Car didn't start this morning...starter?

Doug&Julie · 02-15-2006, 03:08 AM

We're supposed to have good weathe today, so I wanted to drive the ol' T into work this morning. I climbed in, turned the key, heard the fuel pump going, waited three seconds, pushed in the clutch, gave three pumps on the gas pedal, then turned the key to start and...nothing. Not a chug...not a click...nothing. Hmph.

Batteries seem to be good as the clock is still keeping time and, like I said, I heard the fuel pump. Lights go on.

Any thoughts? Dead starter?

Thanks.

wcc · 02-15-2006, 03:23 AM

Well I would check the battery first off. Try and jump it. If it starts, then it's your battery. I would have it load tested.

tshih · tshih's Garage

I'd assume your 72T is the car in question (as I would never pump the gas pedal in any FI later cars since it would screw up the mixture and cold start system). Cold weather often means battery must have enough CCA left after sitting for a while unrecharged. No sound I would suspect battery first or maybe the contacts at terminals. Like Bill said, jump it to rule out rest of system.

mjw · 02-15-2006, 05:45 PM

Starter Solenoid?

87coupe · 87coupe's Garage

Give the battery connections a jiggle, check grounding strap, etc.

kqw · 07:54 PM

How old is the battery....as tshih mentions CCA's could be the issue.

Also, as marty stated, the solenoid could also be the culprit.

After checking the obvious, cables, ground and battery..you may want to give the starter a quick whack with a mallet, then try to crank.

The same thing is happening to me every once in a while. I'm contemplating replacing my starter with a high torque or another Bosch.

Jeff Higgins · 02-15-2006, 07:42 PM

The quick rap with a mallet on the starter solenoid is actually called out in old VW service manuals. Those of us that play with old Bugs get pretty good at this. It actually works better if you can jack the car up and do it while some one is trying to start it. Stay well clear of (hopefully soon to be) moving parts.

No one has mentioned the ignition switch itself yet. The last failure like this I dealt with, on a friend's '72T, was the switch. If you have a spare switch, just the electrical part, you can unplug the multi-pin plug on the back of yours, plug it into the new one, and turn it (the new one) with a screwdriver. If it does turn out to be the switch, the two little screws holding it in are kind of a bear to get to...

jwetering · jwetering's Garage

My starter switch and starter motor both went bad this year. First the engine wouldn't stop when the switch was turned off, so I bought a new switch for aboutr $30 CDN IIRC. Then a few months later I got the ol' turn the key and no action whatsoever business. I had the starter rebuilt for $100 CDN. The guy who rebuilt my starter said it was probably the bad switch which caused the failure of the starter motor because the contacts were burned. The rebuilder installed a relay on the starter solenoid to prevent future problems.

I know this doesn't help directly, but it's meant to convey the fact that starter switches and motors do wear out over time....and yes a good whack with a hammer, or more correctly the handle of a hammer, did get my starter motor to work again, at least temporarily.

Doug&Julie · 02-16-2006, 03:11 AM

Thanks all. I'm going to start with the battery situation and go from there. It has been cold lately, and I've been doing some work with the front turn singals, which means I've been turning the lights on and off a bit over the past week (w/o starting the car). It's funny, because the lights, etc. do work, but when I turn the key it doesn't even try to start.

In the past few weeks, if it's been sitting, the car has been a little hessitant to turn the starter, but it eventually does and starts fairly easily. I was certain that was just the cold temps and lack of regular action causing that. So maybe there is something to this batter thing...

I'm fairly certain it's not the switch. I've had a bad one before, and this seems different for some reason.

I'll get to it eventually (we have cold weather again...ugh).

Thanks again!

cubby911T · cubby911T's Garage

Hey Doug - sorry to hear Foxy B won't crank.....in your turn signal work, have you been working up under the dash with wiring? If so, you may have inadvertently dislodged the little plug that goes into the firewall for the ignition wiring. This happened to me when I was yanking out an old security system that used to be in the car. I had to resplice the ignition wiring after removing the circa '85 security system, which required unplugging that plug - after I finished resplicing, I forgot to reconnect that plug and had the same symptoms you have now.