Not essential but I found that the wrong fixings had been fitted often then after cleaning, repairing and painting it seemed a shame to assemble with rusty fixings or bits of insulation tape. Will post for £10.
Technical Starter whirs but doesn't engage
- Thread starter Noah500
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Technical Starter whirs but doesn't engage
The insulating sleeves to go on the long internal bolts that hold starter together sound like a good idea.
Thanks but mine seem to be in OK condition and the screws etc. won't be seen
Has that got the same number of teeth or is it my eye sight?
Yes, both 9... you had me worried there for a minute!
Oh good , just the angle in the photo.
Yes: one has a tooth in the centre of he shot, the other has a gap in the centre... I'll put it all back together and test it tomorrow or the next day
problems... the new brushes are too big (much too long for the spring clips to close comfortably, and too fat to slide into the guides). Strange, as they are from Ricambio and supposedly for all models. I filed them down to fit but not very happy.1. Put everything back together, connected with jump leads to the battery and... nothing, not even any noise to indicate power but motor not able to turn.
2. Went back to the original brushes. Still nothing.
3. Checked circuit across from power cable bolt post to starter body - OK.
4. Removed switch, checked resistance across terminals open and closed to see if there is continuity when closed - OK.
5. Disassembled again, reassembled - still nothing.
6. Replaced old brushes - still nothing.
7. Checked power across brush terminals (yes I remembered to connect the coil lead!) - no voltage, so that could be the issue... though I haven't done anything to that other than clean it...
Also, one thing I noticed is that it's very difficult to turn the mechanism by hand (with power off!) - normal because of magnets, or some issue?
Advice please.
Is the commutator on the armature in good order where the brushes run , all clean and shiny and with all the grooves cleaned out, so no shorting across segments.
Are the brushes able to move freely in the holders with good spring pressure to hold good contact to the commutator.
Unlikely but is there any chance you assembled brush gear electrically different to original.
As a test is it possible on that type of starter to bench test it using jump leads but direct power to the main motor side and earth bypassing the switch gear that you use to pull the gear in to mesh and activate the motor. This, if then works would help pinpoint fault at switch area.
Re stiffness, there is some resistance but normally I would be able to push pinion gear around with my thumb, but some resistance and certainly not possible to spin by hand.
Although you have electrical continuity, it has to pass a high amperage current, so enough to work a meter may not be enough to spin starter.
Incidentally when starter initially failed and you removed and stripped it, did you notice any pungent smell like electrical windings burnt out .
When buying s/h electrical equipment at an auction I noticed people doing a "sniff" test to see if burnt out internally.
If you do test motor directly as I mentioned and it gave a big spark then something internally wrong, if only a smaller one but not turning it may be not fully connecting brushes to commutator due to not "bedded in" if so,if careful it may be possible to flick the pinion gear with a screwdriver to encourage it to start to turn and then if run for a bit it may bed in. Normally if brushes and commutator are good this would be unlikely.
Are the brushes able to move freely in the holders with good spring pressure to hold good contact to the commutator.
Unlikely but is there any chance you assembled brush gear electrically different to original.
As a test is it possible on that type of starter to bench test it using jump leads but direct power to the main motor side and earth bypassing the switch gear that you use to pull the gear in to mesh and activate the motor. This, if then works would help pinpoint fault at switch area.
Re stiffness, there is some resistance but normally I would be able to push pinion gear around with my thumb, but some resistance and certainly not possible to spin by hand.
Although you have electrical continuity, it has to pass a high amperage current, so enough to work a meter may not be enough to spin starter.
Incidentally when starter initially failed and you removed and stripped it, did you notice any pungent smell like electrical windings burnt out .
When buying s/h electrical equipment at an auction I noticed people doing a "sniff" test to see if burnt out internally.
If you do test motor directly as I mentioned and it gave a big spark then something internally wrong, if only a smaller one but not turning it may be not fully connecting brushes to commutator due to not "bedded in" if so,if careful it may be possible to flick the pinion gear with a screwdriver to encourage it to start to turn and then if run for a bit it may bed in. Normally if brushes and commutator are good this would be unlikely.
No burnt smell, no sparks. I took it apart again and cleaned it again.
Removed and reattached brush screws - brushes seem to be touching commutator ok. Coil wire is attached - I think this is the correct sideas that's the side it appears from the body and it is the same as in the video I linked previously...
Jump leads attached, resistance drops from the starter power volt to the coil terminal when the switch is pressed, indicating that there is connection. The only other thing I can think of is remounting the starter motor in the car so it is all attached by the correct cables as opposed to jump leads where the connection may not be as tight, to see if that provides enough oomph.
Removed and reattached brush screws - brushes seem to be touching commutator ok. Coil wire is attached - I think this is the correct sideas that's the side it appears from the body and it is the same as in the video I linked previously...
Jump leads attached, resistance drops from the starter power volt to the coil terminal when the switch is pressed, indicating that there is connection. The only other thing I can think of is remounting the starter motor in the car so it is all attached by the correct cables as opposed to jump leads where the connection may not be as tight, to see if that provides enough oomph.
Normally I have no problem spinning a starter up off the vehicle with a reasonable set of jump leads and a decent battery.
If you hadn't mentioned same problem with old brushes I would have suggested a inferior brush set.
If starter still off vehicle is it possible to remove the cable operated part and by pass it to test, it may sound a bit rough and ready but it should be possible with the starter off the car in a no load condition to clamp the earth jump lead onto the starter body and put the live jumper lead clamped to a big old screwdriver carefully to use as a test probe directly to the terminal that spins the motor up.
I would say only do this if you feel it is safe to do it.
If you hadn't mentioned same problem with old brushes I would have suggested a inferior brush set.
If starter still off vehicle is it possible to remove the cable operated part and by pass it to test, it may sound a bit rough and ready but it should be possible with the starter off the car in a no load condition to clamp the earth jump lead onto the starter body and put the live jumper lead clamped to a big old screwdriver carefully to use as a test probe directly to the terminal that spins the motor up.
I would say only do this if you feel it is safe to do it.
I tried that but no joy so I put everything back on the car, reconnected up the battery and the starter cable, turned on the ignition put it in neutral and press the button on the switch... and the starter turns! So now I just need to connect the cable to test it actually starts the car!
Tadaaa! It works (finally) after the same tedious and lengthy process to attach the starter lever cable to the lever that I had when the cable itself broke a while ago,.. Anyway, it works and it seems smoother/quieter as well. Phew!
Thanks for all the various suggestions, btw
Thanks for all the various suggestions, btw
