200tdi starter solenoid clicking continuously

[potus]

Driving yesterday, stopped briefly and tried to restart only to get a continuous (rapid) clicking from the starter solenoid. No spinning of starter motor

Have removed starter motor (what a pain of a job) , stripped and cleaned the solenoid mechanism, tried out on the deck direct feeds from the battery and it worked fine. This was by connecting the starter body to -ve battery and +ve conn on starter to+ve battery termination, then connected across from pos terminal on starter to the starter solenoid and it spun up as normal

Cleaned the engine earth terminal/cable/conns.

I'm thinking the solenoid cable may be the problem, it's not that tight a fit on the spade terminal?? and presumably this wire goes back to a relay somewhere. Can anyone direct me to the relay or offer any suggestions it would be appreciated, thanks

 

[jamesmartin]

squeeze the terminal with some pliers , poor cables either earth or live wont be improved by cleaning connection points try some jump leads to connect engine or transmission to battery, it still might be a poor starter or solenoid that cant take load

 

[potus]

Thanks for the reply, have tightened up the white/red solenoid cable still no good. Think I'm heading down the starter motor route.

 

[lynall]

If you have done any off road work the starter will likely have mud/water in it, Ive killed 3 like this.
When fitting the starter back to the engine, get the trigger wire onto the solenoid before bolting it all up as it's a right ares for access.
Britpart starters work okay but are very cheaply made inside,
There is no relay its straight from the ign switch vie the fat white wire to the solenoid.
Extra battery to chassis and engine earths are well worth doing as the std set up is ****.

 

[potus]

There is no relay its straight from the ign switch vie the fat white wire to the solenoid.
Extra battery to chassis and engine earths are well worth doing as the std set up is ****.

Thanks for the info, will add another earth lead whilst I'm at it and see how things go - cheers Mike

 

[potus]

Replaced the starter and fitted a new earth lead to engine block.....still the same, continuous clicking of the starter solenoid.
On investigating, it seems there is a starter relay on my truck, (by fuses), replaced that thought it was fixed but seems not.

Have a perfectly serviceable 200tdi starter motor if anyone needs one

 

[potus]

A bit sad answering my own post but here goes anyway, it might be useful for anyone suffering similar issues...

The wiring diagram which seems to be for my truck shows the starting circuit to include the starter relay and a brake check relay. Both are located with the fuses. The problem I had was caused by a loose/intermittent/hanging connector to the brake master cylinder level switch........pushed the bugger back on tightly and no further problems. At least I now have a nice new starter motor ready for winter I guess.

 

[Brown]

Just goes to show it helps to check the cheap stuff before shelling out for expensive items. I have experienced that rapid clicking when the battery has been flat. Or rather not completely flat, but just on the cusp when it is still capable of doing something but doesn't have quite enough oomph to start the engine.

 

[Dragonwalker]

Just goes to show it helps to check the cheap stuff before shelling out for expensive items. I have experienced that rapid clicking when the battery has been flat. Or rather not completely flat, but just on the cusp when it is still capable of doing something but doesn't have quite enough oomph to start the engine.

That's been me today