Starter Motor going bad?

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:26 pm

My engine starts very slow the last few weeks. I have checked the battery voltage and the voltage while running and both look good and it is getting charged.

Checking older posts it may be the starter going bad? Could be the brushes need replacing?

Is there a way to check it before taking it all apart?

Of course it happens now that it is cold here in Wisconsin.

Thanks
Scooter

Profpinz · Post by **Profpinz** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 10:59 pm

I used to find that the major problem with the starter was that it used to "pole"....... the centre bronze bush and nose bearing would wear and the armature would drop. New bushes soon fixed the problem.

The later style starter motor doesn't seem to suffer the problem!

I think the best solution to your problem is to remove the starter, strip it and find the fault.... after all you'll need to get it out to fix it.

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 7:45 am

Thanks Peter. I may just do that today since the temp. is going to drop over the weekend. This way I can work on it inside.

Scooter

pcolette · Post by **pcolette** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:54 am

I suggest checking all the ground cables first as some tend to corrode away from road dirt and salt. There's one right by the starter that seems to be vulnerable. If it gets down to the last few strands it will affect starting if I recall correctly.

Paul

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 11:02 am

Thanks Paul, I will check that today and start it to see if that made a difference. I know that grounds a very important on the truck. Seems when ever an electrical device does not works, the ground is most likely the problem.

Scott

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:54 pm

I pulled the ground wire off and it seemed in tack, no broken strands. The terminals had soome corrosion on them so I cleaned them and re-installed it.

It started a little better today. I will have to start it a few more times to see if the starter is still sound. Before I pull it and re-build the brushes.

Scott

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Jan 07, 2010 9:38 pm

now it does seem like it's the battery. I tried to start it today and the dash lights glowed a little and that was it. Pushing the starter button made only a click. I will have to start tracing wires down to see where the issue is. The batties show 23 volts and each one was a little under 12 volts each.

Is there a relay that is in the ignition wiring that may not be transfering power?

Scooter

Jimm391730 · Post by **Jimm391730** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:03 am

The batteries need to be checked under load to really know if they are bad; they should each be over 10 volts when you push the starter button and get your "click". Most likely you will see just a few volts on one or both if your batteries are bad. Of course you should put them on a charger first, before this test.

If the battery voltages are above 10 when attempting to crank (and your dash lights are dim) you need to check the wiring - positive to starter, negative to battery cutoff switch, the switch itself, and from the switch to ground.

Jim M.
712W and 710M

undysworld · Post by **undysworld** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 6:34 pm

Jim,
Isn't there a relay involved there too? IIRC, something to prevent engine shutoff in some situation??? Sorry, memory banks failing...

pcolette · Post by **pcolette** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:16 pm

Paul U.
- your memory is doing fine, there is a relay in the engine compartment just below the driver's right hip. It is connected thru the battery cutoff switch and is supposed to keep from damaging the engine and/or alternator if the switch is inadvertently shut off when the engine is running.

It's possible one of the connections has become corroded since they are exposed to the elements. I'd also remove the splash shield behind the left front wheel to gain access to the switch. There's a ground cable attached to the switch that can get very corroded.

Hope this helps.

Paul C.

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Sat Jan 09, 2010 5:21 pm

Thanks guys, it looks like I got a lot of wires to check. Hope to check at least the battery this weekend and inspect the wires. Next weekend I can pull more apart. Hope its warmer soon.

Would it make sense to put dielectric grease on the terminals after I have cleaned them and re-assemblied the connections? I did that on the rear tail light connectors in the terminal box when I added the LED tail lights. They were really covered in crap even for being in the box.

Scooter

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 9:14 pm

I check the batteries. Nothing on and they had 23 volts. Turned on main power and it dropped like a rock to 16v. Tried to crank it over and it went down even more to 6V. I disconnected all the battery wires and found one battey was only at 9V and the other was 12.5V. I tried to charge the 9V battery and it would not take any voltage. Looks like one maybe still good, it took a small charge to bring it back up.

looks like it is new batteries for me. Just to be on the safe side, I will check the wiring too.

thanks for the help
Scooter

Jimm391730 · Post by **Jimm391730** » Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:21 pm

Sounds like you've found the problem. Now some more bad news - it is much recommended that you replace both batteries at the same time with identical batteries of the same lot. The reason is that one new and one old battery (even of the same make and size) will most likely be different, and this will eventually over charge or under charge one of them, killing it. The better balanced your batteries are the longer they will last. This is also why even a tiny 12V load from the midpoint connection will cause the batteries to fail much sooner than expected.

If you really don't have the cash for two you can prolong their death by routinely (like every month or more often) charging each battery independently. Yes, you can hook one charger to one battery and another charger to the other battery without disconnecting them from the truck. Pay attention to polarity! But even charging one battery on one night and charging the second battery the next night will help mis-matched batteries to live longer.

Jim M.
712W and 710M

pcolette · Post by **pcolette** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:15 am

There are plenty of batteries to choose from out there. I've had excellent service from AC Delco Professional batteries with a 7 year warranty and 50 month free replacement. The series 27 fits perfectly and uses the original pan and hold downs, and the terminals are in the right place. They ran about $105 each.

http://www.acdelco.com/parts/battery/pr ... attery.jsp

Paul

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Tue Jan 12, 2010 6:16 pm

Thanks Paul. I was not too thrilled to spend another $300+ on a new set of Optimas.

I will check them out

Scooter