SOLENOID STORY

When I was returning from Faversham having had the new seats fitted, I drove through a substantial hail storm and after that the starter began to play up. Previously, some times the solenoid clicked a couple of times before engaging the starter, but she always started very willingly, now I thought I was going to have to call the breakdown people, When at last she started after about twenty attempts. I think the hail storm was just a coincidence, but a day or so later Stella was back on the ramps and I eventually got the solenoid of the starter. There was plenty of information on the Forum as to how to re-condition the solenoid

So I took it apart, which entailed unsoldering to contacts on the plastic cap, I emery papered the large copper contacts and reassembled.

 Russ had told me I would almost certainly need to remove the starter to allow me to properly engage the solenoid. With the starter off I thought I had connected the two correctly and refitted both starter and solenoid to the car but as soon as I attached the last battery cable there was a horrible whirring and smoking negative terminal. It took a trip to Rus to show me how to properly connect the solenoid's plunger to the leaver in the starter. This time I got if fitted right, but sadly it still clonked a couple of times before engaging.

I decided as we were shortly going on a trip to Wales, I should play safe and I ordered a new solenoid which arrived the day after May Day. I got it all connected together and refitted to the car with no problems, except the top bolt, which is notoriously difficult to fit. However the bottom bolt is more than tight enough to keep it in place and when the gearbox is replaced latter this year, that bolt can then be fixed properly, but no more clonking, starts firest turn of the key every time.