Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: toller on 28 March 2009, 14:41:58
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It looks like the starter in my omega has decided to throw in the towel, it's been on the way out for a bit but suddenly got worse yesterday when my mother in law borrowed the car. It started ok from cold but when she came back to it it did nothing at all when she turned the key. She left it about 20 minutes and it only just managed to turn the engine over but luckily it was enough to start it.
I had a go later that day and I could hear the relay click, the lights dimmed and it was trying to turn over but didn't quite manage it, I had another go and there was nothing - no click, no dimming lights nothing at all.
To rule out the battery i stuck that on charge overnight and had another go this morning but got the same result.
Am i right in thinking that starter motor failure is quite rare on these cars? I've checked the earth straps from the battery and they look ok but i'm not sure where the starter is located on the 2.5, this and the fact that it's wet and freezing cold outside so i don't fancy crawling around under the thing today.
If anyone has any suggestions on where to look and what to look for i'd be greatful.
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Charging the battery wont help if it has dead cells, it wont be able to put out enough juice to turn the starter. Only way to tell for sure is jump start it with some hefty leads. If it spins up you need a new battery, if it doesnt its the starter.
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I agree, battery is far more likely suspect than starter.
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I had something similar on the TVR. Sluggish turn over when cold but enought to get it started. When hot..nothing not even a single turn. But come back an hour later and it would go again.
Turns out I had buckled plates in the battery. When cold the plates were reasonably straight so got just enough juice to start. Once warmed by being charged from the alternator the plates bent a bit and cells died. No juice. Let it cool down and bingo it worked again.