> I had my TR4 out of the basement this weekend and running quite
> well. I am
> having a problem with the starter now I think. It turns the car over fine
> when cold, but immediately after shutdown (once temperature is
> reached), it
> will not turn the car over. I can wait half an hour or so for things to
> cool down a little, and it will turn it over.
Kurtis, can you tell us a bit more about what happens when it won't crank ?
Does the starter make any kind of noise ? Does the engine turn at all ? If
you have the lights on at the same time, do they dim ?
> Is this a common problem with TR4's? I've never really had the problem
> before with the car, and it does seem to be a heat related
> problem, since it
> will crank once it cools down a bit.
No, "hot solenoid" is not a common problem. The solenoid is mounted well
away from sources of heat (unlike most cars that have it mounted on the
starter next to the exhaust).
I'd check things like wear in the starter bushes (allowing the armature to
drag on the pole pieces) and a centrifugal advance that is loose not
returning to full retard when the engine is shut off.
> BTW, the re-built engine has about 1,000 miles on it, so it's still fairly
> tight.
Also double-check the ground strap from the engine to the frame, it
sometimes gets overlooked when installing an engine. If you painted the
engine bay at the same time, make sure there is bare metal where the battery
ground strap bolts to the body. If you're not worried about strict
originality, running a new ground strap from the battery directly to the
engine is not a bad idea at all.
Randall
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