iv got a volvo S40 year 1996 1.8l (manual) and had a little bit of a problem recently. i switched my car on and drove it to the local petrol pump, car turned on first time with no problems, once at the pertol pump, i turned my car off but the radio was playing for around 5 minutes.
went to switch my car on once filling up 'air in my tyres and the car wasnt starting. all of the lights in the the dashboard were lighting up as usual and when turning the ignition, there was a ticking sound but no effort of the enging rolling over.
now, i assumed that the battery was at fault and even tried push starting the car, but had no joy with this. i am right in thinking that if there was a bad battery, the car should start when push starting it.
i was just about to jumpstart the car, and thought id try starting it before i jumped it, and the car started as normal, with no struggle at all.
was a bit baffled by this, and was told that it could be the starter motor. am i right in thinking this? battery is in good condition. any way that i can test it to see if this is the problem? was also told that if it happends again, to get a batton and knock the starter motor a fewtimes, and it'l help bail me out and start the car. is this true?
any advice would be appreciated
thanks in advance,
Skiddy
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Sometimes the motors develop a bad spot or the pinion jams on the fly wheel these problems are caused through wear and tear and the fact that the engine always stops in the same place.In your case it sounds like a dead spot on the starter motor windings.But before you rush of and change the motor look for loose conections on the solenoid both on the control and power side.
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There was a concern on some cars(not necessarilly Volvos) with the immobilizer;if you were too quick turning the key after inserting it,it would not allow time for the immobiliser to de-activate;modern electronics have cured this.
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thanks for the help,
in relation to the starter motor problem, anybody know whether or not its possible to check the starter motor solenoid? i would check the starter motor by taking it out and attaching some jump leads to the battery and onto the motor to see if it spins, but, the problem doesnt happen all of the time.
any way i can check to see if the solemoid is the problem if i remove it?
all the help is appreciated,
thanks,
Skiddy
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"the fact that the engine always stops in the same place"
Does it?
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If your starter motor is a standard one like earlier Volvos' I am familiar with, then it might be worth removing it and cleaning the components.
I think the solenoid can usually be unbolted from the starter, and the mechanism cleaned and regreased. That would also let you check whether the pinion mechanism is free to slide properly.
It could just be that the whole thing would benefit from a good clean. I am not sure to what extent lubrication of the sliding mechanism is a good thing or not, but I usually feel that a little can do no harm.
Be careful undoing the main terminal nuts if they are the kind with integral washers. If they get rusty it takes a considerable torque to free them, and I have on two occasions wrenched the bolt out of the motor because the washer friction was so great.
Use WD 40 first and apply force very carefully.
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thanks for that, ill have to have a look at it and do a bit of cleaning as recommended, cant see it doing any harm!
cheers,
Skiddy
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>"the fact that the engine always stops in the same place"
>
>Does it?
A four cylinder engine always comes to rest/stops in one of two positions. Either with pistons 1&4 at TDC or pistons 2&3 at TDC.
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Why?
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Not at TDC, surely? That would be the point of maximum compression, so surely least likely for a slowing engine turning on inertia alone.
I'd have guessed about half way from BTC to TDC - at the point where the increasing compression balanced the last remaining bit of inertia in the flywheel. Then wouldn't it tend to bounce back say 1/8 turn?
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>"the fact that the engine always stops in the same place" > >Does it? A four cylinder engine always comes to rest/stops in one of two positions. Either with pistons 1&4 at TDC or pistons 2&3 at TDC.
Nope
Probably somewhere on the compresion stroke approachng TCD.
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