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Spitfire 67 Spitfire Starter Problems - Help!!

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Richard Pooran

Freshman Member
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My old starter on my Spit had the gears on it worn down so I put in a new starter. I took the old starter out, replaced it with an brand new one and now I don't even get the starter to spin.
When I turn the key all I hear is a click and nothing more. Also when i press the button on the relay nothing seems to happen. Before I did anything the button on the relay would make the starter spin. I am new to car repair.

Please let me know if you have any ideas.

Thank you Richard
 
Richard, make sure you have a good electrical connection at the starter, first of all. If everything looks OK there, try rocking the car back and forth with it in gear, as sometimes the drive will get stuck in the ring gear. If all else fails, remove the starter, and see if it will energize while out of the car. It's possible that you got a faulty starter.
Another thing to look at when it's back out, is whether or not the gear slides freely on the shaft.

Jeff
 
Bugeye thanks for the ideas, I actually took the starter out when nothing was working. and it does not do anything. The gear does slide freely though.

When i turn the key I hear a click but when I press the button on the relay I hear nothing. Does this mean that there may be a problem betweent he relay and the starter?

I also disconected the positive lead on the battery but left the ground connected (over night) could this have caused a problem?

Any idea what the click (farily loud) noise is?

Thank you again
 
Richard,I'm assuming that your battery is fully charged. A low battery will energize the relay,( the click you are hearing) but will not have enough power to spin the starter. When you had the starter out, did you try hooking it up directly to the battery? (Positive to the terminal on the starter, and negative to the starter body.) If you did, and nothing happened, the starter is faulty.
Disconnecting the positive terminal overnight won't hurt a thing.
Make sure you have a fully charged battery, and try hooking the starter up direct and see what happens. Make darn sure you have a tight hold on it, or better yet, lightly clamp it in a vise when you try this, as the torque when it spins can yank it out of your hands. And, usually, onto your foot!
Jeff
 
Of course you have made sure the battery terminals are clean. I've been embarrassed too many times with that malady. I'll stop the car at a gas station and listen to the click when I'm ready to leave. Worse yet, at a car show I started taking the ignition switch and starter apart and some one cleans the terminals and off we go! T.T.
 
It's hard to say exactly what the problem was. I took all of your advice. First I connected the starter right to the battery to make sure bought some new bolts since the thread on the other ones were awful. I cleaned the terminals on the battery and then hooked up the cables.
Voila - it worked like a charm. I'm guessing that the connection on the battery was the problem.

Thanks again
 
TA DA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, go work on your fuel leak!
grin.gif

Jeff
 
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