Hello

2011 4.4TDV8

I was suffering with an intermittent click when pressing the start button for a while. I assumed it was the usual dirty contacts in the starter solenoid so bought a used starter, stripped it down and cleaned the contacts (they were quite clean anyway) and put it back together for fitting at another time.

I suspect I have a bit of a battery drain as sometimes after 3 or 4 days the car would not start.

Fast forward to one day, I did a 130 mile trip one evening, tried to start it the following morning and it wouldn't start, just a click.
Used one of those portable jump pack things and it fired up. Then I did a 30 mile journey, parked up and left it all day. Went to start it around 12h later and it wouldn't go, after a few attempts the battery (1 year old) was showing 10.5v.
Jump started it off another vehicle and drove home.

The car has not started since. Just a click when I press the button.

I took the 1 year old battery back to Halfords where I purchased it from. The girl there clipped her small tester onto it and said it is showing as a good battery. Deep down I knew that it wasn't because after each time I tried to start it the battery would show a low voltage like 10.5 or 11.
Anyway, I took her word for it and went home and swapped my original starter with the used one that I had taken apart and cleaned up. Charged the battery. At this point I also ran another wire from the engine bay fuse box to the starter solenoid trigger.
No difference - still just a click, and after a start attempt a low battery.
This time I took the battery to a local auto accessories shop and they tested it with a load tester and told me it failed.
So I took the battery back to a different branch of Halfords and they plugged the same tester the first branch used but agreed it was faulty and exchanged the battery for a new one.
I took it home, charged it up and fitted it to the car.
Still just a click.
Now I bench tested my original starter and the cog popped out and spun quickly, there didn't seem anything wrong with it.
So I removed the used starter I fitted to the car and bench tested that. This one spun at around half the speed of my original and made the jump leads I was using to short the terminals very hot very quickly. So I figured it was faulty, whether that was because it was supplied to me that way or I messed something up when disassembling and reassembling it. (Should have bench tested before fitting.. hindsight)
So now I order a brand new starter, charge the battery and fit the new starter. Still no start - just a click.

I have tried shorting the solenoid trigger direct to the battery and can hear the cog going out but not spinning.

I have connected a jump lead to the battery negative post and the other end to the engine.

I have swapped R6 and one of the other relays round in the engine bay fuse box. I have checked all fuses in the engine bay fuse box are intact.

I don't seem to have 12v at the main post on the starter that the fat positive cable is connected to. I checked all the fuses at the battery junction box and they are all intact. I connected a short thick cable to the main post on the starter so that I could connect a jump lead direct to positive battery post (not enough space to put jump lead straight on the starter post) and measured 12v at the jump lead connection. Tried again, still just a click.

Anything else I should try?

I have also tried using another vehicle to try to jump start it.

Thanks

James

The only thing I can suggest is that both battery cables are 100% tight on the battery.
I tap the connectors down onto the posts before tightening.

If it was an early L322 I would think the starter switch was faulty, the later cars have a different setup but it still maybe the switch....  Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click here for Project Fatty off roader-

As in the start button?

kevinp wrote:

The only thing I can suggest is that both battery cables are 100% tight on the battery.
I tap the connectors down onto the posts before tightening.

Gave it another go with the jump lead connected to main post on starter and it fired, the connection must not have been good enough the first time!
Going to check the mega fuse on the positive terminal again tomorrow.

James23 wrote:

As in the start button?

Yep, also check the engine earth strap...  Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click here for Project Fatty off roader-