Hiya guys, tried to fire up the engine this afternoon and found that the starter motor seemed to struggle turning over the car.
I've checked and charged the battery (tis a brand new one) and thats fine. Checked the earth points and their fine.

The only thing I can think of at the moment is that the started came off my old 1300 xflow and I've fitted it to my new 1700 xflow. taking into account the higher compression which is what I think is slowing down the starter.

What starters are recommended for a 1700 xlfow setup? I belive mine is the pre-engaged starter as it doesn't have the solenoid on the top.

Cheers for any help
Chris

No solenoid on top = inertia starter

Anyway either type should be fine. Most likely causes in my experience are:

Forgot to reconnect the engine earth.
Make sure you've got a good engine-to-chassis earthing strap and all electrical connections are tight.

Forgot to do up the battery terminals: clean and tighten them.

Too much ignition advance:
Check and adjust the static ignition timing. Too much advance definitely gives exactly those sluggish starter symptoms.

Edit: or the starter motor needs an overhaul.

regards
Dave

[Edited on 1/7/05 by Dave Ashurst]

Try removing the plugs and turning the engine over. If its been stood a while, it might just need loosening up.

Disconnect the LT lead at the coil, if the engine turns over faster then the ignition timing may well be too far advanced. If the engine does not turn over faster it may well be "tight" due to the rebuild , poor connections or faulty starter. Beg , borrow or steal a clip on type ammeter ,place over main battery lead and take reading when cranking. A high reading is likely to be a faulty starter . Used to be cheaper to replace than repair.

Cheers guys. Think pretty much all those suggestions could be the cause. Rebuilt engine, shinny paint and don't think I tightened up the battery terminals. Not too sure on the timing advance though, as I tried the engine first with the coil disconnected to get a bit of fuel and oil flowing and it still ran slow. Knowing my luck the starters kaput.

Cheers
Chris

As said above - make sure that you've got REALLY good connections to clean metal, using a thick braided strap for the engine earth.

If your starter does turn out to be knackered, you can get an exchange replacement from your local Partco - I paid around £30 for mine.

David

Just because your battery is new doesnt mean its not faulty,you really need to do a drop test.(watch the voltage when engaging the starter)

spark plugs out is always a good test, cos then theres no compression. Then its easy to see if its a weak motor or just poor connections!