who knows starters? (internally)
#1
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Car: 87 Formula 350
Engine: 350tpi
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who knows starters? (internally)
my starter was having problems, when it got real hot it wouldn't crank & I never heard the solenoid hit. I'm going to go ahead and replace the solenoid, but when I looked down at the diodes in the starter, 2 of the 4 were worn ALL the way down, the other 2 are of equal wear and have fair life left. would those 2 worn one's cause a problem? where would I get new diodes?
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There's no "diodes" in a starter.
Those are brushes. You get them at an auto parts store (with them being auto parts and all....). They're like $3 a set.
Don't bet on that fixing your starter.
Those are brushes. You get them at an auto parts store (with them being auto parts and all....). They're like $3 a set.
Don't bet on that fixing your starter.
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Car: 87 Formula 350
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Axle/Gears: 3.23 limited
eh, maybe that was the alternator with diodes.
I wasn't sure if auto stores carried them, I mean they can't carry everything. I went to 3 hardware stores yesturday for hardware & no one had a 5" washer.
not expecting it to fix it, but maybe give it more torque (as it hardly cranks, not battery related).
thanks though man, I'll pick up some brushes tomorrow.
I wasn't sure if auto stores carried them, I mean they can't carry everything. I went to 3 hardware stores yesturday for hardware & no one had a 5" washer.
not expecting it to fix it, but maybe give it more torque (as it hardly cranks, not battery related).
thanks though man, I'll pick up some brushes tomorrow.
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The way to fix hot-start problems on our cars (or any GM V8) is with a starter relay. The power wire (or is it the ground?) from the battery to the starter has to travel a long way, thru the key circuit and the dash. It drops a lot of voltage in this journey, and by the time it gets to the starter, you could be looking at less than 9 volts. Wire up a relay (you'll have to search around to find the directions), and the key now turns on the relay, which will send full 12 volt power to the starter solenoid. I now have no problems with hot starts, even in 100+ degree weather.
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Car: 82 Berlinetta/57 Bel Air
Engine: LS1/LQ4
Transmission: 4L60E/4L80E
Axle/Gears: 12B-3.73/9"-3.89
Just did the remote starter relay on the Camaro last week for the same reason. I'm losing 2 volts through the starter and another volt through the neutral safety switch, leaving 9 volts at the starter solenoid. It hadn't been a problem until this year, I blamed it on the Autozone solenoid I put in last summer, so I got a NAPA starter solenoid this spring - problem got worse. Put in a new NAPA ignition switch - no better to slightly worse.
The remote starter relay moves all of the wires currently on the starter solenoid to the remote relay, up out of the way of the heat (strut tower worked for me). The battery cable goes onto one of the large terminals of the relay along with the large lug vehicle power wire, and the small lug wire goes to the small terminal of the relay. Another battery-cable sized cable is run from the other large terminal of the remote solenoid to the battery terminal of the starter solenoid. A bus bar is run between the battery terminal of the starter solenoid to the R terminal of the starter solenoid. When the ignition switch is turned to the start position, the remote relay kicks in (takes less voltage than the starter solenoid, and it doesn't get as hot - when a solenoid gets hot, it takes more voltage to get it to work), sending full battery voltage to the starter solenoid to kick it in.
Haven't had a hot-start problem since, including today when I was in stop & go traffic and made several errand stops along the way, with engine temp over 220 degrees - a week ago, I would have been under the hood jumping the starter at every stop.
But. . .
Have the starter in good shape before you put it back in.
The remote starter relay moves all of the wires currently on the starter solenoid to the remote relay, up out of the way of the heat (strut tower worked for me). The battery cable goes onto one of the large terminals of the relay along with the large lug vehicle power wire, and the small lug wire goes to the small terminal of the relay. Another battery-cable sized cable is run from the other large terminal of the remote solenoid to the battery terminal of the starter solenoid. A bus bar is run between the battery terminal of the starter solenoid to the R terminal of the starter solenoid. When the ignition switch is turned to the start position, the remote relay kicks in (takes less voltage than the starter solenoid, and it doesn't get as hot - when a solenoid gets hot, it takes more voltage to get it to work), sending full battery voltage to the starter solenoid to kick it in.
Haven't had a hot-start problem since, including today when I was in stop & go traffic and made several errand stops along the way, with engine temp over 220 degrees - a week ago, I would have been under the hood jumping the starter at every stop.
But. . .
