Steve9R wrote:Well this is a retrospective post as ive already fixed the problem but thought I'd post it up anyway as a reference for anyone that comes across the problem in the future.
Problem : Lux would only start intermittantly. some times (anytime of day or night) you'd turn the key and all you'd hear was the click of the starting relay, no engine cranking / nothing. You could try the key on and off up to 40 times somedays with no results, then suddenly it'd start.
Now my lux has done a lot of water / mud / salt submersions in its life, and moisture ingress into starter motors has always been a problem with all vehicles, the lux is no different.
So I disconnected the battery cables and cleaned terminals reattached, no difference. Changed relay, no difference, different key (i was living in hope that day), no difference. So decided I had to pull the starter motor out.
First thing to do when removing the starter is to firstly disconnect your battery(ies), this includes your aux batteries as the starter has large connecting cables to it obviously to make the vehicle start and if these short once disconnected you'll have a lot more issues... so disconnect them all and insulate them with electrical tape just to be sure.. then you can safely disconnect the cables from the starter motor..
there are only two bolts holding the starter motor in, both are accessible from underneath the passenger side of the lux and with the help of a breaker bar you can get them loose.
once you have the two cables and the two nuts off the starter you can simply maneuver it out through the bottom of the vehicle.
Once removed, we removed the small triangular stainless steel plate off the back of the starter and instantly saw the problem. Green corrosion all over the brass contact plates and contacts, which acts as a perfect insulating barrier for the electrical current. hence no go..
So we pulled the contacts and plates out and attacked them with sandpaper and a buff to clean off all the corrosion.
Once cleaned, reassemble and reinstall and test.. Problem solved..
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