i have posted this question another way but now i know the starter when its engaging is grounding by not springing back. I have a swirl rod that the gear i slung down when power is put to it and i have seen springs that i guess push it back off the flywheel which makes it not ground. its a bendix drive with a spring at the top but my question is what makes the gear come back off the flywheel and become ungrounded. when I would touch the brass stud with VM it would read 3 when push starter now it sparks and doesn't read anything
??? the starter “pushes out or engages by the solenoid. main power on your big lug and a “trigger” or keyed power to the little terminal on the solenoid. the bendix or what your calling the spiral spring thing, it was causes the starter to engage and disengage when power is applied to the solenoid.and when power is removed . it’s wise to have a ground wire from one of the starter mounting bolts to chassis. what engine are we talking about? What starter ? Stock ? A/M? Mini ? Gear reduction ? How’s it wired ? Tuna sandwich ? Beer or water ?
Usually hitting the starter with hammer will get it to stop cranking if it is stuck. Used to happen all the time when jumping stuff in the used equipment row; thinking low voltage had a hand in it.
It would help to know what engine you’re working with but it sounds like an old Ford starter with a firewall mounted solenoid and the long Bendix drive. Right? The starter itself “grounds” through the case/bolts/bellhousing and the cable terminal provides voltage to the windings. The starter button on the dash provides the temporary ground that triggers the solenoid that sends the battery voltage to the starter motor. The starter spins and throws the small gear into engagement with the flywheel. Once the engine starts the starter gear gets mechanically thrown out of engagement on that twisted splined starter shaft. If the starter button sticks or if the solenoid malfunctions the starter may try to stay engaged. A worn starter gear or flywheel may cause the gear to disengage before the engine starts. I may not be understanding what’s going wrong with your setup. In the most common GM setup, the solenoid itself pushes the gear toward the flywheel via a lever and I retracts via a big internal coil spring. Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Grounding is what electrons do. Grinding is what gears do. Which is your car doing? The starter case will be grounded to the block via the mating surface and bolts, which should be grounded to the chassis and battery via thick ground straps.
wow, im terrible at explaining. do the starter ground for a second when it engages the flywheel. its a 32 with an 8ba thats wired like a 32 was, so it has no solenoid. im asking solely about he starter. my starter does not have a spring. what throws it back out of the way of the flywheel when either started or when let off the starter switch. mine also seems to be grounded. can or when a starter goes bad could or does that happen. make more sense. i didnt realize words could be interpreted so differently. sorry
You are correct, but a lot of vehicle will have a ground cable going from one of the starter mounting bolts to the frame. But ...... yeah........ a bit confusing to read, would be nice if the OP responded to our many many questions .
I'm thinking that Materguru does live on the far side of one of the oceans or way way down south. Still what he is describing is usually due to a stuck solenoid that has contacts welding themselves to each other or in some cases a broken spring inside certain solenoids. Or a stuck starter button or switch for the same reason.
Materguru, the starter engaging with the flywheel doesn't have any electrical impact as far as in know. A 'throw out' starter ( as distint to the later more modern, pre engaged type) usually has a spring at the end which acts like a shock absorber. There is something iirc correctly which assists retraction but mainly this is achieved by the starting engine throwing it out / back. They are liable to stay out, jammed in the starter, for a number of reasons, burrs, crud on the spiral mechanism. Chris Sent from my SM-T515 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I think the last time he brought this up it was determined that he has the original 32 type foot starter switch. No solenoid. in a wiring diagram it may be mislabeled as a starter solenoid, but it is a switch really. Also the last time, I thought the ground issue was covered, THE GEAR DOES NOT GROUND THE STARTER ! and once the engine is running faster than the starter, it throws the gear out of the way by use of the coarse threads on the shaft
Me either, but most heavy truck starters have a ground stud with a cable going back to the battery pack.
No such thing as too many grounds. I used to play with WW2 stuff, halftracks and such, and they had ground straps every where. Speaking for the OP here, he should have a battery cable going to the transmission, and to the manual starter switch, foot pedal if its 32 wiring.. starter is bolted to the motor, motor is bolted to the tranny, battery cable also bolted to the tranny, thus the whole blob of iron is grounded. The whole blob on an early ford is then bolted thru the front motor mounts, bolt heads on the water pump, bolt nuts on the frame, so a ground connection there, and on the trans, same thing, stuff is bolted, thus connected to ground. the only exception is if you have a heavily detailed painted motor you may loose connection there, so clean up some bare metal, or do as Mr Vandenplas said, and put on an extra ground strap
Also, most all the modern shit has a ground strap from body to frame. the old cars did not, they relied on just body bolts etc to make the connection. it usually does, but...again, no such thing as too many grounds
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