Electrial troubleshooting help

[Oldblue]

Hey Guys, I'm presently trying to troubleshoot my 72 SIII 88 RHD after 2 months in the garage. Initially, she clicked and weakly turned but would not start. After several atempts of turning the key I smelled burning ruber from the solenoid. I checked it and discovered the connection to the solenoid from starter motor was melting the rubber cover and the connection was accentially burnt thru. I replaced the solenoid and the wire to the starter motor, tightened all connections at starter motor, battery, and solenoid, and now I get a strong clicking sound when key is turned, but no activity at starter motor. Battery is testing good and no burning smell with new solenoid. Any ideas? Stater motor is refurbished unit installed 1 year ago.Replacement of starter motor may be over my head, so I want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything before I attempt it. Any pics of solenoid, connections to starter motor and battery would also be appreciated as I'm not sure I have all grounds reconnected appropriately. Thanks for any advice in advance, Eamonn

[scott]

starter motors are easy to r/r. there's another thread here somewhere where the debate to disconnect the exhaust from the manifold is required or not rages on.

before pulling the starter check all grounds, make sure they are clean and tight

[Nium]

Put a charger on the battery or jump it from another vehicle. A battery can test at an ok voltage without a load but once a load is applied it won't be putting out 12 volts and unless you test it with a load you won't be able to tell it's low.

The symptoms you describe sound a lot like a low battery and if that's not it like scott wrote check ground strap at engine to chassis and if that's not it try jarring the starter by hitting it with a piece of wood or hammer because if a flat spot has developed on the armature? then it will knock it past the flat spot and hopefully get the starter to spin.

Cheers

[Broadstone]

I had same situation. I was at the convenience store getting a slush puppy. The same thing happened, at first it was getting power at the starter but getting only 1.5 revolutions of the fly wheel then nothing. Kept trying but same results then after 5 attempts no revolutions at all just the clicking you are talking about. I too smelled rubber. at first I figured it was a low battery. Had the wife come pick me up and got a new battery, same thing with the 1.5 revolutions and that's it. The starter was extremely hot to the touch after many more attempts. I also sanded a good ground for the strap and that didnt help. Finally I was fed up and let it sit for a half hour to cool down and it fired right up! The starter was the problem, and mine too was a rebuilt unit 1 year old. I put in a old unit I had hanging around and have been using it for the past 7 years!! Find someone near you that has a good starter kicking around and give it a shot. You can do the starter yourself, and there are plenty of people here to help walk you through it!! Good luck!!

[Oldblue]

Thanks guys, I just got back from the auto store and the battery tested out fine with a load, so thats ruled out. Also tried to jump the starter directly and nothing, so I'm gonna try and switch out the starter motor this week sometime, when it comes UPS. I will keep you all posted, and thats for the info.

[Oldblue]

oh , one more thing, on the grounds mentioned above. I have a ground strap from starter to chassis that is solid. What other ground straps should i check. The black lead from the battery to the engine block seems solid, although I can pull it off quite easly at the battery terminal. Are ther any othre grounds I should be checking? Am I missing something obvious? I will post pics this week too. Thanks again for the advice

[scott]

my starter is grounded to the frame, bat to the block then at that same point from the block to the frame. not stock but ya can never have too much ground

[Oldblue]

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[jgkmmoore]

OldBlue- If you are considering a new starter...there are 'gear reduction starters' on ebay, new, for what you will pay for a rebuilt. These modern, easy crank starters fit without mods, just plug and play. Said by owners to increase reliability and cold weather operation substantially. You may never have to replace it. Check 'em out. Most auto parts places can test your starter when it's out of the truck, and it's free. Be sure to chk it before chucking it...mebbe you just have it hung up. Will your truck roll start? Try that before removing starter. Bump it once in reverse, then use second to rollstart.:thumb-up:

[Oldblue]

Thankyou for that advice on the new improved starter. I, However, have jumped the gun already and bought a reconditioned unit from the host. I removed the old one without having to remove the downward exhast, but when I went to put the new one in I found it was significantly bigger then the one i removed, go figure! I removed the exhast and shoved it in place with a bit of greese and tightened the 2 bolts holding it in place and rehooked up the solonoid to it, crossed my fingers and turned that key. It bloody well worked!! The engine started with no hesitation! Very proud moment for me:thumb-up: Anyway, after all is done I have a few concerns and/or questions. I wasn't able to get the starter flush with the 2 bolts like I wanted too. No matter what I used it would simply not tighten and close the rougly 2mm gap left between the starter and the block. Will this eventually cause problems? If so I must then take it to a mech as I have almost stripped the nuts trying to get it as snug as possible myself. The second concern is the extreme heat that seems to be coming from the starter after running it a bit. Is that normal. The old unit I had looked like it was burnt to a crisp (see photo) above, and I'm worried ther might be a voltage issue/back current issue that will eventually burn this usit up too? Any advise would be appreciated.

[Oldblue]

OldBlue- If you are considering a new starter...there are 'gear reduction starters' on ebay, new, for what you will pay for a rebuilt. These modern, easy crank starters fit without mods, just plug and play. Said by owners to increase reliability and cold weather operation substantially. You may never have to replace it. Check 'em out. Most auto parts places can test your starter when it's out of the truck, and it's free. Be sure to chk it before chucking it...mebbe you just have it hung up. Will your truck roll start? Try that before removing starter. Bump it once in reverse, then use second to rollstart.:thumb-up:
Before I got the new starter I tried rolling it forward and still nothing, so I deduced it was a bad stater. If this second unit I just picked up goes bad too I will take up your advice on that gear reduction starter you mentioned. Any particular spec/manufacturer to look for?

[Terrys]

I wasn't able to get the starter flush with the 2 bolts like I wanted too. No matter what I used it would simply not tighten and close the rougly 2mm gap left between the starter and the block. Will this eventually cause problems? It's really important that you get the body of the starter to fit up tight to the block. Any gap will lead to issues with alignmentt of the bendix to the ring gear.
I would suggest you take it back out, and with a caliper, measure the seating ring on the new starter to the old one. If its a snug fit, and it should be pretty close to snug, you may have gotten it started into the hole on a bit of an angle, and you won't be able to pull it up tight.

[ignotus]

OB,
Sounds like your starter housing that holds the end bearing inside the bellhousing may be too long, hence the 2mm gap.
Are you saying the starter gets hot from the engine/exhaust or is it still turning when the motor is running?

gene