we bought our jag about a year ago, previous owner had recently put on a starter we changed the starter after about a month, 2 weeks ago after a period of having starting problems i changed the starter again, great no problem until today and showing same symptoms! any ideas as to whats going on, do i have aproblem with fly wheel?

 

Well, we'd like to help, but first you need to tell us what those symptoms are !!

 

the latest new starter you could just touch the key and it would fire right up but it has gotten to where it really seems to labour in turning the motor and seems to be having a little trouble disengaging. the previous new starter went a similar way until it just left me stranded, not doing anything! we took it off and tested it nothing,turned it by hand tested it again worked, let it stop and tested again nothing, so we did a warranty exchange.

 

Basics first - how old is the battery and what is the volts at rest, (engine not running) ?

It might be worth checking the engine earth strap on the driver side of the car at bottom of bell housing.

Other thing to check is the supply line to the starter. It's a long time since I had a Series 3 so I really can't assist any further.

Doug ??

 

Is it a manual or auto?
Check the condition of the wire/connection to the starter solenoid, maybe run a new one. Some early cars had a spacer plate between the starter and the bell housing; about 1/16 or 1/8", yours may be missing, causing starter pinion to bind on ring gear. Pull starter and check for witness marks on ring gear, also check condition of teeth on ring gear. When replacing starter, tighten retaining bolts finger tight, run starter for 2 seconds, then fully tighten bolts; this lets the starter align itself.

good luck
Pete

 

I have been having similar problems with my starter. The car would be hard to turn over when cold. Original starter went down so I put in a rebuilt stock starter from a parts car. It worked for about a month then it went down. Just seemed like the thing labored every time I went to start the car. Once it was warm, the car started much easier.

I have now bought a high torque starter from the drivenman. Hopefully that solves the issue. AAA is probably ready to cancel my membership as they have towed the Jag a bunch of time in the last few months.

 

Instead of creating a new thread, I think I'm developing similar symptoms. Where can one buy this high torque starter? I have a 1985 XJ6 4.2L as well. And how is it performing a year later?

 

Nevermind, found the drivenman website and found the high torque starter...about to order one unless anyone has had any bad experiences with this.

 

Doug was right to mention the condition of your battery. Trying to start these cars with a low battery is the best way to kill these starters.

I will explain. When you turn the key the first thing that happens is that that a solenoid within the starter causes points to close to allow power to reach the motor itself as well as engage the pinion gear. When used with a low battery these points do not close fully and this initiates arcing between these points. Over time this arcing burns the surfaces of these points and even if the battery becomes fully charged, full power can no longer get to the motor. Hence very slow cranking.With badly burnt points, continued use of the starter will result in total failure of the starter no matter the condition of your battery.

You can correct this yourself if you can use a soldering iron. Disassemblyof the starter allows you to either resurface these points or if they are toobadly damaged turn them over and use the reverse good side of them.

So in short if you keep your battery fully charge, you will get a long life out of these starters.

 

Bob is on point. Electric motors do not like low voltage. Bad batteries, continued cranking, poor connections will do the best of them in. if the engine doesn't fire in a few turns, stop. Find out why and then fix and fire it up. Good cables, tight and clean connections are essential. Don't forget the ground strap on the transmission to frame down under.

New starters for these old cars are long gone, except for the Japanese adaptations known as the high torque starters. So, rebuilds vary immensely in quality.

Rebuilding ones own is possibly a better bet. The only limitations are having a serviceable field and armature.

Service the solenoid as Bob suggests and clean and lube it lightly. Sand the armature contacts, undercut the mica with the tip of s broken hack saw blade. Repalace the bushing, bearing and brushes. Your starter will be at least as good as the rebuils and posssibly better.

Some top quality rebuilds may include rewound armatures and new fields. The run of the mill ones nope, just those that "tested" good.

A look in a rebuild shop is akin to a look in a sausage factory.

Carl

 

Just bought the High Torque starter from Drivenman, when I go to install it I will also put in a new battery. My car starts everytime but needs to be revved for a minute or so when it's cold out. I'm just doing preventive maintenance, both the starter and the battery that's in it now looks worn and old. A couple of questions though:

1) What battery do you guys recommend for this model car?
2) What does the ground strap look like? And can it be seen from up top without having the car on a lift?

 

1. My preference is the Optima line. But, get the one with the highest CCA in the dimensions to fit the case in the car. Shop around. Most if not all batteries are now made by Johnson Controls!!

2. You have to get under. It is a woven strap connected to the transmission on one end asnd to the frame on the other. Bad cable with poor connections can cause a plethorta of mysterios woes!! Burnt throttle and shifter cables amongst them, the juice will seek a ground path and thoseare handy if the strap is poor.

Some years ago, I was trying to fix a flat spot in the acceleration of my Webber equiped Turbo'd Corvair. Messing with the infinite tunability of that carb. Then my elbow brushed the ground cable. Hot!!! That ain't good!! it had one of those patch on ends. Took it off and put on a fresh good cable. Voila, flat spot gone!!!

Carl

 

Excellent, thanks for the response. I'll try to get the Jag on a lift to identify the part in the event I have issues.

 

On my 86 SIII the ground web/loom/cable is on the passenger side straight down from the firewall underneath. Mine connects from the frame to the bellhousing. Since your checking grounds anyway, be sure to look at the bundle at the back of the engine, passenger side, at the end of the line of sensors. Mine is not running at the moment, but I have read that this group of grounds controls the majority of the FI system.

I found a 700 CCA battery made by Duracell at Batteries Plus for 80 bucks. 3 Year warranty. Before I pulled the engine, the Jag seemed to like it OK.