VAZ 2109 starter does not turn - common causes and repair methods

01/26/2022 6,919 VAZ 2109

Author: Ivan Baranov

Many owners of Russian-made cars are faced with the problem of the inability to start the car, and the reasons may be different. And quite often it happens that the VAZ 2109 does not start due to the fact that the car’s starter does not turn. You can learn more about this malfunction, as well as options for solving the problem, from this material.

[Hide]

Common causes and repair methods

The most common reasons account for about 95% of all cases where the starter does not turn. That’s why we pay attention to them first.

The starter does not turn differently in different situations. It is important to take this into account and clearly monitor all associated symptoms. This way, even without the help of specialists, you will be able to return the unit to operation and resume normal operation of the ignition system.

Situation	Probable Causes
There is one click, after which the starter goes silent.	The power bolts on the solenoid relay are burnt out. Therefore, the voltage cannot reach it or it is less than the required 12 Volts; The fork that pushes out the bendix is broken or deformed. For this reason, the bendix cannot completely reach the flywheel; the cores partially enter the coil. The contacts cannot open; The Bendix has worn out teeth. This prevents the voltage from the solenoid relay from reaching the starter; The armature bushings or brushes have worn out; Shorted the winding
Multiple clicks occur in succession	The battery is dead. Check, recharge if necessary; The battery terminals are loose or oxidized; The retaining winding does not properly hold the core being pulled in by the retracting winding.
Clicks are completely absent, as are other signs of starter life.	A winding short circuit has occurred. In such situations, a burning smell is clearly observed and smoke appears; The ring in the starter gearbox has collapsed; The key was deformed and damaged. If you replace it, the problem may go away

Bendix

Often, simply disassembling and cleaning the internal components of the starter can eliminate problems with its functionality. Therefore, after removing the device and not finding damaged elements inside it, try to thoroughly clean everything, assemble it and put it back in place. It is likely that the starter will start turning.

Solution

First you need to put your “nine” in neutral gear, and also turn on the parking brake.
After this, the hood opens, you need to find the red cable on the retractor.
Using a thick screwdriver, you need to short-circuit the terminals on this component. When a short circuit occurs, sparks may fly in different directions - there is no need to worry, this is a normal situation.
Then you need to try to start the engine. If you notice that the starter starts to work normally when screwing in, then the problem is not with it. If the device does not turn, then most likely it will need to be changed.
If the mechanism is working properly, the red wire from the solenoid relay must be removed, and voltage from the battery must be applied to this terminal. If there is a pop, the relay will be fully operational. If there was no clap, then most likely the reason lies precisely in the relay.
Check the contacts on the starter, it happens that due to oxidation it stops turning.

Rare situations

They happen noticeably less frequently than those we described above. But under no circumstances should we exclude them.

After reviewing the situations below, compare them with the behavior of your starter and a car that has stopped turning or clicks but does not turn.

With an injection engine at a frosty temperature of about -20 degrees Celsius, all devices function. This indicates that the battery is fully charged. At the same time, for some reason the starter refuses to turn. Your actions:
If there is a clicking noise, the most likely source of the problem is the solenoid relay. It must be replaced.

The engine started normally throughout the day, but in the evening it suddenly stopped working normally. When you turn the key in the ignition switch, there is only a click, but the starter does not turn. When you try to start the engine several times in a row, several clicks are heard. Your actions:
Crimp, strip and tighten the contacts on the starter and battery;
If the first two points do not produce results, check the battery itself. To do this, the wire closes its contacts. If the battery is working properly, a spark will appear that melts the wire;
Connect the plus from the battery directly to the solenoid relay. If the starter is silent, replace the starter.

car battery

During the day the car started without problems. But after being idle for several minutes, attempts to start the car fail. When you turn the key, the relay is activated, but the starter stubbornly refuses to turn. By closing the two bolts of the solenoid relay, everything started. We reached our destination, stopped, and turned off the engine. When I try to start again, the same situation occurs. Just locking the bolts no longer works. Your actions:
Check the condition of the brushes. There is a high probability that they have been completely erased. Hence this effect;
Replace the brushes with new ones. This is cheaper than completely replacing the unit.

The starter doesn't turn over. When you try to close it, only noise arises, like when a drill is working. The engine shows no signs of life. But it was possible to start it from the pushrod without any problems. Your actions:
If everything is fine with it, go to the mounting block and check the fuses;
Also examine the condition of the ignition switch. It is possible that the problem is with him;
Do not forget to check the wiring for breaks and short circuits;
Check the status of the contacts. It’s not uncommon that minus does not reach the starter relay only for the banal reason of oxidation or burnt wire.

