Non-starter.

[jjsnowy]

Iv skimmed the previous posts on here,i just wanted some confirmation to add to my original thoughts.
Car* has been garaged over the winter,and turned over every few days.
Last week,all ignition lights on,as usual,key turned,click from what i think is the starter motor,but didnt fire. I was on my own,couldnt get anyone to stand over the engine to listen.
I charged the battery,which while it did take a big charge,i dont think the batt was flat.
No change however.
It has always been a very lazy starter,but always fires on the first turn. I have been informed while working on the car,by a mechanic friend of mine,this may be caused by missing brushes on the s motor.
Forgive the query,the answer always sounds very simple to everyone else on the forum,i am still learning.

Any advice on my next step is,as always,very appreciated.

*Car. S1 Elise.k-series standard apart from the customary Hurricane induction. Original starter motor and battery.78k

[Shug]

Quite possible the battery has just died and now won't hold cranking current. They do that, even if started up every now and again as you really need to run it with some revs for 10 mins or so, not idle it for a minute or two, to get the battery to charge properly. Try a battery off something else (wire jump leads terminal to terminal with another car's battery) and try to start it.

That's the first thing to try.

[Rich H]

What he said.

If it's been flat a few times they don't hold charge very well
It will show 12V under no load but under starting load it'll drop to 8v or less if it's goosed
One of the Esprit's battery died after being flat twice...

[jjsnowy]

Thanks,will try that tomorow.

[robin]

You need to check the battery voltage at the battery whilst cranking. If it stays at 12V even when the key is turned to crank, but the engine isn't turning over, then something is duff in the wiring, relays or starter. If the voltage at the battery is collapsing as soon as you turn the key then the battery itself is either still flat or goosed. You can make some progress with a second battery and some jump leads. If you can, attach the negative jump lead to the gearbox or engine block directly. You can attach the positive lead directly to the back of the starter but this requires some finesse. If you cannot be sure you know what you're doing then you'll have to make do with attaching to the positive battery terminal. Make sure you don't short the jump lead to the chassis!

Cheers,
Robin

[campbell]

Forgive the query,the answer always sounds very simple to everyone else on the forum,i am still learning.

No need for anxiety on that front, many are in the same boat. Well Elise.



I got my advice from Jedi Master Robini early, because UJI's has now been changed twice (now at 95k miles total)...if the battery goes fully flat at all, it's bad news for it, and he also frowned on my trickle charger (there is some fisics that says these actually damage batteries long term as well).

So the way to do it with a car that's laid up for a while is to disconnect the negative terminal from the battery. (These lead acid things like to sit with full charge and no trickle drain over the long term.) So simple that even I can do it. Indeed I have done a couple of times this winter now already (although the weather has been better than expected so UJI's been out for a dusting off a few times, which is the best medicine in my view!!).