Violent clicking on start up

[Guest]

Oh the joys of boating! On Saturday I was already to make the first trip since the boat was back in the water. Fully fuelled and heading out off the Hamble the fan belt breaks, return to berth to doscover that the alternator has slipped, fan belt snaps and alternator now rubbing great chunks out of the cooling hoses. Spend rest of Saturday fixing everthing and go to start engine only to be greeted by violent clicking noise from the starter. Leave it for a bit, try again and it starts. Turn off, restart only to be greeted by the same violent clicking yet again. Any ideas? The engine is a Volvo V8.

Thanks in advance.

 

[andyball]

Probably just a flat battery.....there's enough power to operate the solenoid, but when the the starter load is applied, the voltage drops so low that the solenoid clicks off again, THEN there's (again) enough power to operate the solenoid.....etc etc, repeated many times/sec =loud clicking noise.

Charge the batteries thoroughly & hopefully it'll be gone

 

[Guest]

Thanks for that. If the problem persists could it be something more "expensive". I fully charged the batteries over the w/e and it started Ok yesterday, but after a few stop starts, the problem occured again.

 

[Guest]

Make sure that all the heavy wires connecting solenoid to starter motor and battery to solenoid are clean and all nuts are good and tight. I recently dealt with a similar problem on an petrol engine- in this case the loose connections created arcing! Not good with petrol !!

Hope this helps.

PZ

 

[andrewhopkins]

batteries not holding charge

How old are they ? If the problem came back then they are probably not holding their charge and are shot.

Charge them up and then wait an hour and measure the voltage. If its dissapearing then time for some new ones.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I'll check them out.

 

[oldharry]

I agree this sounds like duff batteries, but if the battery voltage is holding up OK, and all the contacts are clean and sound (spray with WD40 for a temporary fix), then the solenoid itself may have a problem. Just what depends on the type fitted, but a conventional solenoid where the contacts or coil are failing can do this, and on a pre-engaged starter, rust on the sliding shaft can cause the starter to kick in and out.

But definitely get the batteries checked out first - the best test being to take them to an auto-electrician and ask for a discharge test. This involves placing a pre determined current load on the battery for a given time and checking the end voltage - the details should be on the battery specification label. The label will give the test amperage - usally several hundreds of amps, and a test rating code such as 'SAE', which specifies the test time and minimum acceptable voltage the battery should acheive at the end of the test. Batteries must be fully charged before testing. If they pass this test, then the fault is elsewhere in the starting circuit. Check particularly the negative 'earth' return circuit, from the engine block back to the battery negative, as this is often neglected, and even whether there is a good contact between the starter motor frame and the engine. Even though its metal to metal, if corrosion is present it will cause problems.

 

[newboater]

I know the noise had it first time on start up,sounded like the soleniod but the engineer said it was the battery did not hold the necessary volts, a new one for £50.00 solved the problem, always something isnt there?