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Starter solenoid closes, starter doesn't crank...


Guest adam_knox

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Guest adam_knox

Howdy, I'm at a fork in the road...

A few weeks ago took my 49 Chrysler (6 volt) to the Drive in movies. On the way there, noticed the amp gauge wasn't showing a positive charge while driving, slightly below zero. Thought maybe the stereo was drawing too much power. Turned off stereo. While waiting to buy tickets I shut off the engine to safe gas. Go to start it, and nothing. So of course I do the handy screw driver trick to the solenoid, and viola! I'm a genius to my girlfriend.

So at the end of the night, start the car and start heading home, except the am gauge says I'm not getting any charge, my headlights drain the battery and we get towed home.

Today I charged the battery, took out the starter, and cleaned the solenoid points. Hooked it up to the battery, now the points close, but no cranking whatsoever, my magic trick no longer works. frown.gif Could it be the battery (the volt meter says its at 6.4 volts)? The repair manual says if the solenoid points close they are just dirty, but those points are clean as a whistle now. Battery cables and terminals are tight and clean. Battery is probably three years old I'd guess. That's all it gives for options in the trouble shooting. Do I need the starter rebuilt you think? Lemme know what your two bits is...

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Guest Bluesky636

I would try a new battery first. Three years is a good life for a battery, especially if it is not driven much to keep it charged. You should use one of the smart chargers when the car is down for a while. I use one on the RED 1964 Galaxie during the winter when she is driven very little.

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Guest adam_knox

Hey thanks for the tip. I was just shocked to see how much battery prices have gone up round here. Seems when I had my old plymouth it was like 45 dollars, now its upwards of 60 bucks! But I'd rather do a new battery than tackling a starter motor armature and brushings! =) Hopefully the fresh boost in amperes is all it needs...

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Guest adam_knox

Ooh, good tip on the battery test! When I get home I'll give that one a go before I hit the parts store. I would jump it, but alas its the only 6 volt car I know of around here. Heard somewhere I can hook up 12 volt battery to the starter, but I think that would throw another variable to the mix...

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Guest adam_knox

Well, the new battery didn't do the trick. Still does the same thing. The small coil contacts close, but the magnet coil doesn't pull in the plunger to stick the starting gear out, and of course the motor doesn't spin the gear. I hear a click-click coming from the distributer. So the problem is somewhere in the starter plunger coil or motor correct? I'm just making sure its not a fuse I didn't know about or something first! Any points of view would be greatly appreciated!

BTW-Why is when I go to fix something, more things seem to go wrong than I had originally intended?! Just once, I'd like a quick an easy fix! Even when I had a simple task of replacing a lense, I had to take the whole assembly out and then find out the rubber gasket had turned to brittle black clay...I can't trace on rubber, heck I can't even stay in the lines when coloring!

I think the frustrating thing is all the neighbors think I enjoy working on cars...No no no, I like to drive them, but it seems I get stuck fixing them more than I get to drive 'em! =P Okay, back to the garage I go, only got one more month of summer to get this car rolling again!

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Guest adam_knox

Ha! Made an Al Capone mistake. was testing the starter on an edge in the engine compartment...Was never connecting to ground! Just like to give a follow up to these things in case someone was wondering!

Do have an issue with the generator not picking the voltage regulator solenoid. If I close contacts, battery will charge. Going to attempt to remove the generator and clean the armature.

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