starter motor fix

[simplemind7]

hey, i have 2 starter motors that kind of work and i'm trying to see if its possible to take them apart and make one that works properly.

one starter motor came in my manta and only works when it feels like it, about half the time it will work perfectly fine and the other half it won't do anything at all, you have to physically jolt it in some way to make it work. when it was in the manta i would get the car rolling then drop the clutch in first with the key in the start position, that worked almost every time.

the other one works every time, but smoke comes from the positive battery terminal when cranking the engine.

i don't know much about starter motors, any suggestions?

[timemachine]

Originally Posted by simplemind7 hey, i have 2 starter motors that kind of work and i'm trying to see if its possible to take them apart and make one that works properly. one starter motor came in my manta and only works when it feels like it, about half the time it will work perfectly fine and the other half it won't do anything at all, you have to physically jolt it in some way to make it work. when it was in the manta i would get the car rolling then drop the clutch in first with the key in the start position, that worked almost every time. the other one works every time, but smoke comes from the positive battery terminal when cranking the engine. i don't know much about starter motors, any suggestions?

Sounds like a bad solenoid in the first starter, (you can find a replacement pretty easily on e-bay). If you are using the same wiring, the second motor sounds like a short, especially if the wires get hot when you crank it. You could pull the solenoid from the second motor and try it on the first.

But before you do anything, make sure the battery cables are good. If in doubt, patch in a set of jumper cables.
Jim

[markandson]

The other possiblility on the first one is that the armature is very dirty. Bad contact between the brushes and the armature contacts will give you exactly what you are describing. The other possibility is that the brushes are worn all the way down, but that would only happen in a starter that was used ALOT. Take the whole thing apart, it is not that difficult. You have to take out the pivot pin in the solenoid, just make sure you understand how the assembly goes back together. There is a square hole in the end of the solenoid that the gear engagement arm must fit into when re-assembling. Just clean everything. You can use the small radial stainless brush that is available for your dremel tool to clean all the armature lands. BTW the other hard part of disassembly/reassembly is the brushes. What I did was use zip ties to hold them in place against the spring pressure, then after the armature is back in place you just snip the ties and the brushes spring back into position. As long as you are in there, don't forget to clean out all the old grease in the bearings and put some new grease in, but not too much. For initial disassembly you may need to use a hand impact driver to get the screws loose that hold the solenoid.

[simplemind7]

awesome, thanks. i'm going to try these suggestions this weekend

[West Coast GT]

I would bet the majority of us have had ignition switch issues or out-right failure. There are extensive threads in this forum regarding the ignition switch and something everyone refers to as an "Otto" switch. Otto is the member who developed a fix.

I've jumped the starter terminals (like you did with the screw driver) and run a momentary toggle switch up to the dash (just below the driver's side dash vent). This isn't a good way to go about it - but it works in a pinch.

But the "Otto" switch is no doubt the better way of doing it.

[simplemind7]

so i tore apart the starter solenoid that was currently on the gt (the one that works sometimes) and the contacts were very dirty with what looks like carbon so i scraped it all off until it was nice and shiny and put it all back together, but still no go. i reversed the two spade connector wires and still nothing. this wiring has worked before with the other starter though.

i can jump the starter with a screw driver and it will turn the engine over no problem at all, that works every time but starting with the key does nothing. i would assume wiring is messed up somewhere or the ignition cylinder is burned out, except that it worked perfectly fine with the other starter.

i'm stumped, suggestions?

[jordan]

Your ignition switch may very well be toast, to troubleshoot this you should go through all your connections and make sure they are clean and tight and also make sure your battery has a good charge.

[simplemind7]

the battery doesn't have the best charge right now, could this stop the key from operating it, but the screwdriver jump will still work?