Vito W447 Starter Motor Questions

[Northdude]

I had to get recovery out today as suddenly my van wouldn't crank. Guy from the RAC tried battery etc and in the end we managed to bump start it. He said it must be the starter motor although he said he couldn't test it because of its position as there isn't enough space.
I'm planning on removing the starter motor tomorrow. Before I do are there any fuses or relays I should check prior to this. I've got no idea if the starter motor is even getting power so just seeing if there is anything simple I should check prior to removing it.

Thanks

 

[Northdude]

I had to get recovery out today as suddenly my van wouldn't crank. Guy from the RAC tried battery etc and in the end we managed to bump start it. He said it must be the starter motor although he said he couldn't test it because of its position as there isn't enough space.
I'm planning on removing the starter motor tomorrow. Before I do are there any fuses or relays I should check prior to this. I've got no idea if the starter motor is even getting power so just seeing if there is anything simple I should check prior to removing it.

Thanks

Van is a 2017 111 cdi

 

[StMarks]

Is your ignition switch & steering lock system all working correctly, just the starter not working.?
Fwiw I had a similar situation on my (much older 2007 W639 109cdi) about a year ago. I went to start it & no starter when I turned the key.
In my case I disconnected the battery, and left it disconnected overnight as I intended to try & trace the fault but ran out of time that evening.
The next day I got my long wire, multimeter & clamps all prepared to have a good old play about fault-tracing.
For the sake of it, first I re-connected the battery & tried the starter, and it worked fine.!!!
It has worked fine ever since ( hope I'm not going to regret writing that.! )
I never did work out what had caused it. My "thinking" is that the ECU had decided there was a problem, and locked out the starter somehow. When I disconnected the power for that extended period it's temporary memory " had forgotten" it's ghost problem, & allowed it's normal procedure to resume.
No fault codes were showing or stored.
Hth.

 

[Northdude]

Is your ignition switch & steering lock system all working correctly, just the starter not working.?
Fwiw I had a similar situation on my (much older 2007 W639 109cdi) about a year ago. I went to start it & no starter when I turned the key.
In my case I disconnected the battery, and left it disconnected overnight as I intended to try & trace the fault but ran out of time that evening.
The next day I got my long wire, multimeter & clamps all prepared to have a good old play about fault-tracing.
For the sake of it, first I re-connected the battery & tried the starter, and it worked fine.!!!
It has worked fine ever since ( hope I'm not going to regret writing that.! )
I never did work out what had caused it. My "thinking" is that the ECU had decided there was a problem, and locked out the starter somehow. When I disconnected the power for that extended period it's temporary memory " had forgotten" it's ghost problem, & allowed it's normal procedure to resume.
No fault codes were showing or stored.
Hth.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I checked the starter motor 25a fuse and it was blown, replaced it and as soon as it cranks it blew the fuse and there was a noise from the starter motor. I've ordered a new starter motor and I'll remove the current one tomorrow to confirm that it's definitely at fault.

I've also had a ton of faults that have corrected themselves, all electrical related. From it not recognising the key to the fan switch playing up, heaters not working, radiator fan going flat out and traction control problems. Now ive got adblue errors and engine light is on. Only owned the van 6 month. Happy days

 

[StMarks]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I checked the starter motor 25a fuse and it was blown, replaced it and as soon as it cranks it blew the fuse and there was a noise from the starter motor. I've ordered a new starter motor and I'll remove the current one tomorrow to confirm that it's definitely at fault.

That does sound very likely that the starter motor is the culprit in your case. Nice to actually find a fault to be able to put right . Best of luck

I've also had a ton of faults that have corrected themselves, all electrical related. From it not recognising the key to the fan switch playing up, heaters not working, radiator fan going flat out and traction control problems. Now ive got adblue errors and engine light is on. Only owned the van 6 month. Happy days

These little Vito vans really are "somewhat trying" aren't they.! Fwiw my drivers side window mechanism has just gone again. This will be the third time ! and each time it's been a little plastic component that must cost pennies to produce that fails (and presumably would cost almost nothing more to be made better/less prone to deterioration).

They do drive quite nicely though, don't they...

 

[JamesEFFC]

Hi Northdude, did replacing the starter fix your problem?
Im having the same issue and just checked the fuse to see it has blown, replaced the fuse then it blew when i tried to start the van.
Cheers

 

[Northdude]

Hi Northdude, did replacing the starter fix your problem?
Im having the same issue and just checked the fuse to see it has blown, replaced the fuse then it blew when i tried to start the van.
Cheers

The next day it started working again! I'm guessing something got wet to cause the fuse to blow. Worked absolutely fine up until this week when the starter motor completely failed but this didn't cause the fuse to the blow, just the clicking noise.
May have been the starter motor playing up that was causing the fuse blow or the bad weather. I've got no idea though.

 

[JamesEFFC]

The next day it started working again! I'm guessing something got wet to cause the fuse to blow. Worked absolutely fine up until this week when the starter motor completely failed but this didn't cause the fuse to the blow, just the clicking noise.
May have been the starter motor playing up that was causing the fuse blow or the bad weather. I've got no idea though.

No worries mate. Im replacing the starter on monday so hopefully that sorts my issue, if that doesnt work im no sure what I will do haha