Hey guys so here is the story...I got my starter rebulit i hooked it all back up and replaced both sides of the positive cable(battery to junction box and junction box to the starter cuz that wire was all brittle n cracked) and checked the black and yellow wires to the starter they were fine...anyways I tried cranking it with a jumper wire from ther positive on the juntion box to the black wire on the starter relay it cranked juss fine and starter engauged like normal... when i take off the jumper wire the motor contines to try and start so I remove the negative cable to the battery I do this a few times cuz im tryin to get the car to start. Then when I hook the negative cable back up to the battery the starter spins (not like its engaging the flywheel) but just free spins as soon as I hook the battery up. I disconnected the two wires goin the the starter and left the big postive cable on to see if maybe my relay went haywire and the starter still spins with only the big positive cable hooked up.so basically as soon as up hook up my battery the starter spins...all the wires are good and nothing is touching or anything like that... Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated
If I just read the last half of the story, I would have said that the big battery cable is on the lower big stud on the starter, not the upper one. But, if I read the first half, it does sound like it worked fine with a jumper the first time? Then the only thing I can think of, is the round contact disc inside the solenoid has welded itself to the two contacts inside. If the solenoid piston was stuck to be making that contact, then the starter would be engaged, but it is not....so what else is there besides that disc? Nothing..
yea it worked fine with the jumper wire many times...useing it temporary cuz the gas pedal does nothing when pressed but yea the pig positive cable is connected to the big bolt on the lower half of the solenoid then from ther to the junction block the from ther to the battery...I know the wireing is not an issue I took pix of it befor i took the wires off and I also have the wireing schematic for the whole vehicle...Im very maticulouse with stuff like that kinda OCD like lol but thank you for the insight I asked the rebuilder to put me a new solenoid but the old one was still on ther..I figured it checked out ok or they rebuilt it also if that was possible
ahhh gotcha...im not to familiar with the solenoid at all...but it sounds like that is the culprit and by process of elimination (removing all wires but one) that sounds logical. Thank you guys for ur insight and help!
Pics of same year Olds starter solenoid, disc and big studs. See where it makes contact with the disc to the back sides of the stud terminals? You can take it apart by removing the nuts that you normally don't remove when putting the wires on. Gently work the black bakelite cover off of the smaller and bigger studs that have an internal welded wire.. Don't break the wires.. Then polish/sand the disc and studs
Mine had a vacuum switch on the carb. The solenoid was wired through it so the starter couldn't engage after the engine was running. You had to push the pedal all the way to the floor to set the choke and engage the switch when there was no vacuum. Maybe yours is wired wrong? I think I still have the original core. I found a NOS rebuilt for mine. Found this on the HAMB, too. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=546711
Battery cable goes to the solenoid terminal furthest away from the starter body. That how you got it?
its not wired wrong i went by the schmatic from the manual and triple checked in replaced the wireing... and it was working juss fine then it started doin this noone ever messed with the wireing in the car before me the guy i got it from was a car hoarder he drove cars n when they broke down he bought a new one lol
the largest diameter wire (cable from the junction box) is on the bottom (biggest post on solenoid) then I have the smallest diameter wire(yellow wire) from junction box on the post closeest to the tire if that makes scence and the middle size(black wire) from the starter relay is on the post closest to the engine block
There are 2 big posts on the solenoid, and 2 small ones. The big battery cable goes to the top big post, farthest away from the starter body itself. The other big post on the solenoid goes to the starter motor itself. If you hooked the battery cable there by mistake, it will spin all the time, but not engage the flywheel. The 2 smaller posts; one is marked "S" for start, and the other is "i" for ignition. The wire that goes to the S, is the one that should get power when you want the car to crank over. The wire that goes to i, should have power with the key on, backfeeding from the ballast resistor/coil. The above info is for my Olds.
yea the big power cable is on the bottom post the upper post is attached to an armature that actuates the starter motor gear...i never took the solenoid off i took it complete to the rebuilder but maybe he reversed something inside the solenoid if that is possible...I took the starter to him today to fix it has a one year warranty so hopefully its something simple within the starter or solenoid...thank you for the schmatic all of you have been very helpful!!
So on this diagram the accelerater vacuum switch is the switch on the carb? correct? I have somesort of thing on the drivers side of my carb with a yellow and i belive black wire (could be dirty) coming out of it the gas start does not work...im thinking if i connect a push starter button between those two wires is should act as a stater button...Am I correct in my thinkings?
If it's like my 59, inside that switch is also a check ball. Make sure it's not stuck. With the engine off the ball drops down between the shaft and the contacts. When you push the gas pedal down the shaft pushes the ball up against the contacts and engages the starter. Once it starts you let off the gas, and there is a vacuum passage that sucks the check ball up out of the way so that when you floor it running the starter won't engage. As a double safety it's also wired in line with the generator, so when the generator is spinning it also won't engage.
The carb switch is a serviceable part. You can take it all apart and clean it and it should work like new if nothing is busted on it.
awesome thanx! I took my starter back to the rebuilder and he said he will put a new drive in it but he did that the first time...im thinking the switch on the carb may be stuck cuz when i was useing my jumper wire and after i broke the circut the car contined to crank untill i disconnected the neg battery cable. So once I get the starter back I will hook it up n see what it does then run a starter switch on the wires on the carb switch then after I get the car actually started I will then clean up the carb switch and go from ther not saying the carb switch is the reason for my starter running as soon as I hook the cable up cuz I had the solenid all but disconnected but I think the carb switch has its own issues lol
Ok then you do have the cable connected to the post that is a way from the starter body I don't remember the solenoid hanging below the starter on the 55 Buick I had but that was 45 years ago. I could be wrong on that though.
yea its really the only post i can attach the cable to cuz the other attaches to a mechanical armature that acctuates the drive on the starter motor
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