Hi Sccoty, I need your help.
5 months ago, the starter broke on my 2007 Ford Mondeo mk3 (2.2 diesel, 6 speed manual, 124,000 miles, European market), it just clicked without carank. So I bought a new replacement part (manufactured by HC CARGO) and installed it on the car. I paid about $150 for it. Things have been fine since a few days ago when it started clicking without the crank, just like the old one, at first, I thought it was strange for the starter to fail so quickly, but heck, it was made in China so I thought it must be a bad starter. Today I bought a rebuilt OEM starter that I tested with the battery as soon as I got home and it was working fine, then I installed it on the car with a lot of work and guess what, when I try to start the engine it still just clicks and won't turn the flywheel.
So the starters have enough power to engage the solenoid, but not enough to turn the flywheel and start the engine. I've checked every other possible problem from low battery to stuck engine and everything is fine. My battery is 5 months old, so it's actually new and it has the right amount of power, I checked with a multimeter, the engine is also not stuck as I can turn it. What else can possibly go wrong? I'm really confused and annoyed with this problem and my car is now just an immovable obstacle on my lawn.
If anyone else has a possible solution, please help.
{black}:idontknow:
double check all your electrical connections, including the ground strap to the engine block.
Realized diesel engines have a lot of compression and they need super strong starters. On a diesel. I would only buy a factory unit. I would not buy some Chinese made junk. Diesels are expensive to maintain when they age and you must buy quality parts because of the extra compression pressure
Thank you very much for a reply Scotty. Yes Chinese parts are total junk, back in time here in Europe HC CARGO (brand from Denmark) was a very good aftermarket electronics manufacturer but today they just sell Chinese junk they label as "hight quality". I considered buying an original factory unit but the guy in Ford parts shop wanted to charge me 500 euros for it, because Im a cheap person I thought its a too much money to invest in a car of that age expecialy for a part like starter. So yesterday I bought an OEM part remanufactured by Magneti Marelli from a respectable car part shop (with warranty), so it should meet some quality standards. Im not so sure if the newly remanufactured factory unit might also be a junk.
Otherwise from a weak starter, could it be a bad wirring of some sort, like bad ground or something with the wire coming from the ignition switch? I would like to solve the problem by myself because electricians here are charging BIG money for a little to no work and they still cant get the job done properly (even the best ones), in fact they can make it even worse sometimes.
Btw European Fords of that age are known to have a lots of electrical problems. I dont know about Fords in USA but here in Europe they are worse than Fiat, if they are that bad in USA then there is no wonder that they want to end production 🤣.
I wish you all the best and keep up your incerdibly good work, I have never seen a car mechanic as enthusiastic as you. Thank you again.
Welcome here! Scotty answers only once in each topic. We have covered this problem in our FAQ, even how to check if your starter is bad or not. Take a look and see if helps.