Starter Wear

[C. Poole]

The starter in my 1988 Grand Wagoneer seems reluctant to turn the motor over from time to time - especially when the motor is hot. I have installed a new battery (the battery it replaced was only 2 years old). The starter does not drag. How do you tell if a starter is going bad and drawing too much current and carrying the battery to an early grave?

Thanks!

[Rande]

The starter may need some lube. when it gets hot, componenets tend to expand a bit. Some grease on the motor bushings may help a lot.
Check your cables too. A corroded connection here will drop your amperage dramatically. Its a good idea to replace the stock cables with larger cables. Stock cables were merely adequate for the job and over the years may have deteriorated somewhat.
I changed the cables on both my J20 and IH Scout with larger cables and noticed an immediate difference in the starting.
Remember the Positive cable consists of two cables: one from the battery to the solenoid and one from the solenoid to the starter.
When I took my starter in for a complete rebuild, the tech mentioned that these starters require full voltage and plenty of amperage to work properly. Good cables are a must on our trucks.

[ September 24, 2002, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Rande ]

[C. Poole]

Thanks for the information.

Craig