TR6 Starter Solenoid Conection

[rooster]

Hello,

I've been restoring my car and after cleaning and painting the starter, I'm having some issue getting the starter to run over, and I'm wondering if either I'm missing something or there is a problem with the starter.

I have it wired up to test on the engine and when power the solenoid, it works fine, however the starter dosn't run.

I have checked with a multimeter and the lower stud (blue arrow) is grounded. If I remove the tab from the starter from the stud, the stud is still grounded. Is this correct?

Is there supposed to some gasket or something to insulate the solenoid? I get the feeling I'm missing something here but I don't know what it is.

Thanks

Todd

 

[rooster]

Incidentally it was working fine when I started the restoration.

 

[CJD]

The stud will read as grounded because the starter windings are very low gage, so they are less than a single ohm. If you jump the 2 studs in your picture (carefully, as it will spark!) you should get the starter to bump. If jumping the studs does nothing, and the cable to the battery is solid, then there is something internal with the starter.

 

[bobhustead]

The purpose of the solenoid is to internally do what John describes as the basic test of the motor. The "small" wire coming from the switch to the solenoid, when powered, works an electromagnet that pulls an internal contact against the internal sides of the of the 2 large studs you see on the outside of the solenoid. This makes the connection Jhon describes.
Bob

 

[CJD]

That solenoid goes one step farther...and pulls (pushes) the pinion into the flywheel ring gear before making the connection. If the pinion jams on the gear or gets stuck for some reason, the solenoid will click, but not make the electrical connection. But! The first step will be to check the electrical integrity of the starter motor. After that we can move on to the mechanical side of the motor.

 

[mctriumph]

If " cleaning and painting" a starter should make it perform like new, then I am an iguana.
"Do or do not, there is no try"
It is a simple enough thing. You rebuild it .Bench test it . When you are done bench testing,
then you paint it.
Mad dog

 

[rooster]

That solenoid goes one step farther...and pulls (pushes) the pinion into the flywheel ring gear before making the connection. If the pinion jams on the gear or gets stuck for some reason, the solenoid will click, but not make the electrical connection. But! The first step will be to check the electrical integrity of the starter motor. After that we can move on to the mechanical side of the motor.

This is what I'm thinking. I'm going to pull it off later today and bench test it.

 

[rooster]

Bench testing showed that the solenoid isn't able to pull the pinon all the way out. I tried to pull it out with my hands and it's very stiff. I think the grease in the bushing etc. has gone hard.

Is there any tricks to loosening it up without taking it apart? I'm afraid of breaking the two long screws that are holding it together. They are not available any more.

 

[poolboy]

Did you try bypassing the solenoid as described by CJD in Post # 3 ?
That'll tell you if the problem is really in the solenoid.

 

[mctriumph]

Rooster, dont worry too much . It will come apart. I suggest some new brushes and some emery cloth
for the commutator. You may need to refresh some of the coverings on the heavy wires (if bad)
Use modern synthetic grease for re-assembly. The solenoid is an item that can suffer from wear.
Cleanup the contacts and surface the disc as needed. This is a good DIY project as you will do a better
job than you can buy OTC.
Cheers
Mad dog

 

[rooster]

I tested the motor by itself and it works, I also disassembled it and greased it using synthetic grease as recommended above. It's now working smooth as butter.

The solenoid on the other hand, the output pin is shorting to it's case, so that when it's powered there won't be any current getting to the motor. I'm pretty sure that is the problem. I'm going to try and take it apart to see if i can remediate it. Worst case scenario is that I'll have to get a new solenoid.

 

[jimmyr]

All of the studs on the solenoid should be insulated from the case. As you first asked about insulators the answer is yes there are insulators on both sides of all terminals. These may have been overlooked or have failed and fallen away. Since some of the terminals cannot be ohmed out due to their low resistance a visual inspection should be made.