• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

What makes the solinoid click when car warmed up?

Share this page

gubba

gubba

Senior Member
Offline
Hi fellas..need some advice here..1962 TR3b..the dreaded solinoid click in a gas station or anywhere else for that matter. When the engine is at operating temp. and you turn the car off..try to restart and you get "CLICK"...what causes this..anyone know? I have cleaned all the terminals and made sure everything is tight...even replaced the solinoid awhile ago..do you think I need to replace it again? P.S. I might get two or three clicks before starting and sometimes the dreaded push start. TIA
 
Check your ground strap.
 
The click itself is normal, you just don't usually hear it over the racket the starter motor makes. Your symptoms could be caused by anything that makes the motor not run sometimes, including a fault with the motor itself, or even a bad ground to the engine block.

Since you've obviously spent some time on this already, my suggestion would be to connect a voltmeter directly to the stud on the starter (and to the starter housing or engine block). Make the connection permanent enough that you can drive that way, and bring it out so the voltmeter is visible from the driver's seat. I have a 15' length of "lamp cord" with big alligator clips at one end and sockets suitable for my meter leads at the other, which I use for problems like this. Then when the problem happens, you can check the voltmeter without disturbing anything under the hood (or burning yourself on the manifold) to see if juice is getting to the motor. If so, you know the motor is bad. If not, you know the problem is outside.

PS, I once had a similar problem caused by a defective battery (on a non-Triumph). It would test "OK" or "needs charged" using the parts store test, but there was a broken conductor inside the case that would sometimes open up enough to not pass enough current to run the starter. A new battery solved the problem.
 
rlich8 said:
Check your ground strap.
Click to expand...

+1. Be sure it's a substantial strap between the engine block and the chassis, with clean connections both ends.
 
Back
Top