Starter not engaging flywheel?
- Thread starter PoppaRob
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CADplans
Elite Member
If the battery is weak, it will do exactly that,,,,,,,,,,,
That’s a sign of a good starter. I hate to say it but sounds like a wire out fly wheel
Hmmm... OK. I will try charging or using another battery. Thanks...
I hooked a charger up and it said it was at 80%. I know the battery is only a little more than 1 year and should be fine, i hooked the charger up and it finished in 10 minutes. I will reconnect and the try it again just to eliminate that as a potential issue.
"Wire out?". Not sure what that means...
OK, so i am leaning towards:
- bad battery.
- Something wrong with whatever pushes the starter gear forward.
I charged the existing battery (it didn't take long so i think the battery is fine). I mounted the starter and tried it and again... grinding and then started on the second try.
The reason i am leaning towards the starter not pushing the gear forward is on on attempt, it engaged and almost started, but then started grinding again. IT seemed as if the gear must have pulled partially back and slipped.
So i am charging up a car battery to see if that will work. I did try that one but it just clicked with the typical low battery noise (relay?).
Just to note... there is a real difference between the grinding noise i hear and the sound a low battery makes.
Can i test the battery with a multimeter to tell if it's good? WHat setting and what am i looking for? (Sorry, i am not a greaser!)
- bad battery.
- Something wrong with whatever pushes the starter gear forward.
I charged the existing battery (it didn't take long so i think the battery is fine). I mounted the starter and tried it and again... grinding and then started on the second try.
The reason i am leaning towards the starter not pushing the gear forward is on on attempt, it engaged and almost started, but then started grinding again. IT seemed as if the gear must have pulled partially back and slipped.
So i am charging up a car battery to see if that will work. I did try that one but it just clicked with the typical low battery noise (relay?).
Just to note... there is a real difference between the grinding noise i hear and the sound a low battery makes.
Can i test the battery with a multimeter to tell if it's good? WHat setting and what am i looking for? (Sorry, i am not a greaser!)
bigtiller
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With the battery charged up, I think it acts like the Bendix Drive also.
At this point i agree. It's going back for a replacement.
Sorry paparob a typo. I meant wore out. Very sorry
Gord Baker
Platinum Member
You may need a new Bendix drivel Lube the shaft and make sure the gear goes out fully on bench test. Hang on to it tight for bench Test!
MTGreen
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Sounds to me like the solenoid to pull out the starter gear is weak. The solenoid/relay/starter motor is all a single package in a Ford 3000 so that leaves you with verifying that you are getting full battery voltage at the starter terminal post and if good replacing the starter
aircommuter
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A lot of people have gotten phony stuff from Amazon like fuel and oil filters labeled as a name brand but when they failed they found out they were knock offs. Then when the went back the seller was gone.
MTGreen
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Amazon implicitly condones the selling of fakes by doing absolutely nothing to the seller for illegal false advertising/outright fraud and refusing to allow you to leave a review warning others that it is fake
I’m not a real mechanic but I’m in the parts business and I can tell you that when you’re having trouble with the same part failing multiple times or prematurely, it’s almost always something else causing the part to fail. In this case probably something electrical; bad battery, bad ground, bad wiring or something similar or possible a bad flywheel. Throwing starters at it probably won’t fix it.
MTGreen
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OP: you mentioned you looked at the flywheel teeth. Did you put a ratchet on the harmonic balancer bolt and look at all the teeth through an entire revolution?
Bentrim
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You did not state the tractor model or type of starter (unless I did not read enough!)
A solenoid shift starter can do this if the drive is bad. There is an over running clutch in the drive, it protects the starter from "over reving" after the engine starts. If the starter works as it is supposed to the solenoid shifts the gear into the flywheel closes the contacts to operate the starter motor, then the engine turns over, If the clutch fails it can make a grinding noise or no noise except for the starter motor running.
Inertia starters have the gear "thrown" into the ring gear when the starter starts turning, Often this type has more gear wear than solenoid type. They also use some type of shock absorber between the starter gear and starter shaft, usually a spring of some type. The spring can break and make a no drive.
With either type it is possible but not likely the ring gear could be loose on the flywheel. Of course a bad ring gear can make a grinding sound too. Often the ring gear wears most at the spots the engine comes up on compression, so it may not wear even.
A solenoid shift starter can do this if the drive is bad. There is an over running clutch in the drive, it protects the starter from "over reving" after the engine starts. If the starter works as it is supposed to the solenoid shifts the gear into the flywheel closes the contacts to operate the starter motor, then the engine turns over, If the clutch fails it can make a grinding noise or no noise except for the starter motor running.
Inertia starters have the gear "thrown" into the ring gear when the starter starts turning, Often this type has more gear wear than solenoid type. They also use some type of shock absorber between the starter gear and starter shaft, usually a spring of some type. The spring can break and make a no drive.
With either type it is possible but not likely the ring gear could be loose on the flywheel. Of course a bad ring gear can make a grinding sound too. Often the ring gear wears most at the spots the engine comes up on compression, so it may not wear even.
aircommuter
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Since we don’t know the history of the machine, it is likely some flattened teeth in a couple spots since engines stop in the same locations. The teeth could be damaged from previous starters and it wasn’t addressed soon enough. Like others said rotate and inspect the entire flywheel and maybe you can file any bad areas to closely match the good areas.
aircommuter
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Do we know if it has a removable solenoid? Maybe I missed some details about the unit.