Have the starter in good shape before you put it back in.
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Car: 1986 Camaro SC
Engine: 305 TPI Procharged D1SC
Transmission: Tremec TKO-600
Axle/Gears: Moser 12 Bolt 3.73 posi
i've never done the starter relay thing, but throw that piece of junk away, i would never waste time opening that paper weight up, my 305 would never start hot, even with a rebuilt autozone starter, i installed a high torque mini starter and it's never skipped a beat again, fires right up everytime
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throw that piece of junk away
high torque mini starter
Same here. I'll NEVER EVER AGAIN spend another DIME on one of those stupid Stone Age Delco direct-drive starters. You can't imagine how much better your car would start, with something designed since .... oh, let's say ..... 1950.
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Car: 91 Z28 24th Anniversary
Engine: L98
Transmission: Auto
Axle/Gears: Posi 3.23
Originally Posted by tpi90rs
my starter was having problems, when it got real hot it wouldn't crank & I never heard the solenoid hit. I'm going to go ahead and replace the solenoid, but when I looked down at the diodes in the starter, 2 of the 4 were worn ALL the way down, the other 2 are of equal wear and have fair life left. would those 2 worn one's cause a problem? where would I get new diodes?
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Car: 82 Berlinetta/57 Bel Air
Engine: LS1/LQ4
Transmission: 4L60E/4L80E
Axle/Gears: 12B-3.73/9"-3.89
Originally Posted by 1991L98G92
Can't see going through all the trouble of adding a relay when the car didn't come with it and it wasn't designed into the car.
Having said that, I did find on my "other" car that remote relays and permanent magnet (mini) starters are not always compatible. Seems the starter motor is kept turning by the engine after it starts, turning the motor into a generator, which puts a voltage back on the starter solenoid, which keeps it engaged in the spinning flywheel/flexplate, which generates voltage in the motor...
That's why I had the remote solenoid available to install. It might be stone-age, but installing something I had in the garage attic to make the stone age technology work reliably was a lot less out-of-pocket than buying a ministarter to replace it. Even if I didn't have it in the attic, the relay is a lot less expensive than a mini. And, "all that trouble" was less than an hour (admittedly, I had dropped the starter to drop the pan, but even if I hadn't, it would have taken about an hour to install by itself).
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Car: GTA
Engine: 383 HSR
Transmission: TH-700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.42
Originally Posted by five7kid
True, one of the main purposes of the Board is to insure we all keep our cars exactly the way they were when they were originally designed. . .
Having said that, I did find on my "other" car that remote relays and permanent magnet (mini) starters are not always compatible. Seems the starter motor is kept turning by the engine after it starts, turning the motor into a generator, which puts a voltage back on the starter solenoid, which keeps it engaged in the spinning flywheel/flexplate, which generates voltage in the motor...
That's why I had the remote solenoid available to install. It might be stone-age, but installing something I had in the garage attic to make the stone age technology work reliably was a lot less out-of-pocket than buying a ministarter to replace it. Even if I didn't have it in the attic, the relay is a lot less expensive than a mini. And, "all that trouble" was less than an hour (admittedly, I had dropped the starter to drop the pan, but even if I hadn't, it would have taken about an hour to install by itself).
Having said that, I did find on my "other" car that remote relays and permanent magnet (mini) starters are not always compatible. Seems the starter motor is kept turning by the engine after it starts, turning the motor into a generator, which puts a voltage back on the starter solenoid, which keeps it engaged in the spinning flywheel/flexplate, which generates voltage in the motor...
That's why I had the remote solenoid available to install. It might be stone-age, but installing something I had in the garage attic to make the stone age technology work reliably was a lot less out-of-pocket than buying a ministarter to replace it. Even if I didn't have it in the attic, the relay is a lot less expensive than a mini. And, "all that trouble" was less than an hour (admittedly, I had dropped the starter to drop the pan, but even if I hadn't, it would have taken about an hour to install by itself).
This is why I am a technician and not an engineer lol
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The thing you have to watch is the brushes are one way installed. When you get them in wrong it's easy to see.
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Car: 91 Z28 24th Anniversary
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It's just the amount of contact surface. Eventually they will wear into the comutator. The whine I'm not sure, could be teeth contact gap, too much or too little, or maybe bearing/bushing wear.
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If the commutator is glazed, the brushes will have no generation properties and could even cause fire.. The commutator should be dull, if it looks like its been clear coated get rid of it period.
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