How to quickly and without errors replace the starter on a Chevrolet Niva

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.

Starter device

• Collector node.
• Rear part of the case.
• Frame.
• Reverse relay.
• Anchor winding of the retractor unit.
• Drive protective cover.
• Lever drive.
• Lever holder.
• Seals.
• Planetary gear mechanism.
• Bendix.
• Front hub.
• Lock washer.
• Drive shaft.
• Reverse clutch.
• Drive shaft driver.
• Drive shaft bushing.
• Internal locking gear.
• Driven.
• Main shaft gear.
• Anchor bushing.
• Magnetic inserts.
• Anchor.
• Brush unit.
• Brushes.

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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.

Preliminary diagnosis

First you need to check all electrical connections connecting the battery and starter. There are often cases when insufficient contact of the wires - ground or positive - leads to partial operation of the device - clicks of the solenoid relay. In this case, the starter does not turn the engine crankshaft. This can be eliminated by cleaning the contacts of the battery, starter, ground wire and sometimes the contacts of the ignition switch group.

If you eliminate poor contact in the wire connections and there is no positive effect, you need to check the battery. This can be done using a load fork or simply replacing it with a proven working one. If there is no result, the unit will need to be removed and possibly replaced.

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.

Causes and symptoms of starter malfunctions

The causes of malfunction or poor performance of the starter may be:

• winding damage;
• faulty (erased) brushes, due to which they no longer reach the anchor;
• oxidation and burnout of contacts and battery terminals (removed by lubrication with Vaseline);
• retractor malfunction;
• hull destruction;
• malfunction or discharge of the battery (the problem is resolved by charging or replacing the battery);
• the presence of severe wear on the armature with the spring;
• knocked out guide bushings.

Reference! Since the starter is enclosed in a solid housing, if it breaks down, it is not advisable to repair it - it is necessary to replace this part of the car.

Signs of a starter malfunction or failure:

• the bendix (overrunning clutch) does not return when starting the Niva engine, as evidenced by the buzzing sounds under the hood;
• when turning the ignition key, the driver hears something clicking, but the car’s retractor does not rotate;
• An attempt to start the car results in a strange “unhealthy” squeal or squeak coming from under the hood, but it does not turn on.

The starter does not transmit torque to the crankshaft

Analogues of a standard starter

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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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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:

1. We disconnect the terminals from the battery to de-energize the car and protect ourselves.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. We directly dismantle the starter. At the same time, try not to touch the wires or tangle them.
5. The block along with the supply wire must be separated from the traction relay terminal.
6. 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.

Step-by-step instructions: how to remove the protection and starter

Replacing the Niva Chevrolet starter must be carried out according to this algorithm:

• Open the hood of the car.
• Place the car over the inspection hole.
• Unscrew and disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal using a 10mm open end wrench.
• To remove the mounting rod, you will need to unscrew the top bolt with a 14mm socket . Next, you need to unscrew the bottom bolt with the same tool and move the spacer to the side.
• To remove the heat-protective casing, you will need to, from above (not in the inspection hole, but through the hood of the car), unscrew two bolts using a socket head with a ratchet collar of 10. It is worth knowing that it will not be possible to unscrew the nuts, since they are welded to the fastening itself, so it is necessary to work with the bolts.
• After removing the protection from the casing, when access to the starter opens, take a 13-mm spanner or socket wrench and unscrew the three bolts that attach the starter to the clutch housing (the procedure is performed from the inspection hole).
• Disconnect the block with the wire that extends from it from the solenoid relay terminal.
• Slide the protective cover and unscrew the fastening nut.
• Remove the autostarter very (you need to make sure that the wires do not get twisted).

To install a new starter , the dismantling process must be repeated in reverse order.

It is important! Since access to some mounting bolts is difficult, in some cases it will take a long time to unscrew them.

Removal on a Chevrolet Niva with air conditioning

Removing the starter on a Niva-Chevrolet will be quick if the car owner follows the simple algorithm outlined above. If this dismantling work needs to be done for the same car, but with air conditioning, a couple of points are added. The first difference is that for a car with air conditioning, the protective cover is made slightly shorter (about three centimeters) than for a Niva without air conditioning. It also has a slightly modified shape.

Another difference : to dismantle the autostarter on a Niva with air conditioning and gain access to the bolts that secure the starter on top, you also need to remove the hose. It supplies warm, untreated air to the air conditioner. Removing this hose must be preceded by removing the clamp that secures it to the engine. To unscrew the fasteners you need to use a flat-head screwdriver.

Feature of removing the starter from the Niva : you can dismantle the starter from above, without using a special inspection hole, but this will take much more time than using the described method. In addition, for such a procedure you must first acquire considerable experience in the field of car repair. If there is no access to using an inspection pit to remove the starter from a Chevrolet Niva with air conditioning, you can use a lift.

Chevrolet Niva LC › Logbook › Replacing the starter (car with air conditioning)

With God's help, I drove a little over 170 thousand km and when I started the car again I heard something like the squeal of Kaspersky of earlier versions (the exclamation of a frightened pig for those who don’t know =)). And this began to happen with enviable regularity. After consulting, they decided on the starter - it does not immediately disengage. The service asked for a kilo-ruble (1000 rubles) for the replacement procedure. ***After the operation I realized that I couldn’t have done it cheaper myself*** I went to buy KZATE (aka KATEK) without any doubt. For some reason I thought that it was he who should have been on the car. What prompted me to do this feat were the comments to this www.drive2.ru/l/464844929995112589/ entry that everything can be unscrewed and screwed in, removed and inserted without any problems with the wheels turned all the way to the right. I don't have a protective screen either! ))

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):

Full sizePramo

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!

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.