Hi All,
Just wanted to pass on my experience with the above. The solenoid suddenly stopped pulling in and I suspected the connection, even more so when the cable came out far too easily!
I checked it out with a meter and the wire was delivering battery voltage, but the female spade connector on the end of the wire looked very suspect and weak, so I changed that for another hooded females spade conn., but how to fit it?
With the starter motor below the exhaust manifold it is both very difficult to reach, you need tiny arms and hands fitted with universal joints, and almost impossible to see what you are doing. This is made worse on my R4 as it is left hand drive so the steering column also gets in the way.
In the end, after many hours struggling and not wanting to take the exhaust manifold off due to both the work involved and mainly because I didn't want to disturb the manifold to block joint, I achieved the reconnection in the following manner:
I disconnected the battery negative, disconnected the steering column at the bottom connection and pulled the column to one side. Then I took the air filter off, and the heat shield under the exhaust manifold. Now I could see the solenoid connection, just, through a gap between the manifold and block. I also illuminated the area from below with a very small lamp. I managed after a few minutes juggling to get the connector to just start on the solenoid male spade, and pushed it home with the aid of some long nose pliers. Bingo, it worked, and after reassembling everything I was back in business!
I posted this in the hope it may help someone else faced with the same problem. Also, please note that if you use a mirror to help locate things, the mirror seems to show a reverse view which is very disorientating to us of advancing years!!
Cheers, ChrisH
Just wanted to pass on my experience with the above. The solenoid suddenly stopped pulling in and I suspected the connection, even more so when the cable came out far too easily!
I checked it out with a meter and the wire was delivering battery voltage, but the female spade connector on the end of the wire looked very suspect and weak, so I changed that for another hooded females spade conn., but how to fit it?
With the starter motor below the exhaust manifold it is both very difficult to reach, you need tiny arms and hands fitted with universal joints, and almost impossible to see what you are doing. This is made worse on my R4 as it is left hand drive so the steering column also gets in the way.
In the end, after many hours struggling and not wanting to take the exhaust manifold off due to both the work involved and mainly because I didn't want to disturb the manifold to block joint, I achieved the reconnection in the following manner:
I disconnected the battery negative, disconnected the steering column at the bottom connection and pulled the column to one side. Then I took the air filter off, and the heat shield under the exhaust manifold. Now I could see the solenoid connection, just, through a gap between the manifold and block. I also illuminated the area from below with a very small lamp. I managed after a few minutes juggling to get the connector to just start on the solenoid male spade, and pushed it home with the aid of some long nose pliers. Bingo, it worked, and after reassembling everything I was back in business!
I posted this in the hope it may help someone else faced with the same problem. Also, please note that if you use a mirror to help locate things, the mirror seems to show a reverse view which is very disorientating to us of advancing years!!
Cheers, ChrisH