Having understood the reasons for the failure of the starter, you can bring the device back to life on your own. Don't rush to throw away your old starter and buy a new one. The practice of VAZ 2109 owners shows that partial repairs, and sometimes even simple cleaning of the device, make it possible to restore the functionality of one of the main elements of the ignition system for a long time.

Individual situations

If the VAZ 21099 injector stops starting, you can try to close the contacts of the mechanism in a straight line.

But sometimes there are emergency situations when the device stops functioning, let’s consider a few of them:

The injection engine does not start in cold weather, but all devices work normally, the battery is charged. If there is no click, you should first diagnose the safety components, electrical circuit, and also the solenoid relay. If the device clicks, the relay must be replaced.
The starter turns all day, there is a spark, but in the evening the engine stops starting. Before checking the starter, it is necessary to fully charge the battery, and then clean the contacts on both the battery and the mechanism itself. If these steps did not help solve the problem, you need to check the battery itself more carefully - try closing the contacts with a wire, which may cause a spark to melt. If this does not help, try applying a positive charge from the battery directly to the relay. If there are no changes, the unit will have to be replaced.
If the car was operated normally all day, but after parking for five minutes it stopped starting, you can try to close the mechanism. You need to directly close two bolts on the relay; if this helps, but later the problem reappears, then disassemble the unit completely. Most likely, the problem lies directly in the erasing of the brushes. In this case, they will need to be changed.
The unit does not turn at all, but the car can be started from the pushrod. If the problem is not with the starter, then check the fuse box and ignition switch. But before this, you should check the wiring - the reason may lie in the oxidation of the contacts.

Why doesn't the starter turn or click?

The absence of starter rotation is possible together with the absence of a relay activation mechanism. If the relay is working properly, a click is heard, if not, there are no sounds when you turn the ignition key.

Experts note the following main reasons why the starter does not turn or click on the VAZ-2109:

the tip has come off the wire connected to the terminal and located on the retractor relay;
there is no charge on the battery;
the terminals from the battery have oxidized;
the mechanism relay is damaged, for example, the terminals are oxidized or a break appears;
the wiring in the contact component of the ignition switch is disconnected (how can you accurately identify these wires? They are colored pink and red);
The solenoid relay does not work correctly, it may become jammed, or the device has warmed up and now needs to be replaced.

The car is silent

And finally the most difficult thing

, the car does not show any signs of life at all after turning the key in the lock. In such cases, the breakdown may be hidden in a winding short circuit. Most likely, you will very quickly smell something burning and also see smoke coming from under the hood.

If, after turning the key in the ignition, nothing like this happens, then the problem may be in the ring. It is located in the starter gearbox and is most likely broken or deformed.

How to fix starter malfunctions with your own hands

The electrical component of the starter consists of the following structural elements:

winding;
brush assembly;
solenoid relay.

When checking the solenoid relay, skip the starter operation, bypassing its switching. The relay has 3 terminals at once, one of which is the control terminal. The remaining 2 large terminals, located at the input to the battery and at the output of the starter, are closed using a screwdriver or wrench. Closing for a short period of time is enough, the main thing is that the tool you are using does not touch the metal body directly under the hood.

Observe the changes in the starter during the process of closing the terminals - if the device rotates, perhaps with a clearly audible crackling sound, then the fault is caused by the solenoid relay.

Remember that starting the engine in this way is prohibited, because the main gear of the device does not engage.

Most likely, the contact planes on the inner plane simply burned out, and therefore a dielectric layer of metal oxides formed on top. To burn the contacts, there is no need to make great efforts; just one start of the VAZ-2109 engine is enough.

There are 2 ways to repair the VAZ-2109 solenoid relay:

Dismantle the device and disassemble it into components, clean the contacts.
If it is financially possible, it is better to replace the relay completely. Practice shows that if a relay fails, the contacts will have to be cleaned more and more often to restore its operation. If you want the repaired relay to last a long time, give preference to this option for repairing the starter if the device does not spin or click.

The fact is that in the units installed on the VAZ-2114, a layer of non-ferrous metal alloy is applied to the contact planes, which minimizes the risk of oxidation and erosion. When stripping, you remove this layer with your own hands, so it is not surprising when the part quickly fails again.

To repair the starter on a VAZ-2109, if it does not spin and the characteristic ignition click is not heard, you may need to check the condition of the brush assembly. Start disassembling the starter; if the brushes are worn out, the signs will be visible immediately. As for the combustion of the windings, this malfunction can be easily determined by the color and characteristic burning smell.

Alarm Signals

The starter is the highest-loaded electrical consumer in a car. If, when starting the car, an extraneous sound, noise, or crackling appears, or it becomes clear that there have been changes in the operation of the starter, action must be taken without delay. On a VAZ 2109, problems with the starter can be different, some of them can be fixed with your own hands by reading how to do it or watching a video. Here is a small instruction on faults.

