testing starter?

[Valley]

any special way to test our starters? i hooked up a battery to the possitives and ground and the starter will just click and not turn, tried it with a reman starter i picked up from my store and same thing....

[foCk]

do a voltage drop test, perhaps its not the starter at all

[Nameless EJ6]

how's your battery doin?

take the starter to schucks, they will test it.

[Valley]

battery is fine, 1000ca 800cca. i hooked the starter directly to the battery to test the reman one and it clicked but didn't spin, thats why i was asking the way to test our starter outside the car... i can't remember :-/

[BoostFab]

if the starter clicks and does not crank, you may want to double check the battery---it might not have enough juice.

testing the starter outside hte car is easy, ground the (-) terminal and tap 12v current to (+) terminal on the smaller selenoid--it should crank the larger selenoid. besure to brace the whole thing down or it'll jump around.

[Joe]

battery is fine, 1000ca 800cca. i hooked the starter directly to the battery to test the reman one and it clicked but didn't spin, thats why i was asking the way to test our starter outside the car... i can't remember :-/

i always love that answer

GO TEST THE BATTERY lol

you have absolutley no idea the condition of the battery till you can load test it. period. it could show 12.46 volts no load then drop to 0 when you try to start. take the battery to autozone/checker and have them test it before you worry about the starter.

[Valley]

yeah it is a good answer, do you know how the starter on our cars work?

the battery is fine (12.65v), brand new, load tests great. (FYI, it should show 12.6v without load, each plate (there are 6) inside a battery is 2.1v)

anywho, kept playing around, the 2 bolts on the solenoid are +, the tab is a ground, and when the 2 + are connected and tab touched the solenoid engages but does NOT spin, tapped the solenoid housing and it spins, tap them both at the same time and it engages and spins. but there isn't a ground on the housing. look at the end of the housing that goes into the trans and it's a diff. type of metal, tap that and it'll spin.

anyways,

i figure theres a ground somewhere on the trans or by it that isn't hooked up, perhaps a wire.... any idea's?

[Slo_240sx]

You are bench testing it wrong. The 2 bolts are 12v main power from the battery, 1 to the motor connected to the solenoid. THE TAB IS NOT A GROUND. This tab goes to your ignition switch trigger wire (Start position) to engage the starter and turn. Power goes to your solenoid and when switched closed by a 12v trigger (the tab) it engages the solenoid and feeds power from the battery cable to the starter motor. Remember, the tab is not a ground, The starter grounds at the mating surface to the transmission. Having the tab being a ground would be dangerous! 8 gauge battery cable with a 14 gauge ground? that wire would burn up in a split second once you engaged the starter.

Heres how to test:12v at the main 2 bolts. Ground at the starter housing mating surface (make sure you keep it away from the the starter gear). Take a wire or screwdriver and jump the Trigger tab to 12v. Voila! Done. have a nice day

[gawdzilla]

another easy way to do it is to take it to your local advance auto parts and give it to them to test. they'll safely mount it in the machine and try it out. (for free)

[Valley]

thanks for all the help last night slo_240sx... i took it into my autotech class today, played with it a bit, asked my teacher some questions and found out, (+) only has to be on the outside bolt and tab, and ground the frame.... also found it it works... sort've... theres a bad spot in the soleniod so i have to get another.... oh well... i didn't expect everything to be perfect

[BoostFab]

i figure theres a ground somewhere on the trans or by it that isn't hooked up, perhaps a wire.... any idea's?

the starter housing is grounded through the transmission, which is also grounded from the motor.

[Valley]

yes, i took the starter out and put it directly to 12v ground with it still attached to wires, soleniod engaged but didn't spin, like it did before

[rb250sx]

check your power connection to the starter. If you are only signalling the solenoid, you will only get pinion action...also ground the starter right to your chasis, not your battery.
Modified by rb250sx at 9:31 PM 5/10/2005

[Valley]

the starter gets it's positive from the soleniod, and it's the soleniod thats not giving it power, thus the soleniod is the problem.

[Valley]

and then it wasn't the soleniod.... i pulled apart the casing to see the armature dirty as hell, so i took a wire brush and got the crap off it, tested it and it tested perfectly, stuck it in the car and it won't turn over STILL... so the starter is weak (figures) or a ground isn't on the engine that should be (doubtful)... but i put a socket on the crank pully and at least the engine turns.