Hi again guys,
Once again in need of some help, getting hugely frustrated with my car.
We have it to the point of starting, and upon turning the key were greeted with it attempting to start, but then it starts stumbling when you turn the key to start it. Instead of the usual rrr rrr rrr as it tries to start, we have rrrr and almost a pause like something is just not working, then another rrrr. (I know this explanation sounds extremely juvenile, Im just unsure how to describe it.)
We have checked wiring and connections to starter motor. The red wire that runs to the positive terminal, not the white one, just the red gets very hot...does anyone have any sort of advice please?

whats the cca of the battery? Could also try banging the dash above your left leg while starting ( could be your bcm??). Also check your earths and termial connections

Check all connections as they could be loose or the starter motor is on the way out (shorting out inside casusing the heat)

Heat in wiring is caused by excessive resistance to current flow.

If you are having heat issues in factory wiring you have loose connections or corrosion issues under the insulation of the wire. or both. You may also have a problem with the starter.

Do you have the equipment to measure current? or do a voltage drop test on the wires?

It's not your BCM that was mentioned above... This causes a no start...

I'd say the commutator is polling out... This happens when the brushes wear out "chunks' or carbon get caught between commutator poles and then you get to a point where there isn't enough magnetism difference to pull the commutator around...

You could dismantle it and check it, or buy a new starter, even though the starter isn't turning you're still applying full load current through it and more than likely this is why that cable is heating up... The cable was never intended to crank continuously because it is way too small for that... So try not to overheat it otherwise you'll burn the insulation off... I'd reckon the cable may have been chosen with like a 20 or 30 sec max duty cycle in mind...

As above check your connections and make sure they're tight and corrosion free... Ensure your battery is charged... And if these are right it'd the starter... Mine did exactly what you're describing just on 12 months ago, being a manual, if it didn't start I could put it in gear and rock the car to get that pair of shorted poles, and then generally start it second time around...

Cheers,
Tim

Thanks heaps for taking the time to offer advice guys, we will check out what you said and see how we go.

is it the car you just changed the engine in?, ef into el??????

if your ignition timing is way out you may also get a tight hard to crank symptom after a few cranks, as the ignition is trying to fire fuel in the cyl way before the piston is up..


just a thought................

If it's just had engine conversion, poor earth can cause similar symptoms