Sooner or later, a situation arises when your favorite Chevrolet Niva stops starting or begins to start intermittently. There are various reasons - problems in the fuel or electrical system, or all at the same time.
One of the most common and quite easy to diagnose on your own is a malfunction of the Chevrolet Niva starter. But for correct full diagnostics, it requires its removal, disassembly and often replacement.
The starter device is a direct current electric motor, which is excited by permanent magnets, combined with a planetary gearbox, as well as an electromagnetic two-winding traction relay.
Before proceeding with dismantling, you need to make sure that the reason for the engine not starting is the starter. This can be determined visually and by replacing the battery with a known good one.
Preliminary diagnosis
Before dismantling the starter, you must make sure that this device is the cause of the malfunction. This can be done visually or by replacing the battery with a working one. It is also worth checking whether current passes from the battery to the starter: if current passes, then the cause of the malfunction is the starter, but if current does not pass, then the starter relay should be checked. If the latter malfunctions, it must be replaced. If everything works, then the next step is to remove the starter.
How to remove the Niva Chevrolet starter
To remove the starter, you need to do the following:
- Disconnect the wires from the battery and starter (you can use a wrench of the required size).
- We unscrew the starter, which is attached with three bolts to the box body. You can remove it through the top or bottom, however, motorists believe that it is more convenient to remove it through the bottom. It's difficult to do this without a pit. Air conditioning can be another obstacle. If it is present, you will also need to remove the warm air intake hose. The clamp that secures it to the engine can be loosened using a flathead screwdriver.
Now you need to determine the cause of the failure. There may be several of them:
- Faulty brushes. If they are worn out and do not reach the anchor, they should be replaced.
- Faulty retractor. In this case, replacement is necessary.
- Knocked out guide bushings also require replacement.
- The cause of the breakdown may be a burnt-out winding or a burnt-out armature. It is difficult to repair such a malfunction at home; it is better to contact a specialist.
The wires leading to the starter need to be cleaned and lubricated, and also checked to see if current is flowing through them. If necessary, it is better to replace the power cord, because it can cause poor operation of the device.
If the cause of the breakdown is identified and eliminated, then the next step is to install the starter. You need to do this in reverse order:
- Connect the wires first, then mount the starter and tighten the three bolts;
- screw back the rod that covered the starter outlet and the engine protection;
- connect the battery and check if everything works.
What tools are needed for removal?
To replace, you will need the following sets of tools and accessories::
- medium-sized flat-head screwdriver;
- open-end wrenches;
- socket heads equipped with a ratchet collar;
- special penetrating lubricant WD-40 (may not be useful);
- spanners.
When all the specified tools are prepared, you can begin the process of removing the old starter and replacing it with a new one according to the algorithm below.
Recommendations for using the starter
To make your starter last longer, you need to follow a few simple recommendations:
- If you turn on the engine, then this should be done no longer than 15-20 seconds, and repeated no earlier than after 25-30 seconds. If after three times the engine does not start, you need to check the ignition and power system. If such faults are detected, they must be corrected.
- Do not use the starter to move the vehicle. This puts a lot of stress on the trigger mechanism.
- If you have successfully started the engine, turn off the starter, as the overrunning clutch may jam due to frequent rotation of the starter drive gear by the flywheel.
Anyone who has already removed and installed the starter at least once is unlikely to want to do it a second time. Although this work is not difficult, it requires a lot of effort and sometimes money. Follow these simple rules to avoid such breakdowns.
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Why is starter protection needed on Niva Chevrolet?
Apparently the engineers thought that the thermal protection of the starter should remind of itself, so they made such a short-lived mount. Due to the fact that the protection flies off the eye, a nasty rattling sound appears.
The layout of the attachments under the Niva's hood was clearly adapted to the shape of the wheel arches, so some components remained out of reach. Starter, including. The exhaust manifold hangs above it, from below it is covered with a mudguard and front axle protection and sandwiched between the engine support cushion and the pump.
Ingenuity + spring = Russian know-how!
The shield is attached to two nuts and is a casing stamped to the shape of the starter. Its task is to protect the starter from overheating , since in injection engines with a catalyst the temperature of the exhaust manifold is an order of magnitude higher than in carburetor engines.
