Tired BAttery or worn out starter motor

I have just come back from getting my battery tested at the local garage here in France.
I bought a new battery about three years ago and when its cold the battery just about manages to turn the engine over first thing. Afterwards it works fine. Luckily my 200tdi is a very good starter and normally starts on the first turn. The alternator is fine, he said the battery was so so. But he said the starter motor uses a lot of juice from the battery. He said it should normally require 175 and mine was pulling 380. I'm not sure what the measurements were in as my Technical French is not that good. I don't know if he was talking amps or kw. He suggested I change the starter motor. as if I fit a new battery I will have the same problems soon. Are there any electrical minded experts out there that can make head or tail of the above. Do I need a new starter motor or a new battery.

Did he do a drop test on the battery??

DEFENDER90-DAZ said:

Did he do a drop test on the battery??

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Sorry don't know what a drop test is. He connected some sort of meter tester. He used two types.One was a large one about the size of a battery charger which had two gages on it.The other was a hand held one. Hope that might help?

I'd fit a new battery to start with, if it's tired it needs doing anyway, regardless of the condition of the starter motor.

Try and get one with as many cold cranking amps as possible (cca).

It also wouldn't hurt to remove, clean and refit all major earthing points; the main one is from battery to transmission, with another from the engine to the chassis/body. Check the security of cables on the battery terminals too.

See how that affects it first

If your starter is pulling 380A It's knackered, it should pull 150/175A in normal conditions.
The only other possibility is that the starter is struggling to turn a tight engine but pretty sure you'll find it's the starter.

stchris356 said:

If your starter is pulling 380A It's knackered, it should pull 150/175A in normal conditions.
The only other possibility is that the starter is struggling to turn a tight engine but pretty sure you'll find it's the starter.

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Thanks, that is what I was wanting to hear, A second opinion on the power consumption. The engine is not tight. Once it starts it seems fine for the rest of the day. it only seems to struggle to turn the engine over when it has been left standing for a couple of days.
If I remember correctly the starter was changed about six years ago. Anyway they are not big bucks to buy and fairly quick to change so I have ordered one. I think I will also go for a new battery as it can get cold here in the winter and I don't want any niggling worries in the back of my mind each tiime I need to use the Defender.

mikescuba said:

Thanks, that is what I was wanting to hear, A second opinion on the power consumption. The engine is not tight. Once it starts it seems fine for the rest of the day. it only seems to struggle to turn the engine over when it has been left standing for a couple of days.
If I remember correctly the starter was changed about six years ago. Anyway they are not big bucks to buy and fairly quick to change so I have ordered one. I think I will also go for a new battery as it can get cold here in the winter and I don't want any niggling worries in the back of my mind each tiime I need to use the Defender.

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Replacing the battery is probably a good idea to if it's getting hit with 380A it won't help it!

mikescuba said:

...He said it should normally require 175 and mine was pulling 380. I'm not sure what the measurements were in as my Technical French is not that good. I don't know if he was talking amps or kw...

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It won't be Kw, it will be Amps.

Most Landy starters are between 2 and 3Kw.

3000w /12v = 250 Amps. That gives you an idea of what the most powerful starter will draw.

Your 200tdi is probably a 2.2Kw (2200w) so 2200/12 = 183Amps - the battery if it's poor may sit at 11v so 200 amps but on a good battery sitting at 13v fully charged it could be as low as 169 amps.

So he was pretty accurate with his guess for the Landys current draw, 380 would suggest a flat battery but it would need to be as low as 5.8v for it to need that high a currant, so I would be thinking knackered starter but I would get a volt meter across the battery and try starting it, if the battery drops to 5/6V then it could conceivably be the battery.

New starter motor and new battery fitted. That should see me through the winter.

mikescuba said:

New starter motor and new battery fitted. That should see me through the winter.

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So its starting much easier now then?

mikescuba said:

New starter motor and new battery fitted. That should see me through the winter.

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Spoke too soon. Rear Diff broke this afternoon.