Starter and brakes , please help

Sat Jan 30, 2016 4:09 pm

Hi Guys

I seem to have an odd problem with my E300 , and wondering who can assist.

basically 2 issues,

1. The starter motor will not engage when I turn the key , I usually have to put a battery charger (On boost) or jump start the car for it to take. I did some tests on the car and this is what I found ..

If I put a multimeter on the black/green solinoid wire, and turn the key, I only get 3V , the battery is on 12V @ this time. Checked @ the connector and the terminals. There is a slight drop in Voltage to about 11.8V when "trying" to crank.

I tried to take 12V to the Green/black wire but this does nothing , the wires spark a bit and get warm but does not engage the starter.

Put the charger on or jumper leads and she turns. Battery has been checked and is holding voltage

2. The next one is really worrying me , when in the car and its idling , if I hit the brake pedal , u hear a "woosh" sound , like air is leaking out when braking. Now the brakes on this car have never given me any type of confidence.
Car is running a set of Willwood calipers in the front and stock rear calipers, I have changed the front brake hoses for steel ones but not the rears, howeer I am not sure that this is the issue. The pedal is soft and the braking is not as crisp as I would expect with 4 pots.

Any ideas on my "woosh" sound, if I shut the car down and pump the pedal it does firm up.

Sat Jan 30, 2016 6:48 pm

First check all the earth straps as bad earth will cause symptoms like this. Could be a duff solenoid though. I also suggest you try a known good battery as just holding a charge does not mean a good app output.

Brakes, when the pedal is firm if you hold your foot on it does it start to sink ?..

Sat Jan 30, 2016 7:33 pm

Hi , thanks for the reply , nope ,the pedal stays firm when the car is off, does not sink.

I did the steering rack this weekend and somehow it lost all braking, had to pump the pedal to get her to stop before I hit the wall. Just as well I was rolling along, but surely just doing a rack should not cause total loss of braking with the pedal to the floor.

All Earth straps have been changed and upgraded in some cases .

Sat Jan 30, 2016 7:45 pm

Shaheenk wrote:Hi , thanks for the reply , nope ,the pedal stays firm when the car is off, does not sink.

I did the steering rack this weekend and somehow it lost all braking, had to pump the pedal to get her to stop before I hit the wall. Just as well I was rolling along, but surely just doing a rack should not cause total loss of braking with the pedal to the floor.

All Earth straps have been changed and upgraded in some cases .

Sounds like a bad brake servo or low fluid as it sounds like the calipers aren't biting. Have you checked fluid levels and for leaks. Also how good are the pads and discs and has the car green stood for long periods of time?

Sat Jan 30, 2016 8:25 pm

First of all, it's the black/yellow wire you want, not the green/black. By applying power to that, all you've done is 'back fed' the ignition, and possibly have blown fuse 10.
If the car starts OK after the battery is charged or with jump leads, then either your battery is duff, or is not being charged properly.
A 'whoosh' from the brake servo is normal when the brakes are applied.
The 'no brakes' after playing around with front suspension is probably you pushed against one of both of the calipers at some time, and pushed the pistons back into their bores in the caliper.

Sat Jan 30, 2016 8:27 pm

Thanks Brian, will look into this tomorrow .

I think its a bad servo, the pads and discs are new, the car was stading for about a week while I was busy with the rack change.

Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:07 pm

willnz wrote:Mr Moooooore beats me to it again...

Must be the time delay to the antipodes and back.

Sun Jan 31, 2016 2:35 pm

Hey Guys,

Ok so had the battery on charge and still nothing from the key turn, jumped the wires on the diag plug and she starts up .

Tried this a few times over and over, when the key would not start, jumped the plug and boom, starts like a dream.

Now where do I trace back to and what are the commn break areas. Can I bypass the stock wiring in any way ??

Sun Jan 31, 2016 8:56 pm

Thank you so very very much , this should be added to the Wiki pages as well. This place is awesome thanks to all the guys who take the time to help.

Much appreciated.

Mon Feb 01, 2016 5:43 am

Correct, sorry should have mentioned that earlier.

Mon Feb 08, 2016 8:01 pm

Hi Guys

Firstly thanks to everyone who responded to this.

Some feedback as most of the times the guys fix the issue without feedback.

So I checked the battery again and this time left her on a full week of charge instead of the usual overnight or "Quick Charge"

Went back to the car with meter in hand and pulled the lower dash panel off to check the wiring, lo and behold she now started first time on the key without much fuss.

Tried this a few times and everytime she cranked over. I am still going to keep a piece of wire in the glovebox in case I ever get stranded.

Seems the battery was the issue , or at least I hope it was.

I measured loss across the terminals to the ignition switch and found that between the live (12.87) and ignition on (12.33) I was getting half a volt of loss, I checked with the meter and am getting a steady 1Ohm loss . the same between starter position and Live, I assume this is normal.

I still need to change out the rear brake lines as I suspect these have gone soft after 30 years on the car. Its a mission without a lift so I might just get my mech to change them out.

On the steering front, I swapped out the stock E30 rack for a E46 rack , the car is no longer as unpredictable as before, I removed the Guibo as well and bolted the 2 ends up to each other. The steering is really light , I am not sure what would casue this as I can now turn it with my little finger. Leaves me a bit unnervy , but I guess I am used to a more weighted wheel.

Thanks once again to everyone who contributed.