Danger of driving without starter protection
The danger of driving without a protective shield is that under high loads and in difficult operating conditions, the starter can critically overheat, which will lead to melting or cracking of plastic parts , insulation on the windings, as well as burnout of the insulation on the wires that power and control the starter.
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As a result, this can lead not only to failure of the starter, but also to a short circuit in the wires, then you will have to become familiar with the principle of operation of the fire extinguisher. The main problem with the shield is that the mounting lugs are secured by two spot welding points . After a year or two of use, they inevitably fall off due to vibration and the casing begins to rattle and ring, which few people like. Hello engineers, now let’s remove the starter protection on the Chevrolet Niva.
For cars manufactured after 2009
To determine the problem, you also need to look at the values indicated by the fuses. On new units that were released after 2009, the purpose of the installed fuses has changed.
Fuse identification and description
The changes are that in the additional relay block the manufacturers added a part to enable the heating system for the front and rear seats.
The fuse box has 5 fuses . A 15 amp protective insert for the fuel pump has appeared. The mechanism is controlled by a separate relay.
How to remove the starter thermal cover on a Chevrolet Niva
Based on the experience of Chevrolet Niva owners, it turns out that there are two ways to dismantle the ill-fated casing - pick it out with a pry bar and dispose of it, but then the starter will be left without protection, or spend several hours dismantling it.
The starter is more expensive, so we proceed to dismantling using this technology:
- It is imperative to de-energize the car by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery or turning off the mains switch.
- Remove the engine protection. To do this, you need to install the car on a viewing hole or a lift.
Remove the engine protection.
Now that we have the casing in our hands, we assess the degree of damage - if the eyes are simply broken off, we can either weld them well to the casing or put them on bolts, this is more reliable.
Some recommend laying a layer of asbestos between the starter and the shield , but if there is a gap in this place, you can count on some kind of cooling. Before putting the starter protection in place, you need to make sure that you have new exhaust pipe gaskets (on the manifold side and on the muffler side) and new bolts and nuts on hand. Only now you can put everything back together in reverse order.
Option without air conditioning
In some cases (if the car does not have air conditioning), you can do without dismantling the exhaust pipe. To do this, you need to unscrew the engine mount and jack it up, resting one end of a wooden block on the exhaust manifold closer to the cylinder block, and the other on the jack.
So you can try to bring the heat shield back, besides this there is another way - dismantling the exhaust manifold. Without a collector, the shield can be easily removed.
Good luck to everyone and enjoy your travels!
Repair work
When any problems arise with the starter, its removal is considered a mandatory procedure. Moreover, on a Chevrolet Niva, for some other repair work, removal of this part is necessary, because it will interfere. Using ordinary tools that every car enthusiast has, you can dismantle it yourself. Removing the starter occurs in the following sequence:
- We disconnect the terminals from the battery to de-energize the car and protect ourselves.
- We take the extended socket head and remove the starter gearbox. To do this, you need to unscrew several bolts that connect it to the gearbox clutch housing.
- Remove the exhaust pipe spacer. To do this, you need to remove the fastening at the bottom of the rear strut and move it further away.
- We directly dismantle the starter. At the same time, try not to touch the wires or tangle them.
- The block along with the supply wire must be separated from the traction relay terminal.
- Move aside the rubber cover, remove the nuts and the wire of the bolt on the traction relay.
After all these steps, you can carry out the necessary repair work. Removing the starter is not difficult, it just requires careful and careful steps. To replace the starter, you need to do everything in the reverse order.
Chevrolet Niva LC › Logbook › Replacing the starter (car with air conditioning)
When unscrewing, the 82-piece tool set helped a lot:
The contents of all of these are the same, the difference is in the layout of the suitcase. We used both ratchets and all their extensions and universal joints so that we could reach the bottom bolts and a “13-socket” for the top bolt.
I removed the “-” from the battery. I unscrewed the bolts and lowered them a little to make it easier to unscrew the wires:
I pulled this miracle down: it really squeezes between the suspension parts)) And now let’s compare...
Not a very good angle: the original starter is closer to the phone, because of this its size is slightly exaggerated. In reality, it is noticeably smaller - both shorter in length and smaller in diameter.
Here he is - dear (closer):
For reference, power characteristics: Pramo - 1.4 kW, KZATE - 1.55 kW.
