Car not starting after a hot day & decent drive

[datzed]

Ok, so as per the title, after a decent drive on a 35+ deg day, upon restart the engine won’t turn over at all until its cooled down for ~15-20mins. Just a click of the ignition and that’s it. Any ideas? After its had a bit of time to cool down, it functions fine. Every other day of the year its fine. Even driving it for ~45mins on a 20deg has it functioning correctly. Its just those VERY hot days.

Given the engine doesn’t even turn over, can I assume this is a starter motor issue?
Anyone else had similar issues with their mk1?

I've always assumed a starter motor is either working, or dead (or showing symptoms of dying).

Mine is an auto ('76 GLS) so no bump starting

With warmer days coming up soon, I thought I'd get on top of this soon. Any help appreciated guys.

[Jarred]

I'm pretty sure Dom had the same issue in his mk 1.

From memory its the starter solenoid plays up, which causes the starter not to work, till it's cooled down. We may have started it with a few smacks of a hammer on the starter.

Have a quick search, It's been covered here before, about reco'ing the starter solenoid.

This may be the issue.

Hope this helps.

[WABIT]

yeah man starter motor brushes are playing up, you need to rebuild your starter motor, the reason why it gets faulty when its hot is because the starter motor is in between the exhaust manifold and the intake manifold... (yeah... i know.... its a crap spot) its a fiddly job, best bet would be to find a hoist to work on

if your in a rush or running late, you need a small hammer and another person to get it started, just fit your hand under the intake mani, burn half your arm hairs off and gently tap on the starter while your friend (or stranger on the street) holds the key on start.......

dom

[ape]

Agree, almost 100% sure it's the solenoid. I had the same problem on a 65' Falcon, replaced the solenoid and boom, problem solved.

[datzed]

Thanks, you guys rock with awesome speedy advise.
Might get some heat shield when I install the thing again.
Old mate nearby reco's them for $150 so should be a cheap fix.