Got a basic question on a starter...

On a workbench, you should be able to take a battery, ground the case of the battery to the negative terminal and run a jumper-wire from the positive terminal to the post on the starter and it should spin!

I tried that with a starter and when I touched the jumper-wire to the post, all I got was a huge enormous arc. Couldn't even hold the wire in place the arc was so big. I would think this indicates a dead ground or something else going on internally, yea??

 

Somehow it didn't ground when you connected the - to the case. That is making the case part of the ungrounded circuit and caused the arc.

Run a ground wire off the case to something in the shop, then hook - to - and + to +. That's how its hooked up on the truck - case is grounded where its bolted in. Then jumper in and see how it goes.

 

I held the portion of the case that mounts up against the starter pad (i.e. no paint in the way...bare metal) directly against the negative battery terminal. Then ran the jumper from the positive terminal. That should have done the trick.

Prior to this, I ran a jumper from a positive batt terminal while the starter was still mounted. Either one of these methods should have been a sufficient ground, correct?? Both yielded the same giant arc result.

 

I don't really follow what you are saying. Put the motor in a vice or have someone hold it. Connect the negative on the battery to B-. Connect the positive on the battery to B+. Use jumper cables for both of those connections. Bridge the two terminals with a screwdriver to test the motor only. Or jumper the positive cable to the S terminal to check the solenoid and the motor.

 

NEVER touch your positive wire to ground. all its going to do is arc and possibly short your battery out and could actually cause your battery to explode. you want to hook your ground cable to the ground stud of the starter, if no ground stud is found on the starter hook your ground to the starter case. then hook your positive cable to the positive stud of the starter. you will then need a jumper wire between the starter positive post and the small post (s) of the starter, if its good the gear on the front of the starter should kick out and spin. if it does not your starter has failed

 

"if no ground stud is found on the starter hook your ground to the starter case. then hook your positive cable to the positive stud of the starter"


This is exaxtly what I did. This starter does not have a negative nor a smaller stud. It has one stud and one stud only, which one would safely assume is the positive. There nothing to jumper between so grounding the case and attaching a positive lead to the starter should achieve the desired effect...if the starter was good.

 

your starter has to have at least 2 post, one for battery positive and one for starter signal power from your ign switch. both of these are found on the starter solenoid. if it had a ground post it would be on the starter motor its self

 

This starter hase one post and one post only! Dont know how much clearer I can say it. The starter solenoid is not part of the starter.

Since we ended up here, this starter is not off my truck. I'll apologize for that, but considering what we were trying to troubleshoot, I didn't think it relevant at the time. My sincerest apologies for any confusion.

 

Pull it and bench test. Your solenoid is attached to your motor, they are side by side in the same housing/unit. There are two posts on the solenoid portion of your starter, the S and the B+. The post on the motor portion is the B-. That's why you are arcing. The B+ is located over on the solenoid because its an integrated unit on modern autos, but that B+ is still part of the motor circuit it just happens to be connected by internal wiring. Connecting the positive battery terminal to the B- on the starter motor is why you are arcing.

I think the confusion came because most people refer to it all as one unit because that's how its built and sold. On a motorcycle, ATV, dirtbike, etc. they are almost always 2 parts and you refer to them separately. On a truck, its a single assembly that has 3 terminals.

 

I think the starter Galaxy is trying to test is a 1991 or older Ford starter or some other old starter. Which did just have one large post.

 

The starter I'm testing is off a motorcycle; Ducati if it matters. There's no solenoid on the starter unless its internal somehow. Frankenstein...I am super grateful for your help, but I'm not gonna say it again...there's only one (1) terminal/post on this starter. It has to be positive and the case/frame of the starter as ground.

 

I've done exactly what you did to test many starters over the years.. Attach neg cable to case where it bolts up to whatever.. That's how any starter is grounded...

Hit the pos to the post and it should spin if it's good.

Heck, on an old Plymouth Acclaim we used to own, it would not start one day. Checked the battery, it was fine. Pulled the starter and bench tested and it spun over. Put it back in and still no start....

Ended up being the ignition switch. What I ended up doing for a couple of days until I could get it replaced was run a regular size jumper wire (only 12 gauge wire with 'gator clips on each end) attach it to the starter post and touch it to the pos batt post and it would start. (turned the key to ON position first of course.. )

Sounds like a bad starter to me..

Good luck with it!

Mitch

 

sounds like a bad starter. You using heavy enough power cable with good connections?

test the battery? or bench test it on a different power source?

 

just a thought, next time you post a question either post a picture also and what your working on. i thought you were troubleshooting a starter on a ford f-150 hence the website your on. sorry i'm not up on the single post starters in a motorcycle.

 

Ahhh a Ducati, are you using Italian wire? I think that all the european stuff is 220v.

Perhaps the starter fluid is low, I think that they use the same stuff as the Bar-B-Q, it's worth a shot.

How many posts does it have, if it's 220v. it should have 3, and I think the third one hooks up to the chain. IDK

Sorry about the Smart A** stuff, but it kinda seemed like it fit in here, you know like Who's on First.

It sounds like you tested it right and there is a dead short in the starter. I was just wondering why you want to put a Ducati starter in an F150, seems like it would be a little small.