Starter seleonoid weird noise...

[Geminiroq]

Hey guys,

I went to start up my 79 chero today and I heard a weird noise.

It sounded like the gears barely missing each other...kinda like when your rig is running and you turn the ignition key again.

Anyways....I traced the noise to what I think is the starter selenoid.

The hot wire from the battery goes directly to this.

I cant figure out why it is making that noise.

Any and all suggestion appreciated.

Thnak you...

[Geminiroq]

Hey guys,

A little bit more background.

I recently changed over my battery cable wires from 4 guage to 2 guage.

The only wire that stayed the same was from the starter selenoid to the the starter.

Would that have anything to do with the selenoid going bad?

Thank you....

[Rich88]

You didn't mention whether the engine actually turned over or not. Is the starter cranking the engine?

If not, then the what you heard is exactly what it is: Starter gear barely grazing the flywheel gear because the starter gear did not fully engage into the flywheel.

[Geminiroq]

Actually the engine is not turning over.

Thank you...

[Rich88]

...in which case you probably need a new "Bendix" mechanism. This is the hump thing that is mounted on the starter. It contains a solenoid with a lever that slides the drive gear out on a short shaft against a return spring to engage the flywheel.

When the starter relay is actuated, giving power to the starter motor, 12V also powers this solenoid. When you let go of the "start" position on the ignition key, you de-energize the motor and the Bendix solenoid, and the return spring pushes the gear back out of the flywheel teeth...and way off you go.

There are two modes of failure: 1) If the windings on the Bendix solenoid are toasted, they partially short out inside. It will still work, but the electro-mechanical force that's developed is weaker and it just can't quite "oomf" the gear enough to overcome the return spring force. 2) Mechanical wear & tear: i.e. return spring breakage or retaining clip...or whatever else can go wrong. In either case, the starter gear just grazes the flywheel teeth.

The fact that you changed the starter cable should have nothing to do with causing this problem. More likely a coincidence.

So you need a new Bendix, or Plan B would be to just get a new starter altogether. From my experience, when the Bendix goes, the rest of the starter is not too far behind.

[talntar]

if the noise is comming from the seleonoid and it wont crank ,it or your batt are bad.

[710 Burner]

X2...You either do not have enough voltage to hold the relay engaged or the solenoid is used up.

[Geminiroq]

Hey guys...

Here is my update.

I went and got a new starter selenoid and the same noise happend.

The battery is good.

You really think it could be the starter bendix and not too much charge coming through the battery cables?

Any and all response is appreciated.

thank you...

[ricdiculous]

have you climbed under there and looked at your starter?

the reason i ask is i jumped in my '84 today and the starter just spun and spun and didn't engage the motor. i was sure i needed a new starter because it's been getting progressively more problematic sounding for the past couple of weeks.

anyway, when i jumped under there to pull the starter off it was already half way off!

yup, the top bolt had worked its way loose and was barely hanging on to the starter at all and the bottom bolt was maybe 1/4 way backed out too.:rolleyes:

i tightened them up and it cranked right up. there ya go.

[grand_wag_85]

My IHC 345 did the same thing, turns out the starter gears were worn smooth. Pull the starter and check the gear. Also while it is out point the nose at the ground and see if the gear drops to the end of the shaft, it should remain where it is.

[Geminiroq]

Thanks guys...I will check it out.

It has been a long day....but why would the selenoid be buzzing if the starter is dying or dead?

Sorry to ask again...but I am a bit tired today and it is not registering in my cast iron head.

Thank you...

[Chris P.]

My vote is bad battery or bad cable connection. Do you know for sure the battery is good?

[Geminiroq]

Yes...I had it checked.

[ricdiculous]

bypass the solenoid and see if it turns over. sometimes they're bad outta the box, unfortunately. if it's really the solenoid making the noise i imagine it's no good. not to offend, but do you suppose you wired it up correctly?

[uglyjeep]

My cherokee does the EXACT same thing when the voltage is low or when the battery cable connections need to be tightened. Double and triple check your battery and connections with a volt meter (not a test lamp).

[Geminiroq]

I wired it up on one side and then I did the other.

I even used dialectic grease on all the contacts.

No offense taken :thumbsup:

[710 Burner]

Use a jumper cable to connect from the battery to the solenoid to see if your pos cable is bad.

[ricdiculous]

my solenoid was buzzing the other day. seems i lost a cell on my battery and it was only charging to about 10.3 volts.

got a new battery and it fired right up. the dude who tested my battery swore it was still good, but i charged it myself and checked it with a meter.

also, it had a crack in the case and leaked the acid out everywhere because i never really secured it and it's been bouncing around on the wrong tray for 2 years. they swapped it out for free though.:thumbsup:

[maccj5]

if you put a new cable on the starter is there a chance the cable lug is grounding on the starter frame? i've had that happen before