So I had my original starter go out, and went with an SR441X (B35) starter. Got it swapped out, no real problems, save having two elbows would have really helped with the top bolt, and I made a small adapter piece because the spade terminal on the signal wire was too large for the signal spade on the new solenoid, so I used a male spade, a short bit of silicon wire, and a ring terminal to put it on the other lead for the signal. No modification to the harness or the starter this way.
Turn the key and you can hear the starter spinning away, but you don't hear or feel it 'thunk' when it throws out, and it doesn't crank the engine. But it spins up like it's about to take off on its own, which seems to indicate it's getting solid power.
Pull the starter out again and throw some jumper cables and a screwdriver at it. Fully functional. Spins, throws out no problem. Same wiring configuration. Tested original starter and it does nothing, in line with what it did in the car.
So I figure it was just stuck and I knocked it loose pulling it back out, and reinstall. Same shit. This is minutes after watching it pop out and spin, which makes me think it's the car, but my understanding is that these are effectively the simplest wiring possible, consisting of a 12v lead, a 12v signal, and a chassis ground, making it so if anything was mixed up, it would either spin uncontrollably as soon as you hooked the battery terminals back (If installed 12v on wrong pole, bypassing solenoid, maybe? Haven't tried it), or do nothing at all (Like if my little signal adapter was bad somehow).
So I'm sitting with the starter bolts loosened, not sure what to check next. Should I just get FCP to swap the starter as a precaution, even though it tested fine outside the car, or is there additional steps to troubleshoot something like this I'm missing? I've searched the problem and found others with the issue, but none of the posts I found mentioned anything about it testing good outside the car.
I haven't checked anything like fuel or ignition or position sensors, as the starter physically doesn't turn the motor.
New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
Only saw that once in a fiat, the starter had been assembled and the brushes were installed incorrectly, it spun in the opposite direction.
Check that it spins correctly so that the car's engine turns clockwise (if seen from the front)
Check that it spins correctly so that the car's engine turns clockwise (if seen from the front)
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
I have seen this and always come to the conclusion the starter is faulty. Usually only seen it on the larger e28 starter though.
I also have found sometimes that a failing starter will not always return properly in cold weather.
Curious to hear other answers.
I also have found sometimes that a failing starter will not always return properly in cold weather.
Curious to hear other answers.
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
Just out of curiosity, did you use the same battery when the starter was out of the car? The bendix gear relies on centrifugal force and if you don't have a good battery (or connection), this no start situation can occur. You may need to check the main chassis ground on the pass side motor mount, or the negative terminal itself.
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
Brand new battery, fresh off charge, cleaned the positive contacts, replaced the ground cable. I tried basically everything I could do without pulling the starter or sinking a lot of money into it.
But if the problem requires a replacement starter, at least the B35 is easier to remove. Poor timing to get an RMA set up.
I did have a buddy who's a brilliant dirtbike mechanic say he's had to shim starters on old GM trucks from the same era. That seemed pretty counter to what's usual on these cars, but figured id mention it. He has no experience with four wheel imports, though.
But if the problem requires a replacement starter, at least the B35 is easier to remove. Poor timing to get an RMA set up.
I did have a buddy who's a brilliant dirtbike mechanic say he's had to shim starters on old GM trucks from the same era. That seemed pretty counter to what's usual on these cars, but figured id mention it. He has no experience with four wheel imports, though.
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steve 87 535is
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006
- Location: Hamburg, NY
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
Turn the motor by hand so the flywheel teeth are in a different spot and try it. Or give a wack while it's spinning and see if it turns the motor.
m30 motor correct? Not sure if that even matters though.
m30 motor correct? Not sure if that even matters though.
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1986series6
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Jul 10, 2017
- Location: West Nyack NY
Re: New Starter Spins, Doesn't Throw Out
The pinion gear does not work with centrifugal force on this type of starter.
The pinion moves magnetically.
"so I used a male spade, a short bit of silicon wire, and a ring terminal to put it on the other lead for the signal"
What other lead did you attached the ring terminal to?
You can crimp on a ring terminal to replace the female terminal on the starter signal wire.
Then you should be able to remove the nut and
male terminal and nut the ring terminal on that stud. No jumper or other wire adapter is needed.
If the pinion still doesn't engage the
flywheel that usually indicates low battery voltage or excessive voltage drop with the starter circuit.
Just my $.02
The pinion moves magnetically.
"so I used a male spade, a short bit of silicon wire, and a ring terminal to put it on the other lead for the signal"
What other lead did you attached the ring terminal to?
You can crimp on a ring terminal to replace the female terminal on the starter signal wire.
Then you should be able to remove the nut and
male terminal and nut the ring terminal on that stud. No jumper or other wire adapter is needed.
If the pinion still doesn't engage the
flywheel that usually indicates low battery voltage or excessive voltage drop with the starter circuit.
Just my $.02