!! Sparks !!

spdway1

spdway1

Well-known member
When I attempt to start my AA, the foot pedal rod sparks really bad on the hole where it goes threw the firewall.

What do I need to do to correct this?

Thank you :cool:
 
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It also could be you have a poor ground. Start with cleaning the ground connections, also use a jumper cable and run it from the battery ground to the starter bolts or any place on the engine you can get to that you can get a good solid clamp on. If this fixes the issue than you need to go through all the frame to engine to body ground points and clean them up, including engine pans. Another option is to run a #2 or larger soft copper cable from the engine (I attached to one of the starter to engine mounting bolts) to the battery ground cable to frame bolt. Again make sure there is no rust, paint, dirt..... etc. at the connection points and that they are tight.
 
There is a short circuit, probably the switch insulator per #3, but do #4 too for good maintenance, plus check the "hot" battery cable to the starter while you are at it to be sure it is not touching anything.
 
On this subject: Who supplies the BEST repro starter switch, or are they all from the same source? Bill W.
 
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Jim Brierley said:
Do the above, then slip a short piece of fuel hose over the stem of the rod.
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Sounds like a good idea. That will move the problem to the choke rod will it will not be as annoying. On the other hand, maybe you could fix the problem before it causes a disaster (if it is a short in the switch). I vote for the ground being the problem.

Charlie Stephens
 
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I put some wraps of Duct tape on the pedal shaft for now. I will change the switch out too.
This is another AA project new to me.
 
Me too. When I reread #1 - #2 did not make sense, but then I remembered that post #1 originally said something about it was sparking and should he do something about it.

The question as originally stated was rediculous so I figured that it was a spoof and answered with the gasoline comment.
If I had said -of course you need to fix it - it still would not make sense because the question was changed to what should I do
 
Might be that the starter rod has come loose from the shaft that connects it to the starter switch. The nut on the rod, on my car anyway, sometimes vibrates loose and allows the rod to turn out of the shaft. If this happens, and the starter button is pressed, the rod can come in contact directly with the switch connections on the starter itself and cause the sparking.
 
spdway1 said:
I put some wraps of Duct tape on the pedal shaft for now. I will change the switch out too.
This is another AA project new to me.
Click to expand...


Just make sure there are no wrinkles in the tape. The number of wrinkles determine the quality of the repair. :D
 
Insulation really isn't the answer.There should be NO juice in that rod,at any time.You have something wrong in the switch,and at some point,things will be melting.There was a fiber plunger in the switch,that is either damaged or has been replaced with a wrong material.
 
My first thought was exactly the same as Keith's, but then when someone mentioned a poor ground, that also is possible. One end of the rod touches the switch housing and the other end touches the firewall, so if the starter has a poor ground then when the starter demands 100 amps sparks could fly from the rod where it touches the firewall, and provides another ground path.

To check for a poor electrical path just connect the meter leads to the points in question and see if any voltage is shown. 0 volts would mean you have a good connection. So, connect one meter lead (-) to the starter switch housing and the other meter lead (+) to the firewall, then push the starter switch and hope to read 0 volts. Set the meter on the lowest DC volts setting.

It's also easy to remove the switch and inspect the two insulating parts inside that Keith mentioned. I often find the thick t part at the end of the rod is worn and can short.
 
I agree with jmeckle and Tom. Not trying to be disagreeable but poor ground will cause this problem and it will only happen when the starter is in use. I never was much into test meters. I like the way that jmeckle describes how to test the problem in post number 4. Some don't have test meters.

I think that the guy in post number 2 meant that if there was gas in the floor that sparks from the starter switch rod could cause a fire. Its not likely that anybody would pour gasoline in the floor unless it was accidently.
 
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