cant start your smiley in the morning? please read solution

[syncro]

Hi all, I could go into detail, but in a nutshell, from experience....check your heavy duty cables to starter are good and well connected ...boring but cheapest, but then, and then, most importantly, get rid of the awful mk 5 starter and replace with the large body mk4 starter, recon less than 70 on ebay. All mk5s are ancient now, and the puny mk 5 unit is hopeless after the vehicle is over ten yrs old. Also as a bonus, you can actually hear the commercial heritage of the big starter as it turns the engine so much more efficiently with less strain on the battery....Dave

[Aardvark]

If that's a straight swap, without cutting, drilling, or altering the cables it has to be the way to go. Mine's never that eager to start in winter and I've done all the checks & suggestions mentioned on the forum. I never realised there was such a difference in size between the two. Thanks for the photo!

[vanfox]

IMO the biggest failure to start is caused by a dying battery and poor cables. Both my vans have the small starter, the W reg one looks like it's the original, both turn over quick enough to start in the cold. Both have newish Bosch S5 silver plus batteries. And new semi-synthetic engine oil.......

I had a large starter fail on a previous van, the brushes were worn out and the comm was ..... rough. My local electrical engineer refurbed the big motor, new brushes and a skim, for £30 (cash). Problem solved. This applies to any starter. If the brushes and comm are bad you're up against it straight away.
We all have a spare starter,....don't we?

Also, I think the worst thing you can do is keep turning the starter and flattening the battery if it's obvious it ain't gonna start. On the previous van with the big starter a tin of devils' breath was always on hand to be squirted straight into the open butterfly. The merest half second squirt was enough and not needed once I had a new battery and refurbed starter.

Then you have any mechanical problems.............Please add.

[FredTransit]

The first time I was offered one of them tiny starters I pushed it back over the counter saying I didn't have a Fiesta! Noooo they said these are new and high geared and meant for the DI. It lasted 3 months. The next one only two. After that I insisted on a 10 Pounder big starter. The ickle ones just aren't up to the job.

[Jim Archer]

The wee ones are fine as long as you don't try and crank for long periods with a poor electical supply, they spin the motor faster, which is ideal for the DI, but to give good cranking speed and have the grunt to spin the motor over at a suitable speed they must have good leads and battery.

Mine is miles better for recently soldering the terminals to the leads - so much so that I've had to reduce the idle speed due to the load the poor alternator lead connection was putting on things.

Jim

[BUNGAL]

Must agree, I have two mk4 s which start on the button, and a swb mk5, which had never started well, I have replaced battery, and leads, a new small stater which was better but would still take 10 turns to start,
Bought a secondhand older/ larger one from tim a few weeks back, and it's a different van, starts on the third crank, no smoke from u burn fuel, all I had to do was in large the positive thermal a little and replace the eye type terminal for a spade,
The 15 mins work I have ever dun

[F111ORY]

Hi, I have been banging on about battery leads on this forum ( last winter) and a tractor forum. People replace batteries and starters but ignore cheaper to replace leads!

I have brought a crimper to do lead ends and have thought of manufacturing Transit leads to sell here and Ebay!

[davew2]

Mines the real big one fitted to mk3 and mk2 diesels

[Kedishen]

Totally agree with the above... don't forget the earth connections too

[All4n]

Another vote for the big starter.

My mk5 pick up had the small starter, looked out of place if i'm honest, could tell had been replaced with recon in the past also. It was still a bad starter in the cold even with brand new good quality big battery, new battery terminals, cut away any corroded cable, cleaned up all connections etc, oil change/service. Made improvements but still struggled.

My most recent mk5 a SWB has the big starter, since the day i got it (bar that little issue with the timing belt jumping a few teeth of course!) it's been a spectacular first time starter on any morning. A few mates who have had old transits have always said the big starter is the one to go for, it has defiantly proven its self to me anyway.

[Mr RVM]

Not doubting anyones experiences or suggesting that the "big starter motor" ISN'T better than the later "smaller" one but I've never had a staring problem with any of the 6 small ones ive got (and one of them I know for sure is the original factory fit and its nearly 15 years old ) I never had a twin battery set up in any of my transits either
I do agree that (like everything) they can eventually at some point get tired and renewal may be necessary and buying a reconditioned/exchange unit may not be the best option as replacing a few of the smaller (cheaper) bits inside might give it a new lease of life but the main parts (Field coils etc) will still be "tired" so it might not perform for long (as Fred was unlucky enough to find out TWICE ) The "Mechanical" properties of the materials change with Age/use/heat/corrosion and so the conductivity is affected
On a well serviced engine where everything else that can affect starting is in (near) tip top condition the length of time the starter motor is operating is reduced and therefore "longevity" is increased
I'll report back when my 15 year old little one eventually lets me down (but don't hold your breath)

[davew2]

To be fair the only problem with my little starter was one of the brushes had stuck but i personally don't like all that gearing ma lacy in em

[Keef]

On a well serviced engine where everything else that can affect starting is in (near) tip top condition the length of time the starter motor is operating is reduced

I completely agree, I'd make sure the timing and valve clearances are spot on before even looking at the electrics, and getting them right is free.

[andypdq]

Most of you who have problems starting probably have retarded pump timing, I don't care whether the timing pins go in, lots of pump drive hubs aren't set correctly, if you check pump plunger lift with a DTI.

[madbri]

Most of you who have problems starting probably have retarded pump timing, I don't care whether the timing pins go in, lots of pump drive hubs aren't set correctly, if you check pump plunger lift with a DTI.

if you check pump plunger lift with a DTI ? got any links to buy 1 ? i cant find 1 for love or money