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Is there a how to guide for the starter cable replacement?

A11ykf

Active member
Joined
19 Jul 2016
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I am having warm start issues after a bit of searching about I found this can be caused by the starter or the starter/alternator cable. I thought it is maybe best to replace both whilst in about it for peace of mind. I have found a guide for the replacement of the starter motor but is there one for the cable?
 
Personally I'd diagnose your problem before spending money.
 
Is an easy way to diagnose this as the fault is to use a jump lead from the negative on the battery to another good earthing point on the car?
 
alex yates said:
Personally I'd diagnose your problem before spending money.

Car was struggling to start when hot more recently the starter has started to click and not fire this leads me to believe the starter is faulty. Since there is a known issue with the cable on the early models then it makes sense to me to do some preventative maintenance and change it at the same time.
 
Is it a man or a tip? To do a tip is an engine drop.
 
This is the write up I followed on my 997.1 a couple of years ago.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/997/289189-3-8s-how-replace-alternator-cable.html

Just for info - This is quite an involved job and takes quite a while to do.
I would only change it if you are sure this is an issue.

One common symptom is poor starting when the engine is hot.
Mine always started fine when cold, but would fail to start when hot at the most inconvenient of times.

Good luck.
Andrew
 
I had this done on my 997.1 manual....symptoms were that it would start from cold each and every time....after a drive however it would struggle to start up or not start at all....until the engine was stone cold.
 
shabs said:
I had this done on my 997.1 manual....symptoms were that it would start from cold each and every time....after a drive however it would struggle to start up or not start at all....until the engine was stone cold.

I had exactly these symptoms - had the cable changed and voila! problem disappeared and I now have perfect starting with a hot or cold engine. I didn't do it myself and IIRC it cost c£450 at my independent.
 
If the starter clicks but doesn,t spin over then a starter motor fault is the most likely as the cable fault doesn,t do this.

Best check for a lead is a volt drop test between the alternator and the battery .. basically measure the output at the alternator and then at the battery and see the voltage drop .. this will tell you if the leads is high resistant .

As its not easy to get at the alternator then just measure the charge rate at the battery with lights , seat heaters etc turned on .. if 13 volts or less then you have a problem.

Changeing the main lead is a bit of a job so no point if its not faulty .

Also if you remove the throttle houseing and the first tube you have access to the power lead .. youll soon see if its burnt at the starter motor and so needs replacement ( disconnect the battery first )
 

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Thanks for all the input decided to put it to an indy. The cable was rotten so replaced and I got a new starter put in for good measure. Fires up like never before now.
 
Excellent news :thumb: ..... no more angst and you can enjoy driving the car again (I remember it well!!) :D
 

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