australian lada niva forum

My Niva has a few quirky start habits,
To start when cold, choke, a few accel pumps turn the key and bang shes away! But I only get one shot at this, if it stalls thats it, it behaves like it has a flat battery plus the tacho needle sways eratically from 0 to full!!!!
When hot the engine turns very very very slow for what seems like one turn then bang shes away but if it stalls thats it.
Not very confidence inspiring.
The battery is good and I still have these issues with an external power source connected

I am pulling the head off soon for a shave and valve seals and I am sceptical of leaving the starter how it is.
What does everyone think?
Bob

Sure sounds strange...
My niva has some weird habits too, but not as bad as yours.
When I turn the ignition off, I need to quick crank about 3 times before I leave the car. Else she wont crank later, and I will need to fiddle with the starter solenoid wire before it'll do.

It could be just a simple ignition/electrical problem, check all the simpler items first, like the coil, distributor, HT leads, spark plugs, before you take on major jobs....Else you might end up spending a whole lot on the major stuff only to realise the problem still persists...

My leads,dist cap,plugs etc are all good, I am thinking the starter a bit more now because today I put an external power source on with 12 volts and 50 amps!!
The starter spun faster and for a long time without slowing and even sounded better, same start sequence needed but no problem every time.
I seem to remember starter bushes when worn require more power to work properly.

After not running for a week (just parked)the battery was buggered, flat as, up until now I hadn't had it still for that length of time and a new battery as fixed my problem.
The old one couldn't keep starting amps up for longer than 2 secs, even with full charge.
happy now

so all that and it was just the batt problem?

Yeah, My other/old battery tested fine over and over, but if I leave it for a few days the battery still held most of its charge but had no cranking power.
new one dosen't have these problems obviously.
But I will still be keeping an eye one the starter, any problems and overhaul time!!

30 or 40 starts and half a dozen cold mornings and all seems OK.
So I guess its not time to overhaul the starter

glad you got it sorted mate

hmmm just read this. sounds very much like what happens with my lada atm. although she ALWAYS starts my battery checks ok also. Maybe it is time for a new battery. hmmmm

bobbyd wrote:My Niva has a few quirky start habits,
To start when cold, choke, a few accel pumps turn the key and bang shes away! But I only get one shot at this, if it stalls thats it, it behaves like it has a flat battery plus the tacho needle sways eratically from 0 to full!!!!
When hot the engine turns very very very slow for what seems like one turn then bang shes away but if it stalls thats it.
Not very confidence inspiring.
The battery is good and I still have these issues with an external power source connected

I am pulling the head off soon for a shave and valve seals and I am sceptical of leaving the starter how it is.
What does everyone think?
Bob

The problem isnt the battery. This is only a temporary fix. The problem is the starter motor. They get tired and put the battery under more Cold Crank load which can eventually ruin your new battery even giving it internal cell problems if left for too long. Replace or refurbish the starter.

Hmm, ok who has overhauled/replaced they starter? and what were the symptoms that made it happen? kms? age? etc etc

Just had mine reconditioned recently. Bushes were worn out, cracks appearing in the solenoid casing, pinion washer rusted...etc. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what might be the actual cause, but the reservicing parts are not expensive. For my case, the contact at the solenoid seems to be poor, at times I had to fiddle with the wire just so that it will crank again. So I replaced the solenoid as well.

How was the starter after the refurb Chua? This topic caught my eye because of the same anomoly I experienced with a 626 Mazda. After reviewing all the comments about the experience and how each responded to the problem I was surprised. I reacted in the very same way trying to findthe problem. I began the process of elimination (fortunately I had reserve starters to do this with) Finally the problem came to an end when I decided to just purchase a starter for the 626 from the same electrician who refurbed my alternator. Problem solvered! Continual cold starts, no battery drain, continual hot engine starts time after time etc, etc. Starter was only $120 and now I have peace of mind. Brand; OEX Enduro.

Will be putting my reconditioned starter back in this weekend. Hope it doesnt rain (been waiting for a dry weekend). Will keep you updated

Opps, What I meant was, what triggered you to overhaul the starter not what caused the problem,
What made you decide that an overhaul was needed?