Hi Trev here,the car would start of every turn of the key but now it takes half an hour to 1 hour to start,hear a clicking noise under the bonnet,sounds like the solenoid,the battery is charged,sometimes turns over and starts,then i get no sound while turning the key and when ignition is of there is a click noise coming from the glove box or left side kick panel,now i have replaced the starter with another,now i still have the same problem,but when the new starter does work it sounds like its struggling to turn over,but it still takes ages to turn over,so i swapped the original one back over and the same happens,takes ages to turn over but when it does it turns over fast,so could the problem be a relay or some other problem other than a starter motor issue,any help would be great,cheers.

I had the same problem many years ago. Car would randomly refuse to start with the same symptoms you describe, comeback half hour later and suddenly it would start first try. Went through the same change the starter motor no difference crap.

Ended up being not enough voltage getting to starter motor or something like that. Mechanic friend ended up running some kind of bypass so the starter motor would get enough volts. Sorry thats a bit vauge but its was literally like 5-6 years ago.

thanks for that idea,cheers.

I know this almost a year ago, but Trev have you fixed this problem and what was the cure and cost?? Please help mine is doing the same now ...my ride is TS V6 Manual

i have a number 4cly i run a relay to the starter give them extra power it mite help you
plus you may need to check the brushes at the rear of the starter

Yup a wiring age thing really prevalent on autos. Just had to put a relay on mine to get better power to the starter solenoid.
Cleaned all the other connections both positive and negative in the engine bay and new battery terminals to no avail as well as renewing the starter motor brush plate as well ................so with no improvement popped in the relay.
Relays about 8 bucks and you just need some 20 amp wire which i used and some connectors. Placed mine on the firewall pretty close to the starter and got my power feed from the main battery wire at the starter connector to keep the runs short. The old wire to the solenoid reaches that far when you re/route it a little for the trigger for the relay.
Had no problems starting since. Goodluck vee
Ps i soldered all my crimp connectors as well to be sure.
Thats just me though i hate the crimps working loose like they can sometimes.

Hi guys,
I tried to start the car again using the ignition key but failed (heard some clicking sound). Then I started the car in gear (good old manuals) and drove it around, everything worked perfectly and came back home and tried the ignition key and it Started without any hesitation.
Now not sure what the problem is. But I still think there is something wrong and I am narrowing it down to the starter motor.

Also where is the relay for the starter motor located? I located the starter motor, it is attached to the gearbox and can be access only from the under-side of engine bay (center and below..it's a V6). And also I am not sure how to fix/replace the brushes but would greatly appreciate if anyone could provide some details of the process of working around the starter motor/brushes/relays .....

Or would it be better to buy a new starter motor (ebay) and replace it myself? If so, what else do I need to check and replace along with it?

Any help please?

PS: I would consider myself 5/10 in terms mechanical knowledge

Cheers

in case you dont know the auto and manual starters are different
if you have had oil dripping on it it may just need to be pulled apart and cleaned .
the limited time's i've work on v6 starters its been the brushes in the rear of the starter cost me $20 to replace
i set up a reley as vee posted

Relays about 8 bucks and you just need some 20 amp wire which i used and some connectors. Placed mine on the firewall pretty close to the starter and got my power feed from the main battery wire at the starter connector to keep the runs short. The old wire to the solenoid reaches that far when you re/route it a little for the trigger for the relay.

Hi magnaman,

Thanks for the quick reply....Yea the starter motor is very oily and yes, there are oil sweeps guessing the head gasket(s) need to be looked at very soon. I will try and pull the starter motor out and clean and check out for the brushes.

And correct if I am wrong, you have listed 2 options, right?

Option 1. Remove the oily starter motor, clean it and check for worn brushes, replace if necessary
and
Option 2. Run a relay using connectors.

I will try option 1.

Cheers,
Avinash

oil leak would must likely be rocker cover .
i tried to find a dismantle guide for the stater .
you can also down load the owners manual karj has in his sig http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/member.php?u=26497

Thanks heaps mate,
Downloaded this manual from Karj's site. Will try out option 1 in the morning.

Cheers,

Was not able to remove the Starter motor from the engine today. was a bit busy. but the annoying thing was/is that it starts sometimes and doesn't start sometimes.

Times when it does not start, it makes a whining sound when I turn the key, not clicking. So is it still the starter motor?
BTW there is an on-going intermediate problem, the Battery light and ABS light stay on when the car starts and disappears when driving on a smooth surface/rough surface/bumps/pot holes. But before it disappears there is a noise from the alternator side........but this never happened today though. Guessing it is an alternator/regulator issue, and feel that this is lead to the starter motor issues as well. And one more thing, the CD player did cut-out a couple of times recently and the TIME and radio preset were reset.

Looks like I should get ready for a big spend.

Cheers