starter problem

[docgibbons]

can anyone help with this one? i have a 1958 saloon, 948cc, with a pull start, and this morning nothing happened after half a dozen or more pulls, apart from one occasion, when there was a kind of brief cough. so i got it going with the crank handle (it's always been a good starter), went off to the golf club for three hours or so - parking on a downslope to enable a bump start if necessary - and was about to go down that route after another half dozen unsuccessful pulls when she suddenly fired up. later in the day when i tried again, nothing happened for a couple of pulls, then bingo. vroom vroom...or as close to vroom vroom as a moggie ever gets. then, for the next two trips, about an hour apart, the starter fired first time at both ends of the journey, so i'm not sure whether the unit is faulty, or whether there might be a connection issue. or whether (unlikely i think) you just need to pull it in a certain way. i've had it for 20 years now, and it may be the original part, but i don't really know. any thoughts would be welcome.

[ManyMinors]

It might be nothing more than a fairly flat or faulty battery or even one of the battery leads not fully tight?
That is where I would look first.

[ianmack]

The pull start switches can play up if they haven’t been used for a while, probably with dirt or corrosion. Mine clears itself with some regular use.

[Ian Jones]

When you say that it wouldn't start, do you mean nothing happened when you pulled the starter, or the starter motor turned the engine but it wouldn't start?

Regards

Ian

[philthehill]

It would suggest that the problem is a dirty/faulty commutator which needs a good clean and an undercut of the segments.

[simmitc]

First check that battery and earth connections are not loose. Also check that battery is properly charged, then simple test: Use a jump lead to bridge the two terminals on the starter switch (handbrake on, in neutral, ignition off). If the engine turns every time then the starter motor is OK and the switch is playing up. If the engine doesn't turn then as above the starter motor needs attention.

[docgibbons]

thanks for all the input, and i'll try out the suggestions and see what happens. it fired up ok this morning (albeit again after a couple of initial failures) by which i mean nothing happened when i pulled the knob (total silence) rather than the starter motor working but the engine not starting. the suggestion that lack of regular use might be involved strikes a bit of a cord , in that this is a converted saloon and doesn't get all that much use in the winter. From about Oct-March i mainly use my regular saloon, which has none of the same draughts, and has had upgrades (heater etc) more suited to winter driving. so maybe now i'll be using this one more now the warmer weather has finally arrived will help. i do though make sure it has regular winter outings, and while it occasionally might stand idle for about a month, i normally try to give it a short run once a week or so. But it's always started first time, and a local garage changed the dynamo to an alternator about a month ago without having the pull start go wrong.
the battery is only 18 months old , but i know the lifespan of these things are variable, and the connections appear sound. but will test anyway.

[docgibbons]

issue solved, i think. i was going to try all the suggestions one by one, and started with the possibility of loose battery connections. but this didn't improve anything. then i gave the unit a thorough degrease and clean, and hey presto. starts now first pull every time. so thanks a lot for all the tips, and if it happens again, i'll know where to look.