Starter Problem..

D

davepoe

Junior Member
Hello, I need some advice - working on a 26 T. The car used to start and run fine. Now it won't even turn over. I have had the starter confirmed as good (?) by a starter rebuilder in the area - pulling 50 amps and the shaft is straight. I am jumpering directly to the starter (when in the car) and grounding back to a known good battery, to the starter. I have to take the plugs out to even get the starter/engine to turn over, and even then it only does that when it is not engaged (ie, starting from teeth disengaged). Also, engine turns over fine when hand cranked.

Anybody have any ideas or other tests to try?
 
Is the starter grounded well? have you tried jacking a rear wheel off the ground to see if it is too much drag in neutral? are you jumping with a proven good battery and fat cables?
 
I have seen the starter switches go bad. The repro switches are awful. I use one for a Ford 8N tractor. Same switch better quality but the button doesn't stick up as far.
 
I have had this same problem on two 1926 Model T's, and the cause was very unusual. The starter shaft was unable to rotate freely because of interference with the coil field plate. On both cars the plate was pre-1919 and did not have a cutout for the starter shaft. After 1919 the plate had a half moon cutout about quarter size diameter taken out of the casting to provide clearance for the starter shaft. You can see this easily by looking through the starter mounting hole from the engine compartment. I had to go in there with a grinder to make clearance for the starter shaft. I hooked up a vacuum cleaner hose so it was close enough to pull away the grinding dust before the magneto magnets grabbed it. Once clearance was established the starter rotated freely and worked fine. You only have to take about 1/8" off the coil field plate. Be careful so you do not nick the coil.
Strange but true.
 

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Well, here is the latest...

Swapped out the starter with another from my T which cranks great... Hooked it up directly to the same battery from the other T...won't crank. Any tips on what I should look for? What really gets me is this car used to start fine...
 
What voltage do you have at the starter terminal when trying to crank? I had one that the battery cables needed cleaning. They looked great to me, but no juice. Cleaned the cables and away she went.
 
Have you tried cranking the engine over with the hand crank to eliminate friction in the engine/drivetrain?
 
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