300tdi starting problem

Hi guys, my 300 disco has recently decided to start going wrong. The starter side of the immobiliser would not put power to the starter solenoid occasionally but a few minute wait would see normal activities resumed. Then it stopped putting power through at all, causing me to bypass it. All was well for a few weeks then no turning over again. power getting to the starter solenoid fine so my fix is still working. Sticking starter i thought, dragged it in gear for a yard or so with my winch, then tried starting and fine. The fuel solenoid side of the immobiliser then packed up..... now bypassed and working fine. It's now getting more and more common at not turning over, power to the starter solenoid fine, but I can smell the starter relay getting warm in the footwell. Had it towed with the tractor the other week to start it, ended up bump starting it as even after 10yards of towing it in gear it hadn't freed the started off enough to start itself.

Does this sound like a sticking starter? The fact that the starter relay gets hot leads me to think that it's something else?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

Have the bugger off I reckon and give it a good looking at , clean it up , see if runs up on jump leads .....it does sound as if its the starter motor itself thats the problem . Obviously the engine turns over freely or you wouldnt have been able to bump it so easily....I would have thought .....have you tried turning the engine over by hand on the crank endnut to see if it moves as freely as it should ?

shocker said:

Have the bugger off I reckon and give it a good looking at , clean it up , see if runs up on jump leads .....it does sound as if its the starter motor itself thats the problem . Obviously the engine turns over freely or you wouldnt have been able to bump it so easily....I would have thought .....have you tried turning the engine over by hand on the crank endnut to see if it moves as freely as it should ?

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It turns over fine with a socket on the crank and also by rocking the vehicle in gear. I've ordered a new starter motor but I'll take the old one off in the morning and check it over and keep it as a spare if there's any obvious fixable problems.

Quick update, stripped starter today. Motor runs fine powered straight from the battery. Solenoid operated everytime I asked it to (powered straight from the battery) the only think I found was that the solenoid had to put a lot of pressure on the brass pin to make the switch close. I've built the steel solenoid pin up with weld so it doesn't have to compress the spring as much in order to make contact. And up to now, working ok. Touch wood. New one should be here this afternoon too.