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MG MGA - Starter Woes

I rebuilt my starter in January. It had failed several times, but I was always able to rock the car in gear and it would start afterwards. A couple of times I used the crank handle, and the engine turned over immediately. After the newly-rebuilt starter was installed, it made a harsher, thrashier noise than before but it worked OK.

Today when I pulled the starter knob nothing happened. Rocked the car, still nothing. Tried the crank handle -- nothing! Tried it again, and again, after about seven cranks finally the engine turned over but the idle was really low (choke needed?).

Question: is the crank-handle method supposed to start immediately or is it normal to crank several times? Also why does my starter keep dying, any ideas?
Jim Paul

Hi Jim. You may not have a "starter" problem at all. You could have a battery that is dying, bad battery terminal connections, battery terminal corrosion, bad starter switch, or dirty connections at the starter switch. Any of these items can cause a slow or no cranking situation! If you recently rebuilt the starter motor, and did the job properly, your problem is likely not with the starter motor, but with one of the other possibilities I mentioned. Good luck! Glenn
Glenn

Hi Jim. I had a similar problem which turned out to not be the starter at all. I had broken/worn teeth on the flywheel, which depending on how they were lined up with the starter would cause the problem. Hopefully the cause of your problem is more along the lines of Glenn's observations. Gook luck. Tony
TW Wardzinski

Considering that "rocking" solved the starter problem before...I'd be inclined to look at the flywheel teeth and the starter. You'll probably need to remove the starter and inspect. Does the pinion gear spin out/in easily? If there's excessive play in the shaft...replace the front and rear bushings. You can get binding if there's too much play. Installing brushes is a small part of the rebuild, so I'm just mentioning this for you to confirm. Cheers
Jon Bachelor

This thread was discussed on 07/05/2005

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.