Car Starter

Nope.

Sounds like a sticky starter solenoid that only shows up it's warm.

Strip out starter, remove solenoid, clean plunger, reassemble.

Presume it's an older car (or French)?

I really wouldn't have thought so.

I would expect any cylinder pressure sufficient to cause cranking issues to dissipate within seconds, or at least the crankshaft would end in some position of cylinder pressure equilibrium.

Is it an auto?

I presume if manual you have tried out of gear, clutch up and down options?

Fredxxx wrote in news:m818om$1kp$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Either battery terminal corrosion or starter solenoid/motor. Have known earth connection to chassis/engine block to be a problem.

Hybrid with auto? There are differing models.

Should have read the "clunk - nothing" which as Scott suggests is more likely a starter issue. Either brushes, as in my case recently, or something associated with the solenoid or solenoid contacts.

Check silly things like the wiring before anything more drastic!

I'd go for starter motor brushes on the blink.

The clunk shows the solenoid is working, so its in the final circuit - solenoid contacts or brushes.

Screwdriver across the contact terminals should spin the starter if the brushes are ok.

No, it's an intermittent problem with the starting system. Could be anywhere from the ignition switch to the starter relay to the starter solenoid or the starter motor itself - or possibly with an earth wire somewhere.

Does it happen every time you try to re-start a hot engine, or only occasionally. Do the other electrics work normally when you have this problem. For example, are the headlights ok. Do they dim at all when you try to start the engine?

Not conclusive. A few ohms resistance in the main power starter motor cables or in the chassis bonding from the engine block will produce the same symptoms.

I'd check all the power connections, after trying to start a bit a poor one will be warm to hot. Try a jump start cable from engine block back to the battery chassis terminal to see if there is a possibilty of a poor engine/chassis connection.

That IS the final circuit dear.

DerbyBorn wrote

I had a Vauxhall with a Isuzu diesel engine. The ECU used to overheat and fail. A cup of water over it solved the problem, as a replacement part was getting on for £200.

The clunk is accompanied with the dash lights going off. I repeat that it always spins the engine over really fast when cold. It is only after an accidental stall that the problem shows. I must try to deliberately reproduce it.

high resistance battery terminal. 100% definite

wiggle it, remove it, grease it, replace it, and tighten it.

I repeat that it

If it's a poor connection to the battery, the dash warning lights etc will go out or dim more than usual when you operate the starter.

You had a bad battery which sometimes spins a cold engine over normally?

The trouble with advising people to grease battey terminals is that they get it between post and clamp which then acts as a nice insulator. More than one dodgy starting car I've fixed by giving the terminals a good grease. Anyway, do lead terminals corrode? Can't say I've come across it.

Presumably you mean clean.

Yes.

I have.

But a very likely one.

I've had that. Directly related to ambient temperature, above about 5 C no problems starting. Get down to 0 C and it was very iffy on turning the engine over. Ambient back above 5 C, no problems again.

Don't think this is the problem here though. Dash lights going out when trying to start is the classic indication of bad connection(s) in the heavy duty starter motor wiring.

No, its more specific than that. Its in general the positive terminal on the battery which feeds EVERY thing. high resistance anywhere else except the earth terminal wont cause the lamps to dim

I don't know if you fixed this yet, but there is a good (if quiet) car maintenance group at uk.rec.cars.maintenance .