Ally Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Hi all Me again sadly I torqued up the head properly, and was about to start her up to see if the nasty leak was cured. But, she wouldn't start. Just wasn't turning over fast enough on the starter motor, so off comes the battery and I put a different (and working) one on off my everyday car. This time I tried to start her and she made a funny noise (erm...."pffft" is the best I can describe it as!) and then all the electrics died. I waggled a few leads and checked the battery connections, tried to start her again and she gave a MASSIVE spark from off the positive battery terminal. Needless to say at this point I disconnected it and retreated indoors, I don't DO electrics! Any ideas what might be wrong this time?! Aargh! Ally Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonlar Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Hi Ally, don't despair (well, not yet anyway!) first check all the connections to the starter motor, could be the solenoid on the starter not making internal contact properly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rayjones Posted July 15, 2006 Report Share Posted July 15, 2006 Sounds a bit obvious, but did you connect the battery the right way round? ie the red lead to the positive terminal, sometimes the + and - terminals are the other way round on other batteries even if it seems otherwise the same physically as the one you took out. Ray Quote Link to post Share on other sites
andrewt Posted July 17, 2006 Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Ally It sounds like it could be that the battery or earth connections are not making good contact. I would check as above then clean up all the battery / battery lead contacts and make sure your earths are all clean and electrically sound. Grease these up once they are clean with petroleum jelly to keep them clean. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ally Posted July 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2006 Hi again, o wise TR7 people! It was the starter motor - I got a short lesson in physics off my mate Ash the electrician, then went and found the loose connection. So, no more sparks, thank goodness. I never did like physics...! But, the little devil still ain't starting, she is just not turning over fast enough. Tight engine/too much compression I would say. So, hi-torq starter motor or something more...elementary? Cheers, Ally PS Jonlar - with this TR7, I started despairing months ago!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anthonyt Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 They will start at very low crank speeds, check there is enough kick in the battery an dthat the timing is correct. I ran 14:1 in the last engine in my race car and didnt need a hi torque starter (did need avgas though). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jothecat Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 mine has chewed 3 starters in 2 years. 4th fitted yesterday. Ordering a high torque one for the next time, don't want to be stuck. Remember my previous one chewed starter motors too. Is it a common failing? Jo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ally Posted July 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 It seems it's not the starter motor on mine after all - a mate suggested I turn her over without the spark plugs in to see if it's over-high compression or the starter motor that's causing the trouble. It seems that it must be the compression, as she spun fine with no plugs. So, what do I do about high compression? Erk! Cheers, Ally Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvmul Posted July 20, 2006 Report Share Posted July 20, 2006 Perhaps you have to clean the battery connections again thoroughly (with sanding paper) and then check the spark plugs : you should see a fat spark. If the spark is only weak, then I suppose the starter motor is drawing too much power, and the voltage at the coil will be too low. Once I had to replace the starter motor on my TR7 : it was spinning the engine not that slow, but the the windings in the starter motor had partially burnt isolation : sort of short circuits : a lot of the battery power was lost by these short circuits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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