TC2 Restauration Project - A complete beginner's experience

    • Neu
    Zitat von Zanzibar

    After charging it was 12.9 on the multimeter.

    miguel

    Good point and helpful hints there ...
    The quote above makes me hope he has got a multimeter by now. Remote diagnostics are always a difficult thing and especially your proposal regarding the voltage drop on the starter's main power cable is very valuable.


    Zanzibar
    The voltage drop would show us at a glance whether the cables and ground connections are healthy!

    In the past I've frequently seen excessive voltage drop due to dirty, corroded cables / cable clamps or ground connections (bad connections sometimes get extremely hot when cranking the engine), worn out starter motor brushes and some more issues.
    At least the ignition switch and starter solenoid seem to be ok because the engine starts cranking instantly when turning the key ...

    • Neu

    Went in today, double checked all the connections. The screw in the starter where the thinner cable from battery + goes is a bit wobbly. First start - some loud whirring noise and no turning over.


    I set it again and screw it in better, second start. Cranks nicely for a second or two - multimeter goes to around 11.3 while cranking. All of a sudden BOOM and smoke everywhere with a familiar smell. Didn’t try cranking after that, just evacuated.

    • Neu

    Ooops ... :confused

    Did you see where the smoke came from (e.g. cable, starter motor, car battery, ...) or what may have been blocked / cracked / whatever ??

    Can you turn the engine by hand with a 19mm on the crankshaft pulley (only in standard, clockwise direction!) ?

    • Neu

    I was standing above the engine bay as it happened and the whole room got Full of smoke in a second, there really wasnt a specific place where the smoke came from or so it seemed. No visible damage whatsoever anywhere. The engine turns normally with the 19mm key on a pulley.


    The smell was familiar though, so I think it might be the starter as I had the same smoke and smell when my company vivaro starter failed.

    • Neu

    The best approach now is imho to completely remove the starter from the engine and examine all cables for melted isolation, burnt surfaces, and so on ...

    The starter should then be tested thoroughly with the help of the multimeter and a pair of jump start cables.


    What confuses me massively: What has caused the "BOOM" you described? Could you maybe try to desribe it a bit more fully? Was the engine stopped when "BOOM" occured? Was it a misfire?

    • Neu

    As im moving on monday i arranged a truck to get the car tomorrow morning and move her to the new home.


    I was cleaning up and putting the interior back together and decided to give her another crank while the garage landlord was with me.


    She cranked nicely and made two smaller booms, which both went out of the exhaust as he saw two big puffs of smoke.


    It went crank crank crank Boom crank crank Boom. I didn’t want to keep cranking but you get the message, might not be the starter after all.

    • Neu
    Zitat von Zanzibar

    ... might not be the starter after all.

    Good news ... obviously no damaged starter / cables ... great! But please please inspect the whole system very thoroughly once again for any issues because numerous threats may be caused by defective electrical components (fire, etc.).


    If everything ist ok next step will be adjustment of ignition timing, best by using a timing light.

    Also you should check the #1 TDC position and the firing order (clockwise 1-3-4-2) once more.

    (I am pretty convinced the ignition timing is actually a tad too late and / or the engine is running (or trying to run  :rolleyes ) a bit too rich ... But only change one variable at a time ... otherwise you will never know what exactly finally did the trick ...


    Good luck with moving house and with your car ... :thumbsup

    • Neu

    Easy to believe '/ understand ... Now she is living in the garage ... like my cars in mine ...

    Let us know when vacations get a little boring ...


    250€ for 400 kilometres? THAT was a real bargain !! Cogratulations ...