Clicky clicky no starty

   

Working on paint prep on the Sami… so she’s all apart again… getting closer but we have a new behaviour. Now she doesn’t want to run. Turn the key and we get a rapid fire click click then sometimes silence. 

Quick Google suggested ignition switch. So I hunted around and found a new one from India that came with the car. 


Quick fiddle and it’s in. And we get clicky clicky no start again… what’s going on then? I can trace it out with time but I could do with an instant answer if anyone knows where to look! 

is battery down on power
do these have starter selenoid if yes have you tried shorting the terminals ignition on
stuck starter motor give it a rock in gear or tap it with hammer  

The "rapid fire" click is usually a dead or discharged battery, there's enough juice to pull the starter solenoid in, but when the solenoid contacts close and the load of the starter hits it, the voltage drops and the solenoid drops out disconnecting the starter, without the load of the starter the battery recovers, the solenoid pulls in again, drops out again, and the cycle repeats.

It looks like it may have been lying unused for some time, charge the battery first and if that doesn't fix it, you'll most likely need to replace it.

There's a slim chance of it being loose or dirty battery connections so clean & tighten those also.

  As ever it was the obvious answer. I’ve been doing electrics for days and the battery was flat…. Have switched the ignition switch back and put petrol in it. Works much better now! 

 

The mystery thickens! I’ve been chasing this issue about a while now. Sometimes it’s fine. Sometimes it clicks. Sometimes it just sends the whole car dead. No power anywhere. 

Then after a period of time in seconds to mins she’ll just light up again…. 

So I’ve changed out the ignition switch to a new one. I’ve taken the starter out and bench tested it. All good. 

I’ve tried tickling the starter in the car with power to the start connection. Nothing. No clicks, no pops. Not a sausage.

I think the starter or solenoid are the problem. But I don’t see why. I guess it could be the wrong unit? Are there different models? I guess the solenoid only works in some positions? 

Any sage advice before I spring £70 on a new starter?
 

Sounds more like a bad connection , I’d clean and wire brush /emery cloth the battery terminals and the leads to the earth point and the starter ,

I agree. When it does it's clicky clicky act, hold the starter on for a few seconds then turn off the ignition and feel around the connections on the heavy battery cables (both power and ground). If one is warm or hot, that's your problem. Do you have a nice solid earth strap between the engine and the body shell?

I’ve pulled and cleaned all connections. I’m stumped by it at the moment. I’ve ordered in a new starter that I can return. 
I’ll also look into an exorcism 

Get a meter.

Negative meter probe to the battery negative post, positive meter probe to the battery positive post, what's the voltage with everything off? What's the voltage with the key turned to the start position.

Now put the meter positive on the starter power connection (the heavy cable from the battery), what's the voltage there with everything off and with the key turned to the start position?

Now put the meter positive on the starter control terminal (the small spade lug), what's the voltage there with the key turned to the start position?

Agree, do the measuring. And if all is good with the voltages, the new starter should fix it.

The magnetic coil in the starter solenoid could be weak so it does not give enough pressure on the contacts.

www.zukioffroad.com/tech/suzuki-samurai-...-relay-modification/
There is also this I have heard of in the US on forums and such, but cannot remember having had this problem come up here in norway with any friends or myself.

From memory (and it’s not consistent both the car and the memory!)
The switch circuit shows 12.5 volts on key turn.

The main battery voltage may drop to 2v or so for a period of maybe a minute before it comes back.
I think it this is accompanied by the tick of a relay but I’m not sure where that is. 

Sometimes it’s just dead. Nothing happens. No voltage drop. 

If it has dropped then rocking the car and or swearing at it may cause it to come back. Quite disconcerting when the lights are on as a tell. 

I’ve used two different batteries so it’s not that, and two different ignition switches. 
Using a Hotwire to the start connection on the solenoid doesn’t always work either. I’ve even tried bridging the solenoid to the starter with a screwdriver. No dice. 
But the starter and solenoid works on the bench and  when they work in the car makes no odd noises so I think it’s the right starter for the ring gear. 

I’ve removed and cleaned the negatives cable and the positive. Including shortening the neg to new copper. Nothing gets noticeably warm and tapping the starter doesn’t seem to remediate the issue. 

 

If it is killing the battery (you mentioned sometimes the whole car goes dead) then one of two things is happening, either the battery is dead or something most likely the starter motor is drawing a massive current. What happens is under load the battery can’t supply the current, the terminal voltage drops and internal resistance rises. Once you take the load off the battery slowly recovers. If the load is within range then the battery is dead.

Dead battery - fully charge the battery and put a voltmeter on it, it should get to about 14v, if it goes over 15 or 16v it’s a sure sign it is dying.

Take it off charge and put a load on it, say the headlights, the voltage will settle back to between 12 - 13v. If after an hour the voltage is at or below 12v then the battery is dead.

Excessive current - starter motors can draw excessive current, usually if they have a fault or even if they haven’t been used for a while and have become damp. Unfortunately the massive current usually damages something in the starter motor. Sometimes you can stop it doing it by turning the motor by hand to a different position, but a new motor will tell you if the old one has had it.

My guess would be it’s a combination of the two an old battery and a starter motor that sticks or draws excessive current.