• The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
  • Hey there Guest!
    If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this UGLY banner)
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A help! again! please! starter motor

2billydavies

Senior Member
Offline
Hi everyone... me again.
Completely hooked everything up.... ready to start. but, slight problem: starter motor won't engage.
I don't think it's the actual motor... it worked perfectly before the engine rebuild. It would be a pretty big coincidence that it happened to break while out of the car.

Couple things I've noticed: I hear a loud clicking noise coming from the "thing" that the starter motor is plugged into. It's the thing just below the voltage regulator... sorry, no clue what its called.
All wires are tight... battery is good, plus I have a battery jumper as well. no worries there.

I have the ground cable connected at the right motor mount and then bolted to the back of the timing chain cover. Is this correct? I think it is... this is where it was before i took the engine out and apart for the rebuild.

I also noticed that the coil is getting red hot... and I mean, i can't keep my hand on it. I don't ever remember this happening before. Which brings me to another question: I have a small wire, bolted onto the "plus" + outlet on top of the coil that goes to the top of the distributor. I also have a wire that bolts onto the minus - spot on top of the coil that appears to go into the wiring harness (no clue where). Is this correct? I think it is.... i just want to make sure.

So.... anyone have any guesses as to why this won't kick the starter motor over? i'm up for anything. after 4 hours of checking all over the place... i'm lost.

thanks everyone! i'm almost there.... it wouldn't have been complete without an electrical issue.
 
Country flag
Online
Lets try this and rule out the soleniod first. Does your soleniod have the rubber cap on the opposite side of the cable connections. If so, with car out of gear, push in on the rubber cap. Hopefully the starter will engage. If so then the electrical coil inside the soleniod is bad. If it doesn't do anything, still with car out of gear. Take a flat blade screwdriver and put it between both connection points of the soleniod where the cables connect.. You will have some sparks but if the starter doesn't engage then, the soleniod is bad.
marv
 

Geo Hahn

Yoda
Country flag
Offline
...slight problem: starter motor won't engage...

Are you saying it spins but does not engage? Or do you just get a click from the solenoid and nothing from the starter itself?

If your car is still positive ground then what you describe at the coil sounds right -- distributor (contact breaker or CB) lead from the positive post to the distributor (would have originally been white/black) and harness lead (would have originally been white) to the negative (switch or SW) post on the coil.

But... the coil should not get 'red hot' if all you are doing is trying to crank the engine so something sounds amiss. I would disconnect one of the wires on the coil for now while you work through the tests that Marv has described. The coil issue is something separate so work one thing at a time.
 

TR3driver

Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
What coil do you have? Most cars (that take that style of coil) require a 1.5 ohm coil; but the TR3 requires a 3.0 ohm coil. If you accidentally got a 1.5 ohm, it will be dissipating about 4 times as much power as designed, which will indeed get it very hot.

Your coil wiring sounds OK, but there is really no way to get it so wrong that the coil will overheat like that. The wire from the '+' terminal should go through an insulator on the side of the distributor, where it eventually gets connected to ground by the points. The wire from the '-' terminal runs through the wiring harness to the top of the fuse block, then to the ignition switch on the dash.

Oh, in case it's not clear, that thing below the voltage regulator, with thick cables going to the starter and to the battery, is called a "solenoid". Essentially just another word for "relay", what it does is allow a relatively small current through the starter pushbutton (about 1 amp) to control the much larger current that the starter motor requires (as much as 700 amps depending on conditions).

The solenoid should give one loud click per button press (although the noise is usually covered up by the noise from the starter). If it chatters (clicks rapidly), that is a fairly sure sign that either the battery is weak, or there is a bad connection somewhere. The starter draws a LOT of current, so all the connections must be perfect. Frequently (in my experience), jumper cables will not carry enough current to run a TR3 starter, so the battery has to be good. (Although you can certainly charge the battery with a jump.)

I think Marv mis-typed. If jumpering across the solenoid terminals doesn't engage the starter, then most likely the solenoid is not the problem. However, I have to add that I don't recommend this particular test for a neophyte. If you don't get the motion of the screwdriver just right, it can arc or weld to the solenoid studs, causing damage to both. The studs are copper and kind of fragile; and we're talking more current here than most arc welders use. A better, if somewhat harder, test is to connect an unpowered 12v test lamp, or DC voltmeter across the solenoid studs; then either push the rubber button on the solenoid, or have someone push the dash button for you. If the light doesn't go out, or the voltmeter go to zero, then the solenoid isn't working.
 
