts, and just pushed the car (it's heavy!) into position to start surgery. I'll take photos and post once I get going.

I bought the most expensive starter from RockAuto, I am so sick of junk parts! By the time you pay the postage on the core you get a few bucks back so it's basically a $200 part...ugh...