Help! I need a working starter motor!

[phreak97]

Hey,

My starter motor is intermittent and I've rebuilt it a few times to no avail,
can anyone sell me either a cheap new one or a perfectly working second hand one?
I dont have time to mess around with mine anymore, I need the car to get to work.

I'm in australia, but I can cope with surface mail from europe if the starter is cheap enough.. I dont have alot of money, but I need my car:(

Regards,
James

[damon500]

Hi James,
Sorry to hear your Niki is being temperamental- are you sure it is the starter motor that is faulty? They are pretty simple to rebuild and quite reliable normally- the only trap that I have found which is often missed is the Earth brush holder can arc away the housing where it is riveted on- if you drill out the rivets, file up the surfaces and screw down tightly it can make a big difference to the starter speed and batery load. I have also seen a few Nikis over the years that have faulty ignition switches which intermittently won't start. You can try bypassing the starter contacts and see if the problem goes away- I don't have a spare starter but I think I might have a spare ignition switch if you need one.

[phreak97]

That's a good tip about the rivet, I didn't check that.
I've done heaps of testing and it's definately within the starter.
I'd like to get another one anyway so i've got a spare.

Thanks for the info!!

[gsxr126]

Going to check out a whole bunch I have today, hopefully I'll have one for you. Let you know shortly. And just the postage will do.

Funny, must be some sort of infectious disease - mine's got the same prob.

Cheers
Dan

[phreak97]

Oh wow that's awesome thanks!!
Yeah this I my third one, I wish I hadn't given away the others now, the second one worked fine it just made bad noises lol.
If there's anything you need let me know!

[ChrisRLewis]

I have found with a few 126/500 starter motors with an intermittent starting problem.  Are the (internal)connections on the manual switch on the starter motor (pic) are not making a good contact.

The switch requires removing and checking that the two main internal contacts are making a good contact when the starter lever is operated.

[phreak97]

we never got a manual starter in a 126, the 126 only ran between 1989 and 1993 in australia.

for the most part theyre all identical fiat 126p's with odd differences like the type of ignition key and things like that.

Theyre all aircooled and came in red, white, and blue. blue was never advertised in the standard brochures and is very rare to find.
a few had a factory sunroof but most of them came with no options available.

Dealers did many of their own additions and modifications to try to combat low sales, so there are a few chopped down convertibles, cars with electric sunroofs, and just about all of them have some kind of decal strip along the side (never two with the same strips).

Niki's story of failure in Australia is pretty interesting:P

[phreak97]

Gsxr126, did you have any luck finding me a starter? Niki took another sick day today..
Luckily my topolino is being a bit reliable at the moment, so I do have a car to drive:p

[damon500]

If you get stuck I can ask around the local wreckers for you- I know where all the old stock from the Niki importer ended up and although they probably have one i'm sure it would be quite expensive though as they have probably had it in stock for 20 years now!
Funny you mention the Australian Niki colour range because in NZ they were sold from 1987-1990 but all were built in 1986 and were available in only Burgundy or Beige- 2 colours I have never seen in Australia! They were similar but only had a 5 digit odometer, no headrests or emission gear and a foglight instead of the second reversing light. I still miss my NZ Niki- it was Burgundy (Rosso Scuro I think was the colour) and bought it when it was 4 years old with 25000km on the clock and sold it 5 years later when I moved to Australia.
If you were speculating why the Niki was a failure in Australia you need look no further than the name of the importer- E Kandt Pty Ltd...!

[phreak97]

It's so weird how nz gets completely different cars..
Were the nz nikis polish or Italian? It sounds like the nz version wouldn't have passed ADR's here.
Also, how much is alot of money? A nos one would be awesome!

[dajwid]

(I still miss my NZ Niki- it was Burgundy (Rosso Scuro I think was the colour)

Same colour as mine

[damon500]

Ahhh, that brings back memories!
Just ordered some parts from South Australia today- will see if we can send the other way!
If you want to find out direct you can ring Sam on 03 95697779 and ask otherwise I will ask him next time I talk to him.
NZ Nikis definitely wouldn't pass ADR's- they were all polish built including the Fiat badged ones from 1981-1984, the early ones even had MPH speedos.
As far as I can tell the NZ ones were late UK spec aircooled cars with Km/h speedos. Quality was much poorer on the later cars- the early Fiat badged cars were much better built and reliable- Niki was terrible (I owned 4 Nikis and 6 126's over the years so had a few to average over!) Like Australia NZ never got the Bis model however...

[gsxr126]

Hi Phreak,

Sorry I couldnt reply earlier. I do have a starter for you but not sure if it works as I havent had time to test it. Your welcome to have it if you like.

[phreak97]

Sounds good to me:) I'll pm you my address:)
Thanks heaps, I owe you one

[gsxr126]

PM replied to

Cheers