DEAD STARTER MOTOR?

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Hello and happy new year everyone.

Last night on my return from new year's eve celebrations the car refused to crank.
Typical, right?

The car has been utterly reliable for the last years, but the starter has been making a slightly rougher sound recently so I suspect it has given up.

Given the location of the starter motor, are there any checks to be done prior to getting to getting a tow?

I mean checking fuses or relays or anything else in particular?

Car has strong battery and everything else appears to work apart from the starter motor.
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,512
I assume its an auto so you can’t bump start it ?

The onlymother thing Inhave done with faulty starters is “Tap“ them with a long handled screw driver.

Sorry not to have been more helpful - hope you get sorted.
 

philw696

Member
Messages
25,119
If you could get to the starter motor and give it a gentle tap you might get her going short term.
If she's a manual put her in a gear and give her a gentle rock which might also encourage her.
 

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,180
...you can also try and "bump" the starter by either finding a good tooth, or repeatedly bumping the ignition...recognizing that once it's going, you cannot cut it back off until you are where you are supposed to be. Still have the shakes over the time a Coastie buddy of mine and I nearly got stranded in Kentucky on the tail end of a weekend leave, facing certain doom if I was unable to get the car started...Sunday night, middle of nowhere, full tank of gas (@CatmanV2 ); a half pack of cigarettes...it was dark, and we were wearing sunglasses...
 

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
Update

It is indeed the starter motor, i bump started the car and it works perfectly.

The starter works when hot but cuts out when cold, so I will be replacing the starter over the weekend.
Not a pleasent job on a Ghibli.
 

fphil

Member
Messages
301
I assume you have checked, cleaned and tightened the connections to the battery terminals
 

alpa

Member
Messages
169
I don't know if that was still the case on Ghibli but on older biturbo you could easily test the starter: close to the +12v of the battery there was a white wire going alone with the thick +12v cable connected to the starter. The white wire was connecting the starter's relay to the starter. There was a 1 pin connector on this white wire, you could open it and put on the 12v of the battery to test the starter.
 

DLax69

Member
Messages
4,180
I don't know if that was still the case on Ghibli but on older biturbo you could easily test the starter: close to the +12v of the battery there was a white wire going alone with the thick +12v cable connected to the starter. The white wire was connecting the starter's relay to the starter. There was a 1 pin connector on this white wire, you could open it and put on the 12v of the battery to test the starter.
Kinda like when my grandfather used to check a socket each time a bulb went out by sticking his thumb into it...
 

dt95aac

Member
Messages
116
I don't know if that was still the case on Ghibli but on older biturbo you could easily test the starter: close to the +12v of the battery there was a white wire going alone with the thick +12v cable connected to the starter. The white wire was connecting the starter's relay to the starter. There was a 1 pin connector on this white wire, you could open it and put on the 12v of the battery to test the starter.

This is still possible on the Ghibli, however my starter is officially dead :)