Been meaning to post, got his sorted out in the end & now running ok.
Will add some detail when I get the chance but it was down to the mechanic!
Went out on Sunday, now Twinspark BCR won't start
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stivesvelo
- Posts: 70
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- Location: CAMBS
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stivesvelo
- Posts: 70
- Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:45 pm
- Location: CAMBS
- Contact:
I should know better being old and grey, not to fix things in poor light when tired!
After trying various things being suggested I decided to be systematic.
Looked at all connections, cleaned earths etc. all ok.
Messed around with coils, all ok.
Thought the battery must be on the way out so carried out the recommended voltage tests, ok.
Fuel & pump pressure, ok.
Injectors ok.
In the end stuck jump leads direct from a thumping great heavy duty battery in my lumpy diesel estate to the terminals on the starter motor which struggled to move.
Conclusion, the shorting out of the loose plate had damaged the armature & starter was b******d!
Ordered starter motor (+ replacement armature & brushes worth a try!)
Dismantled starter, found the brush springs fried & saggy, turns out they weren't 2 'springs' but a single spring which disappeared into the bakelite cover & reappeared on the other side for the next brush...
Seems that dismantling in poorly lit garage, when tired I missed small insulators, called 'spacers' in the manual (which had disappeared.... never to be seen again) creating a direct short between the brushes.
So,
reassemble with new armature, bl**** spring clip is too fat, so use old armature (doing this on garden table), putting new spring on & .......ping.....spring into orbit & nowhere to be seen!!!
go to garage & spend a happy hour searching through nice boxes of 'useful' bits to find a spring clip, eventually go back to house & as I'm going in through back door I see the old spring clip caught in the curtain, must have shot 10 feet through the open door & hidden there!
this time decide to assemble on the dining table to prevent any more 'escapes'
lever back very strong new spring & place new insulator over end of brush, slowly release spring onto brush & insulator cockles at funny angle, so gently pull back spring... relocate insulator & spring flies out...Poinngg.....argghh...insulator has now evaporated!!
....3 days later improvise new insulator...goes in nicely....just slip in the other one......oh no not again....poooiiiinnnnggg...into the ether....how can two of these disappear like that (now weeks later I still haven't found them or the ones which disappeared in the garage, that's 4 of them escaped now, where do they go??)
ok...make another insulator (now have material to make another)....this time it doesn't escape... I was ready for it!!
Guess what.......starter motor is ok after all & I didn't need a new one....,
But...there is an upside, I've learned a lot.... I'm wiser now... & will try to .. ,make sure there's plenty of light.... look carefully at what I'm doing.... stop & think....remember to pack it in when I'm tired & not rush in.... .unless I really need to.......I also have a spare starter and armature, also the old brushes were hardly worn & so was the starter after 18k miles, so there's plenty of life left in it......the same starter is also used in a large range of cars (different bendix ends)
Next thing I'm looking at is...............nah I'm having an early night!
After trying various things being suggested I decided to be systematic.
Looked at all connections, cleaned earths etc. all ok.
Messed around with coils, all ok.
Thought the battery must be on the way out so carried out the recommended voltage tests, ok.
Fuel & pump pressure, ok.
Injectors ok.
In the end stuck jump leads direct from a thumping great heavy duty battery in my lumpy diesel estate to the terminals on the starter motor which struggled to move.
Conclusion, the shorting out of the loose plate had damaged the armature & starter was b******d!
Ordered starter motor (+ replacement armature & brushes worth a try!)
Dismantled starter, found the brush springs fried & saggy, turns out they weren't 2 'springs' but a single spring which disappeared into the bakelite cover & reappeared on the other side for the next brush...
Seems that dismantling in poorly lit garage, when tired I missed small insulators, called 'spacers' in the manual (which had disappeared.... never to be seen again) creating a direct short between the brushes.
So,
reassemble with new armature, bl**** spring clip is too fat, so use old armature (doing this on garden table), putting new spring on & .......ping.....spring into orbit & nowhere to be seen!!!
go to garage & spend a happy hour searching through nice boxes of 'useful' bits to find a spring clip, eventually go back to house & as I'm going in through back door I see the old spring clip caught in the curtain, must have shot 10 feet through the open door & hidden there!
this time decide to assemble on the dining table to prevent any more 'escapes'
lever back very strong new spring & place new insulator over end of brush, slowly release spring onto brush & insulator cockles at funny angle, so gently pull back spring... relocate insulator & spring flies out...Poinngg.....argghh...insulator has now evaporated!!
....3 days later improvise new insulator...goes in nicely....just slip in the other one......oh no not again....poooiiiinnnnggg...into the ether....how can two of these disappear like that (now weeks later I still haven't found them or the ones which disappeared in the garage, that's 4 of them escaped now, where do they go??)
ok...make another insulator (now have material to make another)....this time it doesn't escape... I was ready for it!!
Guess what.......starter motor is ok after all & I didn't need a new one....,
But...there is an upside, I've learned a lot.... I'm wiser now... & will try to .. ,make sure there's plenty of light.... look carefully at what I'm doing.... stop & think....remember to pack it in when I'm tired & not rush in.... .unless I really need to.......I also have a spare starter and armature, also the old brushes were hardly worn & so was the starter after 18k miles, so there's plenty of life left in it......the same starter is also used in a large range of cars (different bendix ends)
Next thing I'm looking at is...............nah I'm having an early night!