Bork bork bork

". ." (xllx) 11/04/2015 at 06:48 • Filed to: shoebox, blue torpedo

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So yeah, the Fiat is broken again. This time it’s the starter motor. I wanted to drive it to uni yesterday, went to start it and it cranked but didn’t quite start. When I wanted to try a second time it’d just click and not even try to spin. I tried rolling the car around slightly in 4th gear to see if that helps, but it didn’t. Damn.

pip bip - choose Corrour > . . 11/04/2015 at 06:55

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part will be cheap though yes?

jkm7680 > . . 11/04/2015 at 07:19

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I command you to remove those hubcaps.

Flavien Vidal > . . 11/04/2015 at 07:42

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The way you describe it, it sounds like your battery is dead... not your starter motor.

Try playing with your battery connections, just in case it’s due to corrosion on the battery terminals, if not, just pull out your battery and charge it or take cable and jump start it with a friend’s car. Pretty sure your starter motor is fine. How long have you not driven it before this happened? If more than 4/5 days, then I would definitly say: battery is low.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > . . 11/04/2015 at 07:53

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Dude, if it is the starter or battery, you could push start it until the end of time single-handedly. One time I parked and left my lights on while talking to a coworker I was delivering to the ferry and when I realized my car was dead he was so freaked out. I was like, “I have AAA, don’t stress it”, then after he left I just pushed it up the steep hill enough to point down it, hopped in, and had it going within about 15 feet. I could just open the door, get it going a bit with one leg, and it’d start right up...

This car is so small and light that it should take even less effort to start.

CalzoneGolem > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/04/2015 at 07:58

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And not very large.

yitznewton > . . 11/04/2015 at 08:05

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Ah, memories of my Mk1 Jetta, which I roll-started for the last couple months of its life.

Worked great until I stalled it at the base of a hill... had it towed it back up, and on we go.

. . > Flavien Vidal 11/04/2015 at 08:08

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Nah, it’s not the battery. All the other electrics work fine and the warning lights don’t turn off when I try to start it. I’ve not driven it for a week before trying yesterday, but I keep the battery disconnected while the car is not in use and charge it up every couple of months. Also, the battery is less than a year old at this point.

Also, another thing pointing towards the starter is the fact that it cranked on first try. I could feel the engine starting to fire, so I released the key and it didn’t quite get going. After that it wouldn’t do anything other than click.

. . > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/04/2015 at 08:12

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Well, we put in a new starter when we were restoring the car, so hopefully it’s still under warranty. They go for around 40 bucks from a proper store.

. . > jkm7680 11/04/2015 at 08:17

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I’m going for the original look so I prefer to have them on.

. . > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 11/04/2015 at 08:20

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Yeah, it’s very easy to push start, but I still kinda want to have a functional starter. :P

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 11/04/2015 at 08:50

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My dad once drove around a gas Rover with a mostly-dead battery for like a week starting it with the hand crank. Way more civilized than push starts... maybe.

Sam > . . 11/04/2015 at 09:42

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My Porsche did that exact same thing when the battery died. So it would be worth checking out.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > . . 11/04/2015 at 10:37

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What Flavien described and what you’re describing is very similar to when the battery in my car died - it had just enough juice to run car electrics like dash lights, clocks, headlamps, etc. but everything would lose power when I attempted to start the car.

When the starter in my car went, it was completely different - turning the key didn’t even result in a clicking noise that you described. Sometimes I got lucky and after 20-30 turns of the key it would spring to life, but in most cases it wouldn’t even make the clicking noise (which it did when my battery was near-dead).

Keep in mind, this was with a battery that was basically a year old as well, and because they had a guarantee, I was able to swap the battery with a new one. Even year-old batteries can fail, as unlikely as it can be. I’m hoping it’s the battery, anyway, since it's gotta be a lot cheaper than sourcing and installing a starter for this car.

. . > Sam 11/04/2015 at 11:06

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Fair enough. I’ll check it tomorrow.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 11/04/2015 at 12:18

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Could also be a failed starter solenoid too...? The starter may be fine, but if the solenoid is bad, it can also cause the clicking?

Should be a cheap fix though! :)

. . > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/04/2015 at 12:45

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It was never going to be expensive, it’s just annoying, getting the starter out and stuff. :P

. . > Sam 11/05/2015 at 10:38

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Turned out it’s the starter after all. The battery is fine.

. . > gin-san - shitpost specialist 11/05/2015 at 10:40

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I checked the battery today, and it’s fine. Turns out it’s the starter after all, which is fine by me since the starter can probably be fixed; and even if I need a new one they go for about 40 bucks new.

Sam > . . 11/05/2015 at 11:01

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Sweet. Easy swap?

. . > Sam 11/05/2015 at 11:20

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Reasonably. I’ll need to get underneeath the car though.

It’s a bit tight in there, but not too horribly so.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > . . 11/05/2015 at 11:46

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I imagine it won’t be easy! At least the 126 looks like there is a decent amount of room to get to parts when necessary...but the starter would be harder. :/

Good luck! If I lived there, I’d come help for fun, haha! :P

gin-san - shitpost specialist > . . 11/05/2015 at 15:15

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Ah well that's good, looks a little tight from your other post but should be doable.