We install a new miracle in the same sequence and... nothing happens. Because the new KZATE is bigger - it doesn’t interfere from any side. I had to lower (unscrew) my pants =)
As a result, the new starter is in place, it seems to turn more powerfully than the old one, but for a longer time. The squeal is gone)) Don't break! All blessings!
Device Features
Starter; it is a mechanism that works and moves due to the interaction of magnets. The rated power of this device on the Chevrolet Niva is 1.55 kW. The current strength in it will be:
- with the development of limiting power 375A;
- when braking up to 700A;
- at idle less than 80A.
The starter consists of 28 different parts, including fasteners, housing and internal components. Rotation of the anchor shaft due to metal-ceramic liners leads to movement of the drive shaft. This is also facilitated by a gearbox consisting of various gears. They, in turn, move due to needle bearings. Thanks to the connected battery, the voltage is transmitted directly to the starter, and it starts moving.
Replacing the starter on a Chevrolet Niva
Before I started replacing the starter, I disconnected the battery. First, I removed the entire lower engine protection.
The starter is secured with three bolts; after they are unscrewed, it can be pulled out from below the engine, but a rod will interfere with this. So I immediately unscrewed it.
First the nut from the bottom.
Then the bolt on top.
Now you can unscrew the starter. The bottom bolt is fairly easily accessible from below. I unscrewed it with a small ratchet.
I unscrewed the remaining two bolts from above. This is what the starter looks like from above.
Here I have already used a spanner wrench. The key part of the key is slightly bent, otherwise it would be impossible to get to these bolts. The middle bolt is also more or less accessible.
The top bolt is the most difficult to reach of the three. But in principle, the key was easy to throw onto it, only the key stroke was very small and it took a long time to turn.
When all three bolts were unscrewed, the starter easily came out of its place.
But in order to get it out of there, the protection of the starter from heat interfered. These are sheets of metal around it. On the side of the box, the starter rested against the protection with its protrusions into which bolts were screwed. At this point I simply bent the protection with my hands. On the other side, the protection at the bottom is secured with a nut. I tried to unscrew it with a large ratchet. She didn't give in. Then I pressed a little harder and it seemed to turn. And when I looked, I saw that the nut did not even think of turning away, but I simply twisted the eye to which it was attached. True, the protection bent back and allowed the starter to be removed, and the mount itself did not break off at all and seemed to be holding tightly and not rattling. I then left it all like that.
(It turns out I was wrong here. The nut shouldn’t have been unscrewed; it is welded to the mount. But you need to unscrew the bolt that goes into this nut on the other side.)
Now the starter easily pulled out of its place. The wires that go to the starter allow you to remove it without disconnecting them.
There are only 2 wires going to the starter. One small red one, which is simply plugged into the connector. We easily disconnect it by pulling the connector. The second one is healthy, screwed on with a nut covered with a rubber nozzle, and by unscrewing it I completely removed the starter.
Having unscrewed two nuts from the back of the starter, I disconnected its two halves and saw this picture.
It turned out that inside it there is a plastic part in the form of a glass with teeth, along which three gears run. So it broke into pieces and these gears therefore did not run in a circle and therefore did not rotate the gear that meshes with the flywheel.
And the gear that turns them also lost one tooth, but most likely this is due to flying plastic fragments.
This photo report shows in detail how to replace the starter on a Chevrolet Niva with your own hands. It is worth noting that replacing the starter is quite a rare need. In 80% of cases the starter can be repaired. In our case, there was a mechanical failure of one of the starter drive gears. This spare part is not sold separately, so I had to replace it with a new starter.
There is nothing complicated in the starter replacement procedure. He can handle it quite well on his own. Tools you will need :
- Ratchet wrench and sockets for 10, 12;
- Phillips and flathead screwdrivers;
- A penetrating lubricant like WD-40 may be needed;
also recommend that you familiarize yourself with our video about starter malfunctions and the main possible causes.
How to replace the starter on a Niva Chevrolet
It may happen that the Chevrolet Niva does not start, or starts, but with periodic interruptions. This may be due to a failure, for example, of the electrical or fuel system. The most common failure is when the starter fails. But in order to correctly and fully carry out diagnostics, it is necessary to remove the starter; the Chevrolet Niva is no exception.