Malfunctions

If the starter on a VAZ 2109 does not start, first you need to do a basic check
Check the fuse in the fuse box for the starter.
Check the relay responsible for the starter, it is located in the engine compartment (photo 2).

Changing the relay (Photo 2)

If, however, the starter does not work on the VAZ 2109 and the problem is different, you need to contact a specialist.

On VAZ 2109 the starter barely turns
Is the alternator belt too tight?

Advice! If the problem is different, you need to contact a specialist; perhaps the starter bushings are worn out or another reason. More often on a VAZ 2109, the starter turns poorly due to wear of the front bushing installed in the engine crankcase.

On a VAZ 2109, the starter sticks (by turning the key to the “engine start” mode, the starter is activated for 1-2 seconds, which is not enough to start the engine and stops)
The armature bushings may need to be replaced.
On a VAZ 2109 the starter sticks, in other words on a VAZ 2109 the starter does not turn off (releasing the key after starting the engine, the starter continues to work)
It is possible that the contacts (nickels) of the starter solenoid relay are sticking.
Or there is a malfunction in the contact group of the ignition switch - the contacts have fused.
On a VAZ 2109, the starter does not turn in the cold (the starter turns a little, but with a lot of tension, or does not turn at all)
Another option involves heating the battery in a warm room (do not make the temperature difference too large, for example, placing it in hot water)
You can also start the car by throwing power from another car
If the previous options did not help, the battery needs to be replaced.
On a VAZ 2109, the starter does not turn, the relay clicks (when you hold the key in the “engine start” mode, the relay automatically turns on and off)

This happens because there is enough battery charge for the solenoid relay to operate. When the contacts close, the starter consumes a lot of current, but this current is not enough for it to work. The voltage on the battery drops and the solenoid relay returns to its original position. There is no more load, again there is enough current for the retractor to work. The actions are repeated. So:

On a VAZ 2109 the starter does not turn on (the solenoid relay turned on, but the starter did not turn on)
The starter may have burned out
starter jammed

Advice! If the starter is burned out, sometimes it is more advisable to buy a new starter; the price of the starter varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The brushes are worn out and do not reach the anchor (photo 3)

On VAZ 2109 the starter is cracking
The bendix (the mechanism that engages with the flywheel) is worn out.

How to charge the battery in a VAZ-2109

If the starter malfunction is due to lack of battery charge, start charging the device. To properly charge the battery, carry out the procedure in a ventilated room. It is not necessary to remove the unit from the car; the process can take place directly in the VAZ-2109. When charging the battery, follow these requirements:

Disconnect all electrical cables.
Immediately before charging, carefully clean the terminals from adhering dirt and dust, paying special attention to oxidized areas.
It is advisable to completely discharge the battery before charging - to do this, turn on all electrically powered devices.
Observe the movements of the ammeter needle; it should approach the zero mark.
Monitor the temperature of the electrolyte - it will increase during charging. For example, the temperature of the electrolyte has increased to 40 degrees, then the current should be halved. If within 2 hours the density of the electrolyte and the battery voltage in the VAZ-2109 remain unchanged, it means that the battery is fully charged.

Typically, 10-12 hours are enough to charge the battery. Please note that in the summer the electrolyte in the VAZ-2109 heats up at an accelerated pace, so the car owner’s task is to regularly check the density and level of the material.

Forced starting of the starter by closing the contacts

In order to put knowledge into practice, you will need the help of a partner (preferably) and a long screwdriver or wrench. The idea is that the metal base of the tool needs to close the power contacts of the starter and apply voltage to its winding directly.

A spark may occur

Alternative methods (if there is no key)

In addition to this method, there are several more. One of them involves starting the starter from the passenger compartment. To do this, you will need to remove the plastic panel located under the steering wheel of the car. Separate the bundle of wires going to the ignition switch from it.

Disassembling the steering column mechanism

First of all, we are interested in the wire going to ground (black or green, sometimes yellow with a black stripe). You can correctly determine whether it is correct or not using a multimeter. To do this, the tip is connected to the one we are interested in, the second to the body of the machine. A zero on the device screen will confirm that this is the correct wire. Its stripped end is isolated and moved to the side.

The one responsible for the starter is determined as follows: the power wire is closed with the remaining ones. The one from which the mechanism will work and will be its supply wire.

The remaining beam is connected to the positive one, after which it is struck with the “starter” one. If determined correctly, the engine should start

It is extremely important when starting in this way, not to short-circuit the wires for a long time, as this will discharge the battery very quickly.