Hi!

A couple of years ago i bougt a Datsun 1200 Deluxe (1970-modell). It's been taken well care of, and passes the EU-controls with ease.
Now I've gotten into big problems with the starter engine (or so i think). If I try to start the engine, I only hear a click-sound. The lights in the dashboard lights up as normal, and the car runs if I start it by rolling downhill. And no, the battery is alright. I just installed a new one.

As you might understand by now, I'm not a mechanic, but I would be able to switch the starter engine if someone could verify that as the most likely problem, and if someone could advise me to which partnumber a suitable starter engine would have.

Can anyone please help me? And btw. I'm norwegian, so if any of the forum-members here have an address or phonenumber to a shop or something, I'd appreciate it.

thanx

well if you have ruled out the battery, the next thing to check would be the soloniod cap on the starter,
then check the wires and earth strap.

Give the starter a love tap before starting, sometimes that loosens up everything and it wil start again. If it starts after that then it is definatly the starter.

oh yeah, dont panic about not bieng a mechanic. Most of us here arnt. I, like heaps of others learnt thru pratice and trial and error.

By 'Love Tap' Reuby means give the starter motor a hit with a hammer or other solid object... Not a big wack like you want to break it, start of little and then try and start then a little harder each time it doesnt work... this trick can sometimes work for months or other times not at all...

Its the poor mans immobiliser my old 1200 sedan kept starting after a 'love tap' for a couple of months then let go.

yeah sounds like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Good way to see if its the problem. Wouldn't recommend driving around for months with a hammer or solid object in the car. Just to start it every time your not facing down a hill, replace it. and face it you may get another 38 years out of it. No offense intended to the previous replies. My experience and lack of time to stuff around says replace it less headaches. If it be the problem of course.

Hi giiforce,

This is a very common problem -- perhaps the most common. It even happened to my wife's 2006 car.
Quote:The difficulty in solving this problem is there are several causes -- all with the same symptoms.

1. Bad electrical connection at battery cables. This is the most common cause. Scrape both battery terminals and cable ends until shiny, coat with thin layer of grease

2. Bad electrical connection in ignition switch. The switch is behind the key cylinder.

3. Bad electrical connection in starter solenoid. Tapping the starter sometimes will 'fix' this for a minute

4. Bad starter: brushes worn out, usually, or corrosion/sludge inside starter


One test is to turn on the headlights, then attempt to start:
- If the headlights go out then come back on, likely the problem is a bad connection at the battery
- If the headlights dim very low, but still work, the battery or starter is bad
- If the headlights stay bright, it is probably a bad switch (solenoid or ignition switch)

I really like that test method you have there DD. That really makes sense, and is so simple. Ill add that to the memory bank for later use.

Oh yeah, I didnt mean to suggest that just giving it a 'love tap' is the solution. Replacing the starter is definatly the way to go. Its not like its hard on an A series. More of a get outa trouble card.

Okay guys, thanx for your replies:)

A talked to a friend of mine about it, and he said "Hey, i'll come along and help you get that starter off and we'll have a look at it. But you have to come pick me up, cause I've been drinking"

Well, so I did, and to make a long story short:
The starter is in mint condition, and I still have some years left in the brushes. Turned out that coal (or what that dusted powder building up in the starter is) had completely blocked any electrical contact between the brushes and the sylindric rotating thingy in the middle. I just brushed the dust of with very fine sandpaper and then cleaned it with som screenwiping-fluid.

Now my Datsun fires in less than a second on the key. It has never started so smooth before. I've already ordered an EU-control on this Monday, and I'm confident that the car will pass the test with ease. After all, during the last 4 years, I've been only two minor setbacks away from perfect score: I don't have the reflex triangle, and the wired conact for lights on attached hangers isn't securely tightened.

Errors so small, that I won't bother doing anything with them.

Must say that I'm looking forward to be using the car a lot more frequently, without the need of parking in downhill, and thereby leave my Eclipse in the garage for those "special occations"

Thanx all:) And btw: I'm still interested in details on where to get proper brushes, so I have reserves.