OP
2billydavies

2billydavies

Senior Member
Offline
you guys are awesome! so I did what you said Marvin. Turned the key on, put it out of gear, and pushed that rubber button in. Nothing happened. Then I did it while pushing the starter button... and I don't know what happened, but it kicked the starter on and it engaged. So I stopped what I was doing... then just tried to start it as normal and it fired right up. Maybe it was just giving me some attitude for not running it in 6 months. lol... I don't know... but it works perfectly now.

I cannot believe it fired up as quickly as it did. Under 4 seconds from pushing the start button. I was expecting, after installing pistons/sleeves, etc for it to give me some attitude but she fired right up and sounds awesome.

thanks guys!
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
curdy TR2/3/3A TR3 No Start...Again. Help? Triumph 62
drooartz I'm a Spridgeteer again [or, Lordy help me, here I go again] Spridgets 26
B 79 Midget door panel and handle woes....help!! [again!] Spridgets 3
drooartz Back to work: help again with my leak/noise Spridgets 18
S I need help again Triumph 10
T No luck- AGAIN! Help! Triumph 17
R6MGS Starter Help ASAP!.....Here we go again.... MG 20
KVH TR4/4A TR4 A and Need Help Again Triumph 6
B TR4/4A Some Help with Setting Distributor Triumph 47
N Wanted Help with car identification Other British Classifieds 2
I MGB Help! What is this part for? MG 13
P Please help identify this tourer Spotted 13
angelfj1 TR5/TR250 TR250 Need Help identifying wires (2 - black) feeding starting solenoid Triumph 6
C MGB More Weber help needed MG 27
V 96 Chimera help needed TVR 1
V Help with identifying morris eight Other British Cars 12
J MGB help, turn signals do not work MG 3
J MGB HELP, my horn does not work! MG 8
I MGB Alternator help MG 0
S TR2/3/3A TR2 door help! Triumph 2
A TR2/3/3A VERY wobbly TR3 - help needed!!!! Triumph 53
P General Tech Positive Earth?? Very confused. A little help? Triumph 19
Texas TR3 TR2/3/3A Convertible top webbing installation help? Triumph 5
apbos The next rabbit hole. Help ID the chassis. Racing 26
R Help With Spridget Speedometers Spridgets 4
apbos Help Identify this car chassis Racing 20
tr6web TR6 Sputtering help Triumph 6
R TR6 Help: Brake Part Source or …. ? Triumph 1
B Help for Old Men Restoration & Tools 15
Basil Admn Note Our neighbors need emergency help Triumph 0
Basil Our neighbors need emergency help Spridgets 0
Basil Admin Note Our neighbors need emergency help MG 0
Basil Emergency help requested for our neighbors Austin Healey 0
B TR6 Help with color and color code / paint recommendation Triumph 4
JohnGone MGB Help getting my 1980 MGB to pass CA smog test MG 19
K TR6 Need help with Mimosa Yellow Paint Triumph 1
Bayless Help please installing bonnet release cable Spridgets 8
T TR2/3/3A Help - Cooling system problem Triumph 7
D TR6 Help with tr6 engine diagnosis Triumph 11
H Wanted MK2 - Please, help needed Jaguar Classifieds 60
D Spitfire 1980 California Spitfire, Help Figuring What To Do With It? Triumph 15
I Bugeye oil leak help Spridgets 4
A TR6 Carburetor help Triumph 5
Darwin GT6 Diff Help Please Triumph 2
J TR2/3/3A Need help with a value for this TR3 please Triumph 6
M Need help removing the pinion assembly from a late 1275 steering rack Spridgets 7
V VAUXHALL Astra diesel 1.7cdti loss of power 2012. HELP. Other British Cars 1
jehuie Help...replaced my alternator and now my water pump is leaking. Spridgets 16
algot1901 HELP with wheel bearings Other British Cars 1
K TR2/3/3A The guide bolts to help gearbox install? Triumph 19

Similar threads

Top