911Jetta

Picked a nice place to breakdown...

Coming back from a field trip with my son's class, we stopped in a small town along the way to have some lunch. Solo time with my 8 year old son. We cruised through town and ended up parking across the street from a garage specializing in classic car sales. That turned out to be a smart parking spot...

We took a quick peek inside and then went shopping. When we came back to the car, it wouldn't start. It made a clanking noise and the starter stopped. After that it wouldn't turn over at all. The starter had given me a couple warning messages in the previous weeks...ignored at my own peril. I went across the street to see if I could get a jump. Battery tested strong, but the car wouldn't turn at all. We pushed the car down the street and it almost caught, but I erred by letting the clutch out first. After testing spare relays, a quick Rennlist search, and talking to my tech. on the phone, we pushed the car again...this time staring in second! Boom, engine on.

Drove it home and parked it backwards in the garage. Sometime this next week I'll roll-start it down the driveway and drive it to the shop. After a quick RL search I've determined it's too much of a hassle for me to replace the starter on my own.

The Stig

Lady Luck was smiling on you. I'm contemplating pulling out my starter as well but you may have prompted me to send it to my tech instead.

Glad you got it running and made it home. An adventure for your son, no doubt.

Andy Roe

Hi Udo,

I'm glad you got it going to get you home! You car is looking sharp as always!

Hope all is well with you and the family,

Andy

Laker

Sorry to hear your starter crapped out, but good to know you and your son weren't stranded. Facing downhill is always a safe parking spot

Vandit

What were the warning signs of the soon to be failed starter?

Andy Roe

The warning signs I got were that sometimes the starter motor just span without the solenoid engaging the flywheel. Other symptoms are that you just get a "click" where the starter motor fails to turn at all.

Quadcammer

If you have stuck brushes, you can also try tapping the starter with a small hammer.

911Jetta

I don't mind replacing major systems on my car every once in a while. You have to expect that things will need to be replaced on a 20+ year old car. Though the cost may sting at the time I usually feel satisfied that the part won't have to be replaced for another 10 years....

So I'm a little pissed that a year and a half later I'm experiencing the same starter problem.

Over the past couple of weeks the dreaded...hard start situation has returned.
Everything feels good as you twist the ignition key, starter motor sounds good..then silence, and some clanging noises with a thud... see video.

(sorry for the poor quality. The first video was much nicer, but the car started right up after having sat overnight. This is the second start)


I didn't want to attempt this the first time and I plan on having my tech. do the work this time also. I'll see what he says, but shouldn't the starter last a lot longer?

Like 964 Plugs, is there a brand of starter that is much better than another?

Silvertarga

I was certain my starter was bad, it was doing same thing yours is, replaced it and it worked once..I then checked the lead from the ignition switch and found that it had finally given up...it was that lead and not the starter after all and as ever you want to check the ground cable from starter..

KaiB

Yep...you know to go through all leads - and for sure your ground.

Having pulled my tranny twice last summer, I'm with you. Without a lift I would not do the starter myself, on my back, in the dark, when it's cold and the tool you need is a shimmy, then crawl backwards, bump your head, get out from underneath, stand up, walk over and then realize it was beneath your head the whole time. FARKIT.

911Jetta

Thanks Targa, that's definitely worth checking! I shouldn't give ups quite so easily, it's not the Rennlist way.

I'll get my "964 Enthusiasts Companion" manual out and do a couple RL searches to see if I can find the ground cables...I'm really not good at that kind of thing!

Rocket Rob

Jetta - The ground cable is attached at the base of the starter and goes up to the bottom of the car. Its a large diameter cable. See the cable outlined below. The reason I have a picture is that I had installed my engine and have a part left over. It took me a week before I realized what it was.

911Jetta

^^^^^
Big thanks Rob (as usual!)
In a quick search I saw that you too have had this problem also.
The picture helps...I'll be under the car tonight.

fuch

Yep Lady Luck was with you!!
Glad you got home ok & I've got a feeling my earth strap is not even there as i changed the orange heater tubes the other day & I'm sure it was not there... I like pictures.......ta rocket

ZG862

Hi Jetta.

I too had a dead starter and convinced myself it was something way more complex. I bit the bullet and removed the starter as per Workshop Manual. The lead from the solenoid to motor was corroded through - so no current, no spinny starter, no start. Replacement set of brushes was cheap and gave me the opportunity to strip down, re-grease and re-build the started. Span like a lost spinny thing on the bench so I reinstalled, only to find it then didn't work. Figured the problem was the earth lead so turned the bolt to extract it from the chassis only to break the bolt. Drilled it out (NO FUN AT ALL) and re-threaded and normal service is now resumed.

All in all, it's fiddly rather than difficult and I advise you to follow the workshop manual. This means driveshafts off at the gearbox, clutch slave out (to gain access to the top nut securing the starter) and some creative combinations of spanners and sockets release the starter itself. DO NOT forget to disconnect the battery earth before you start.
Removing the earth cable and applying some coppaslip can be done with the starter in situ, though the RH driveshaft will make this awkward.

Good luck.

Z