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Starter problems?

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J

J. Christian

Senior Member
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I went to start my 1979 XJ6 today, and it would barely turn over (I mean barely). It hasn't run in a while, but I had a fresh battery, and the guage in the dash was reading good. Does this mean I need a new starter? If so, are they hard to get to, or could I do this myself? Any help greatly appreciated.
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I would first assure that the battery has a good charge. If you have a digital voltmeter check the battery voltage -- should be almost 13V on a fully charged battery. If you have a charger, throw that on there for however long it takes to reach a full charge.
 
Your problem sounds familiar.. my 1986 XJ6 did this a few times. Try hooking up some jumper cables for 5 or 10 minutes, then turn the key. Since you got a turn or two from the starter I would assume that it is a low battery... probably just low enough to be deceptive. The XJ's take quite a bit of juice and drain the batteries fairly quickly when they haven't been run in a while. Good luck.

Brian
 
The battery voltage checked out, and I even tried to jump-start it with my truck. The starter will barely spin (in fact, it only did anything the first time I tried- now I'm getting nothing), but I can tell there is a draw. Now what? If it is the starter, has anyone tried the gear reduction starters? What do you think?
 
If your car has the original Lucas Starter (large and heavy)it might be the brushes in the motor. I would look for corrosion on the cables where they connect to the solenoid on top of the starter.

If you have the later smaller starter installed as a replacement, Focus on the connections.

Make sure the woven wire ground cable from the bottom of the Aluminum part of the oil pan is connected tightly on both ends and free of corosion.

On the upper rear right side of the engine bay, under a cover is the starter relay. Check the connections for corrosion and clean as needed.

The original Big Lucas starter had a problem with its size placing it too close to the exhaust. There should be a hard fiber heat shield in place to ptotect the end of the starter where the brushes are.

I have not tried a gear reduction starter, but suspect it is a good alternative if you do find the motor can't be repaired for reasonable cost.
 
The gear reduction starter is a great piece of work and well worth the money. It draws far less amperage and allows the HEI ignition to be more effective during starting. You might check all of your connections to your starter motor including the ground strap to the engine block. Good luck, Jack
 
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