Starter problem?

S

Squadron

Member
Hey folks!

Thanks to the hard work of this forum I managed to improve the wiring between the battery and the solenoid, and there's plenty of power going to the solenoid now. I can hear a nice solid CLICK every time I push the button.

However the car still isn't turning over. So it's on to the next potential problem: wiring between the solenoid and starter motor and then the starter motor itself.

Any advice on locating a nice fat new wire for the solenoid -> starter?

And advice on how to troubleshoot a starter motor? Right now I'm not hearing ANYTHING come out of the starter. It's not turning at all, but a couple weeks ago (before I left town for a couple days) it would slowly turn over.
 
The solenoid just consists of a metal disk that comes down and makes contact between the hot side and the starter side. Over time those contacts get bad and they don't send full voltage to the starter. Many things can come in play like the contact between the starter and the pan needs to be clean and shiny for the ground. If the solenoid is old it might not be good anymore. All of this can be checked with a good meter. Many vendors sell a good 6V cable for the starter. Good luck.
 
Could your starter be bound up ...???
If you can't rock it and free it....Take it off and check starter ring gear too...
 
You can by pass the solenoid with a heavy jumper just be sure vehicle is in neutral , if starter engages than you found your problem.
 
I did more testing of the solenoid before I posted since it's a real common point of failure (the disk can get pitted over time too, leading to a bad connection).

The solenoid clicks nicely, and passes current through.

I also pulled the solenoid out of the equation, just connecting the cables together to see if I could even hear the starter try to engage. I didn't hear anything at all.

My next step is gonna be to try to find a cable long enough to connect from the battery all the way down to the starter.
 
Nice catch 19Fordy. I just tapped teh cables together to provide a real strong connection and not even a sound. Tapped the starter a couple times to see if I could free it (with a rubber mallet). Nothing.

Time to pull the starter off.

It looks like it's just connected via a single bolt attached through the transmission casing, but I'm looking for any advice out there about pulling it off.
 
Should be 2 that go entirely through the starter . They’re long bolts with the nuts welded / threaded in the bell housing . Be careful pulling the starter down as those 2 bolts hold the whole starter together .
 
Ggmac said:
Should be 2 that go entirely through the starter . They’re long bolts with the nuts welded / threaded in the bell housing . Be careful pulling the starter down as those 2 bolts hold the whole starter together .
Click to expand...

To keep the starter from coming apart during removal, I duct tape the sections together...it's a little discouraging to have it come down in pieces!! And those brushes are a bear to put back where they belong unless you're doing a bench rebuild anyway.
 
Duct tape - great idea! Ive gotten pretty good at getting mine both removed and installed in one piece but I’ve paid the price in the past of having it come out in sections
 

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