Sudden no start, TM says replace starter.

[Matt65]

I replaced the starter with a gear reduction unit about two months ago. Yes, it was made in China, and Ebay. - not to jump on this as the root cause immediately. The factory direct drive unit was still working when replaced and may soon be seeing more action.

Prior to today the redux starter was doing great. After driving parked, came back, no start. Voltage normal per and across both batteries. All normal GP, and starter relay sounds are present. Absolutely no noise from the starter when attempting to start.


Based on the TM electical and mechanical trouble shooting guide I recall that it says if voltage does not drop to 18-22V when starting, then replace the starter.

My questions:
Does the 18-22V value from the TM apply when using a gear reduction starter?

What should the voltage drop to when using a gear reduction starter? (I would expect it to drop less vs. the direct drive)

 

[Westech]

O man. Have you checked to see if you have power at the starter and if there is power to the solenoid when trying to start?

 

[dstang97]

Just remember nothing good has ever come from china.

 

[Matt65]

An update on this issue.
Today I checked for voltage at solenoid and main power cable. Both showed voltage and I could hear the solenoid engage.

I loosend the main starter bolts slightly and heard the starter gear snap back into home position. The starter support bracket was still torqued. I re torqued the main starter bolts and the starter worked perfectly several times.

So what happend?
My factory starter used no shims. I used no shims for the gear reduction starter. This is a guess, but the only cause that I can think of would be that the starter was slightly rotated from perpendicular to the face of the fly wheel. This could have created a slight bind between the flywheel and starter gear causing it to stay engaged.

 

[Warthog]

The TM says to check the gap between the flywheel and the starter bendix. There have been so many changes to engine, starters, brackets, etc, that the only way to know for sure is to physicaly check it.

Glad you found the issue.

 

[edpdx]

MATT, thanks for posting a resolution... so far, to this thread. I appreciate learning how such problems are resolved. It makes it easier to assemble a list of things to check in the future for others looking for solutions later.

 

[Matt65]

Edpdx, most welcome. Should any more develope I will update the forum. I plan on diving back in there one more time to repair a rough looking section of the solenoid trigger wire. It is electrically intact with some heat damage to the insulation from the exhaust. I will also re-verify the clearances again between flywheel and starter.

 

[SGT Estum]

Was it possibly a poor ground between the starter and the engine block? Jiggling things around and retightening the bolts could rememdy a poor ground connection.

 

[Wolf.Dose]

A tight fit of the starter in relation to the flywheel can be heared when engaging the starter. A metal klick. And this problem is mentioned in the manual. All old starters need more or less shimming, depending on the accuracy of the Aluminium head.
By the way, this klick ruins the spur gear of the starten and mostly the flywheel as well.
Wolf

 

[Matt65]

I ended up removing the China Gear Redux starter and replaced it with the factory piece. The details of what led to that are highlighted in the thread below. Root cause of the no start was a faulty battery cable. Because the starter was not working correctly it is possibly that this caused the battery cable to fail while over heating the cable. I will eventually have the NG starter tested, and may be returning it to the seller.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/72579-electrical-short-now-no-start-completely-dead.html