HELP - car wont turn over

[valman]

oh dear!!!
(i did a search btw)
replaced all the leads with high performance bosch ones and cleaned the dizzy cap - SWEET ran like a dream and all that. then i ran her again in about an hour or so to turn her around, still moving sweet. then went to start it again,, and nothing - not even turning over.
did the usual checked battery - all good other electrics work
when i turn the key, just get a click and thats it. one click.
not turning over or anything. whats the problem here?? it fired up 2 - 3 minutes ago perfectly!
so help me out please chaps

[volvosneverdie]

Tap the starter with a hammer.
Might be sticking if its not spinning at all.

[valman]

tried that, also tried rocking the car.. nothing. cant even hear it doing anything if you know what i mean no buzz etc.
ive got my battery light on(displaying 12.5 volts however on voltmeter) and the (!) mark on too... now usually i dont notice these as they disappear as soon as the car starts, but now im not sure if the ! has been thre after starting or not

[filthyjohn]

Starter motor solenoid probably. Check the earth lead on the starter, and the ignition live which feeds it. I'd say loose connection for sure. Does it bump start?

[valman]

Starter motor solenoid probably. Check the earth lead on the starter, and the ignition live which feeds it. I'd say loose connection for sure. Does it bump start?

ill give it a go - someone also suggested to turn all the lights on and check if they dim, good suggestion never thought of that.
i cant bump start it yet, but will be able to later. dont particularly want to replace the thing
thanks for the reply mate!

[filthyjohn]

No probs mate. It's a 1.4 isn't it? The starter ignition live is really obvious on the side, a wire coming across from the chassis rail (driver's side). They have really fragile spade terminals which seem to work loose a lot. Check there, give it a wiggle, maybe even try running a wire to it directly from the positive battery terminal. I had this problem a lot on my 16v, turned out the starter solenoid wasn't earthing properly, the click you hear is the solenoid beginning to move but not quite making it due to insufficient current.
If it's totally FUBAR, I think I have a 1.4 starter around here somewhere.

[valman]

thanks for the help mate, took the thing out made sure it was all earthed etc and nothing. guess its shagged then yeah its a 1.4, pm me how much you want for your one... provided it works obviously cheers all

[filthyjohn]

I'll dig it out and test it with some jumps leads mate, it could be a day or two though, best park on hills 'til then!

[valman]

haha thank you! i dont drive yet.. so no worries there, just want it working properly just incase do get back to me once youve dug it out