starter solenoid?

[jleewebb]

Greetings to all my old friends in 305-land.

Ol' blue (62 cb77) has been running great, just had an annoying little stumble around 2500-3000 rpm. So yesterday I reset timing (left side was a little retarded, like a few degreees after tdc instead of before).

Went to start to see if that fixed it and a new and apparently unrelated problem turned up: I just get a click from the starter solenoid when I hit the starter button.

I charged the battery overnight (it took less than an hour to show full charge on maintainer) and tried again this morning. Still just getting a click. I checked voltage at starter terminal and was getting only a couple of volts there when I hit the button.Checked and tightened battery terminals. Checked output side of solenoid to starter and again got just two volts. So I disconnected the big wire to solenoid from battery and got perfect continuity from input to output on solenoid when button pressed. Put everything back, still just get a click.

Confusing...I'm thinking maybe the contacts in solenoid are dirty, will pass enough volts/amps to show continuity but not to spin the starter?

I seem to recall the solenoid can be taken apart/cleaned?

Any observations/advice appreciated. I'm no expert. Thanks, Lee

[48lesco]

Starter cable grounded somewhere along the line?

[jleewebb]

Well it's not the solenoid. I got to thinking about it and went back and disconnected the cable from solenoid to starter, got 12 volts from solenoid when I pushed the button.

So apparently the starter is hung up somehow, drawing enough amps to pull down the voltage. Rats, that starter was rebuild by an expert 2200 miles ago.

I guess I'll be searching for starter repair stuff here, I know there's a lot.

If anyone would like to chime in, I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks, Lee

[jleewebb]

Starter cable grounded somewhere along the line?

A reasonable thing to check, so I disconnected cable from starter, got 12 volts there when I pushed the button, then 2 volts again with cable reconnected. So that ain't it, but thanks.

Checking contiuity I got 0 ohms resistance between starter terminal and ground, ie dead short. Shouldn't the starter motor have a few ohms resistance? It's sure feeling like something's shorted out in there.

Thanks again for any help. Lee

[MRiesAP]

whack it with a soft-faced mallet. know it sounds stupid but it works. you would be surprised how many planes just get a good whack to get going. something could just be bound up. SOFT-FACED mallet.

[48lesco]

You can also check to see if the starter is locked up by rotating the crankshaft CCW from the dynamo side, the clutch should engage and try to turn the starter motor. Lots of ways for that little gearbox to lock up, luckily, none too expensive...

[jleewebb]

Interesting...So it's possible that when I was rocking the rotor back and forth to set the timing it may have somehow jammed something up in there...and I just need to whack on it with a soft hammer...worth a try...

That doesn't explain the dead short from starter terminal to ground though, so still a bit in the dark.

I guess the next thing is just to start taking it apart and see what I find. Need to study my shop manual...

thanks for the help, I'll let you guys know what I figure out...Lee