Starter Motor Keeps On Spinning!

[Guest matts206]

Hi, need some help, as i've run out of ideas. My 1990G 205 1.9 been sitting around for 3 years and finally got it going the other day, but after about 5 mins a horrible grinding noise started, the problem was the starter motor was trying to engage when the engine is running. Now when i crank the engine and let go, the starter just keeps spinning! I've checked all the wiring in the engine bay and inside the car, changed the tachometric relay for a new one, no change.. checked voltage at the trip wire on the solanoid and when i crank it sure enough theres 12v but when i let go theres still 12v until i turn the ignition off and try again, so basically when i crank the engine it gives the solanoid a continuous power supply which im pritty sure it should'nt. I've changed the ecu, tachometric relay, fuse box, starter motor, ignition switch, not much more to change, and i've run out of ideas. Another weird thing is, with the ignition on, turn the rear wash wipe on then off it powers up the Fuel pump relay and you can hear the fuel pump spinning!! might be something completely different but its weird. Any one got any ideas? would be much appreciated. befor i start getting hammers out..

[welshpug 1,629]

check that you have the correct wire connected, it should be a blue one, wire 46 IIRC

 

have you touched any wiring under the dash?

[Guest matts206]

check that you have the correct wire connected, it should be a blue one, wire 46 IIRC

 

have you touched any wiring under the dash?

 

It is a blue wire but cant find any numbers, its got a black plastic sleave over it, the only other wire that would reach is a yellow wire but that goes to the alternator.

 

Hav'nt touched any wires under the dash, only to try and find the fault.

 

It seems once the fuel pump relay is powered up it keeps itself powered even after cranking, is this right? and from the wiring diagram it shows wire 46 connected to the same relay.

 

I have tryed it with the 12v feed from the battery to the relay disconnected, then it turns over and shuts off fine but obviously wont start as theres no power to the fuel pump.

[Baz 421]

Sounds like the solenoid's not firing the motor forward to engage on the flywheel. I've had this before, rectified by a new starter tbh.

[chris-gti 14]

apologies for dragging up such an old post, but did anyone ever get to the bottom of this? had my engine and gearbox out over the weekend, done a timing belt change, replaced the clutch release bearing and replaced my diff and driveshaft seals, cleaned out my engine bay and repaired a few damaged elecctrical connectors.

 

Re-fitted engine and box all ancilleries etc... struck the car up with no problems. did about 3 miles round the block to settle everything down. jacked her back up, went over a few things and set off for home. about 5 miles down the road i started getting a metallic grinding noise, so i pulled over into a layby, killed the engine and lifted the bonnet expecting to find something loose.

 

turns out my starter motor had decided to start spinning for no apparant reason. now it will crank the car constantly once it is running. :S i can get round this for the time being by bypassing the starter and putting a start button in but it's not ideal. I can't find any wiring breaks or shorts. i've spent 3 hours with a multimeter and even fitted a spare starter motor.

 

if anyone has any answers i'm all ears (oh and i've already considered the "burn it" response ).

[welshpug 1,629]

check that you have the correct wire on it, there's a couple of spade connectors in the area.

[chris-gti 14]

checked and double checked, there are 4 in the area, orange one is oil temp i think (goes to a green sensor unit), grey ish colouor is oil pressure (alloy bodied unit), brown (now green on my car) is alternator and blue is the solenoid control wire. I photographed before removing and have double checked again by earthing the other wires and checking the gauges.

 

I have disconnected my ignition coil so the car won't fire whilst i'm trying to get to the bottom of this, i have also noticed that my fuel pump spins continuously even when the engine isn't running.