set the multimeter to 12volts or higher. Then take the to wires from the multimeter, one will be negative - put this to ground 0volts, the other wire is for positive - put this where you want to take the measurement.

did you check everything else first?

Thanks for that, i thought that was the way you do it. Nah mate its too hot might give it a check in the arvo. Ill take off the battery leads and sand everything down well and earth/body connection. I hope she gives a true reading and doesnt fork up again though.

So you dont think that the ignition switch could be screwed?

This can be tough to figure out ...

One thing you can do to test the solenoid versus ignition switch is -- and it requries no special tools -- jam an old screwdriver between the big battery cable and the little Start wire on the solenoid. CAUTION: put car in neutral, handbrake on. Don't touch the screwdriver to any metal except those two wires.

This feeds 12V to the solenoid ... if the starter turns over, but won't do so when using the ignition key, yes the ignition switch or wiring is bad. The ignition switch bolts behind the key cylinder, and I think it is the same as the B210 and B310 switches.

yep im going to try that. Sounds simple enough hope it doesnt act silly on me again!

The motor turns slowly initially then when it stops turning i hear a distinct clicking sound.

What could this mean?

Your description is of the same symptoms that you would expect from a flat battery.
What happens when you use another battery, or use jumper leads & a friends car?

Testing with a multimeter i found that after charging (clutched her), the charge continually goes down. It went from 13.22v to 12.76 fast initially then tapering off more slowly. I assumed when a car was turned off whatever the figure was not under charge that the battery would gain power not lose it (a little bit anyway).

Am i wrong in assuming this?

Oh by the way shes starting fine now that i have charged the battery up and sanded the connections on the battery and earth body connection.

Under normal circumstances, you start the car & this drains some of the charge from the battery. The altenator goes into high output mode & you will get the highest voltage reading. As the battery comes back up to full charge, the voltage output from the altenator drops back as it now need only to provide output to run the ignition, & any other accessories that you have on.

If you turn on the lights, the aircon, the Hi-F etc. then the altenator will increase the output, including the voltage to keep up with it all.

When you turn the engine off, the voltage in the battery will settle back to whatever your battery will hold. Theoreticly, a battery cell actually provides 2.2 volts. Multiply this by six [cells] & you get 13.2 volts, so your fully charged battery should have pretty close to this.

Glad to hear that the pocket rocket is running again.
Chris

Mikali in your second last post what you describe does sound like a flat battery.

In a previous post you state the same and then mention you and your dad went to clutch start the car and for some reason your dad turned the key one last time and the car did start.

This tells me the battery was not flat at all. A loose battery terminal , cable or earth connection will give the same symptom.

In the end you have gone through and inspected and redone these connections.
I suspect this was the cause.

A battery doesnt go from not being able to start a car then a few seconds later it is charged enough to start the car. The only way this is posible is if inside the battery there is a break between 2 of the cells and and they dont always make contact.

If you still suspect the battery I recommend you full charge the battery overnight and then have the auto electrician load test it. This will show if the battery is past its use by date.

I had exactly the same problem sometimes back. I was almost blaming the starter or switch!

I think the main cause is bad contact due to leaking battery hence dirty terminals.

Another cause could be Hard Starting which drains the battery as you try many, many times to start the car. This happens to me a lot.

I cleaned the battery and terminals thoughly. I then reduced the battery water level: IT WAS TOO HIGH leading to leaking. It improved.