hi guys, 95 TS magna, 4cyl efi.

Car wouldnt start, so looked at the obvious. Lights came on, would crank sometimes, other times not.
Solution - called RAA (local call out mechanic). Pay my yearly fees, so its free, but anyways...

Guy tests voltage going to starter. 6v. Says to go get a solenoid fitted.

Does anyone have the best method / let me know how to wire one up so i can start my car and get 12v to the starter?

cheers.

Shouldnt need a solenoid.....Check ALL your connections to the starter motor. Should be a single piece of wire from + battery terminal of battery to + terminal of starter. check the ground is solid. There should be a reason why there is massive voltage drop. I've never had an issue with voltage drop on the 2 V6's I've owned. Find out where the resistance is and eliminate it!

this is a common occurrence on older cars
fit a relay to the starter, mount the relay in a close but discrete location and make up a loom using 4mm wire as follows

30: main battery cable
87: out to start wire
86: in from existing start wire
85: earth

this is a common occurrence on older cars
fit a relay to the starter, mount the relay in a close but discrete location and make up a loom using 4mm wire as follows

30: main battery cable
87: out to start wire
86: in from existing start wire
85: earth

6V at the starter is too weird for my liking. Could be a crappy connection or a main wire full of corrosion. I still say try and find the problem first.....starter circuit is not hard to work out...

true, if its an auto could be p/n switch, if it has an immobiliser then they cause volt drop, could even be ignition switch.... but if RAA is like RAC then one also has to question if bubbles the chimp could even read a multimeter properly

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I post this anyway not on my pc but hope it works. Your start motor has a power wire from the battery and uses a ground wire from the engine. If he measure will cranking motor then there is a high resistor join either on a the earth cable or postive cable to start motor. Now if he measure the voltage to the start motor the problem could be a problem with the selctor switch if your cars a automatic or if it a manual don't worry about the selector switch, it hasn't got one lol Like people said here check all cables going to the start motor for loose conection and damage wiring. Then if that fails wire up a solnoid up :)

true, if its an auto could be p/n switch, if it has an immobiliser then they cause volt drop, could even be ignition switch.... but if RAA is like RAC then one also has to question if bubbles the chimp could even read a multimeter properly

Its manual, has an immobiliser. I watched the guy hook it up and measure it and he had it sorted in less than 5 minutes from arrival. Checked the connections while he was there as well. TBH i dont have the money to throw at the car to get a sparky to go over the loom and fix what could be every connection. A simple fix is the best for me.

Says to go get a solenoid fitted.

RAA bloke is referring to the solenoid on the starter motor, not some additional relay like some posts refer to. (there is a difference!). Get another starter motor from the wreckers, and install it. Its the original starter on the car, at 220,000 km it probably is worn out. Get one for a manual TR or TS, the one off an auto is different.The battery, immobiliser and wiring are fine.

Might pay to check and clean the distributor plug and socket first as well.

RAA bloke is referring to the solenoid on the starter motor, not some additional relay like some posts refer to. (there is a difference!). Get another starter motor from the wreckers, and install it. Its the original starter on the car, at 220,000 km it probably is worn out. Get one for a manual TR or TS, the one off an auto is different.The battery, immobiliser and wiring are fine.

Might pay to check and clean the distributor plug and socket first as well.

I actually asked him this as well, and he said it wasnt. Starter worked fine and has since he got it started. He rigged up a wire to feed the starter 12v if the key fails again, but everything has been fine since then. Starts first time every time now.

Im not gunna argue with a guy who slapped the multi meter on the car and had it going in literally a couple of minutes. :D

Distributor plug has been fine since you fixed it Max :)

Power feed to the solenoid sounds like. That's not something I thought of. lol If it acts up again like that a relay as suggested in earlier posts would solve the problem. By the way, there is a spare sump plug and "O" ring somewhere in the car - coin box I think - if you ever need it. lol (Only because I forgot about it being there. lol)

Power feed to the solenoid sounds like. That's not something I thought of. lol If it acts up again like that a relay as suggested in earlier posts would solve the problem. By the way, there is a spare sump plug and "O" ring somewhere in the car - coin box I think - if you ever need it. lol (Only because I forgot about it being there. lol)

Thanks, found that :D

yep, definitely the power feed the guy said. The starter is fine just needs more juice.