Andre The Giant

Started the beast after the winter hibernation period of Ottawa, Ontario and it made a noise on startup that has startled me. As I turned the key it made a strange noise, not like it was trying to start over, it's hard to describe, but after turning the key to the off position and trying again all was fine. It has done that twice so far, am I looking at possibly having to replace the starter ? Is there any test I can do to see if the starter is ok or not ?

Mrmerlin

Turn the engine over by hand does it seem to have compression?
No... then you better pull the timing covers.
Yes... then keep reading,
charge the battery ,
make sure the connections are clean,
then put the key into the ignition and turn it to the crank position.
Does the engine crank over?

Andre The Giant

I have not checked the compression by hand, but the car started on the second try, would that not say compression is fine ? The battery was on the battery charger/tender all winter, I will test the battery voltage tonight wit the tester and also I will try turning the crank to see about compression. i will also check the connection to the battery and the post connector under the hood, thank you.

Andre The Giant

I have found this in the forums:
The Multi-Meter May Be Your Best Friend When Tracking Down Electrical Problems

Here's a cool site that describes the basics in using a multi-meter:

http://www.doctronics.co.uk/meter.htm

I know how to use volt meter in general, but to test grounding points on the 928, is this how I should proceed:

Negative connector on ground point and positive on post connector under the hood ?
What type of voltage can I expect, is there a voltage which rings a bell that something is wrong, if I get 0 volts then there is a problem. Is it as basic as that ?

JBGold07

Sticking starter solenoid?

Mrmerlin

FWIW the battery tender is not a replacement for a battery charger .
you should charge the battery every few months with a 2 to 6 amp charger

Andre The Giant

This is what I use:

Andre The Giant

I don't know, how can I check ? There was no clicking noise like a dead or bad battery would do, just a loud noise.

Mrmerlin

it may just need to be put back into service,
these cars seem to run better when they are driven often

Andre The Giant

Thank you. And I suspect it's the same thing, it did not like sitting all winter ! lol

JBGold07

I was thinking maybe your starter hadn't quite engaged the flywheel. Those wires are super low and maybe worth a deoxit cleaning before going into hibernation again. Like you figure though, more use, less stiffness in the joints.
Hope to awaken my beast next week.
All the best

Andre The Giant

Yes my beast was awaken, but I have a little bit of work to do on it before getting out on the road like: oil change, replace radiator hoses and thermostat, heater control valve, check the flexplate (because I forgot last year) and possibly try to raise the shocks because I bottom out to many times with our great roads here in Quebec ! While it's up on jack stands I will have a look at the connections for the starter, thanks.