This device is an electric motor with direct current, which is activated by a permanent magnet, which is combined with a planetary gearbox, plus a two-winding electromagnetic relay. Therefore, before dismantling, you should understand whether this is the reason that the engine does not want to start. This can be determined both visually and by replacing the battery.
Node location
The starter is an electric motor powered by direct current. It is combined with a planetary gearbox and operates due to the action of magnets. The autostarter is also combined with an electromagnetic traction relay located in a double winding.
If the Chevy Niva does not start and the starter does not turn, you should first make sure that this particular unit is faulty . To do this, carry out preliminary diagnostics: just check the contacts of the ground and positive wires (located on the back of the device). In addition, it is worth trying to close the starter contacts using a screwdriver. If the device does not work even after this, it definitely needs to be replaced.
To find the starter in a Chevrolet Niva car, you need to open the hood . Pay attention to the engine: the autostarter will be located to the left of it. The top of this unit is covered with a special heat-protective casing, so you won’t be able to see the starter right away. You can try to see this unit from below the car, but the starter protection will prevent this from happening. For the reasons described above, in order to inspect and replace the device, you will first have to remove the specified parts.
Preliminary diagnostics
A number of actions need to be taken:
- We check all the existing electrical connections that connect the starter and the battery, since it happens that poor contact between ground and positive leads to poor operation of the device, and the click of the retractor relay is heard, thereby not enough power to crank the crankshaft in the engine. This problem is eliminated by cleaning the contacts of the starter, battery, and various groups of contacts.
- We check the battery itself; it is necessary to replace the load plug itself with a proven one that is working. If there is no result, then it is necessary to remove the unit and replace it.
Tips for motorists
It doesn't take long - 5 minutes. There are perverts who pulled me out through the top. And the fact that they are sheep is how they really admit it.
My advice as an experienced one in removing starters. Do not touch the heat shield. Unscrew the boot, remove the protection, unscrew the spacer rod and the three starter mounting bolts, the positive terminal from the starter and the control terminal.
No miracles or dancing with a tambourine! It consists of a gear with teeth that engages the flywheel ring when the relay begins to operate. As a result, the engine crankshaft rotates and the car starts.
Replacing and removing the starter on a Chevrolet Niva
To make a replacement you must:
- We disconnect the terminals from the battery; if this is not done, a short circuit may occur, which will lead to a complete replacement of the electrical wiring
- Using a ratchet wrench, remove the crankcase protection
- Loosen the three bolts that secure the starter.
- We dismantle thermal protection
- Together with the wires, carefully pull out the unit; after pulling it out, carefully pull the wires toward you and disconnect them from the device.
- The power wires that are connected can be cleaned; perhaps the reason that the engine starts unstably lies in poor contact.
After it has been removed, diagnostics and subsequent repairs can be made.
Retractor
To ensure that the starter does not experience additional loads, a special Niva Chevrolet starter relay is installed, it is also called a solenoid relay, consisting of:
- Two windings
- Magnet
- Anchors
- Springs
When power begins to flow, the armature, under the influence of an electromagnetic field, begins to compress the spring, which leads to the rotation of the bendix. When the engine starts, the power is turned off and the spring relaxes.
Malfunctions
- Burnout or oxidation of contacts
- The winding is damaged
- The armature with the spring wears out
- The hull is destroyed
It consists of a solid body, so if it breaks, it is impractical to repair it.
You can understand that replacement is required by the following signs:
- Bendix does not return when starting the engine, and a whirring sound can be heard under the hood
- When the starter is working, the power unit does not work
- When turning the ignition key, clicks are heard, but the element itself does not rotate.
Check and replacement
To check, just take a screwdriver and close its contacts, which are located on the back of the device. When the circuit is closed, the starter should work, but if it remains stationary and only a click is heard, then it should be replaced.
In order to replace the starter relay on a Chevrolet Niva, you need to do the following:
- Unscrew the three bolts that secure the part
- Removing the relay
- Installing a new part
- Checking the work
If everything is done correctly it should start
If you have an idea of how everything works and you are sure that the cause of the malfunction is in the retractor, then you can safely proceed to replacement and repair. If there are any doubts, then you need to check it on a stand under load, since it happens that without load it works perfectly, but under load it stops working.
