TC33 Starter Problem

[Noytheyah]

No the engine does not turn when the starter is activated. I can turn the engine by hand. I colored the ring gear with a sharpie and there’s no signs of the starter touching it. I did remove the flywheel to change the pilot bearing but I marked it before I took it off and lined up the marks when putting it back. The front and back of the ring gear coincide with the distance of the starter gear when extended.

Assuming it is an alignment issue, how would you suggest ruling it out? There is some slight play when mounting the starter. I tried moving it all the way one way and tried it all the way the other with the same results. As I recall the fly wheel just mounts on a hub from the crank. I know I lined up the same bolt holes when I put it back.

 

[Noytheyah]

Another thought is you could potentially take the solenoid off the starter and manually pull the engagement lever with no power applied and by taking the starter on and off and manipulating that lever you should be able to figure out if the gears are actually meshing like they're supposed to.
Something else that occurred to me is judging from the pictures earlier on in the thread, is there a possibility that the starter can be installed clocked 180°?

Great idea I’ll try that tomorrow. No on the 180°. It won’t fit. Also, It’s installed that way on the diagrams.

 

[MTGreen]

Great idea I’ll try that tomorrow. No on the 180°. It won’t fit. Also, It’s installed that way on the diagrams.

A further confirmation while you've got the solenoid off you could potentially hook up the positive wire and clamp it to a ground and see if it is actuating while applying power when the starter is installed on the tractor.

You could consider putting a blob of Play-Doh or some waxon the ring gear to provide a witness mark if the Bendix does touch it. If it falls into the clutch housing it's no big deal

 

[LittleBill21]

I think we are wasting time on the solenoid, the amperage readings are where they should be, the solenoid is nothing more then a large relay used to have the starter controlled by the smaller wiring in the key switch, by bypassing the solenoid, you have ruled all electrical issues out.

by seeing higher amperage across both starters tells me the bendix is not engaging, but potentially hitting something causing the higher amperage. i believe the nose of the bendix is touch inside of the flywheel

put either tape, or paint or something on the entire flywheel in that section, u will have to see some sign of a mark somewhere, there is no reason the amperage went up 10 amps, unless the voltage drop was higher due to some loss we aren't seeing.

 

[POGuy]

I think we are wasting time on the solenoid, the amperage readings are where they should be, the solenoid is nothing more then a large relay used to have the starter controlled by the smaller wiring in the key switch, by bypassing the solenoid, you have ruled all electrical issues out.

by seeing higher amperage across both starters tells me the bendix is not engaging, but potentially hitting something causing the higher amperage. i believe the nose of the bendix is touch inside of the flywheel

put either tape, or paint or something on the entire flywheel in that section, u will have to see some sign of a mark somewhere, there is no reason the amperage went up 10 amps, unless the voltage drop was higher due to some loss we aren't seeing.

Could the alternator be shorted and causing these issues ??

 

[LittleBill21]

Could the alternator be shorted and causing these issues ??

based on his amp readings, I would say no. also note we told him to remove all wiring in regards to the starting, it should only be 2 wires. straight to the starter. he also mentioned the engine is not turning, shorted alternators would show up shorted in the no load test, its looking like mechanical alignment at this point.

 

[ruffdog]

based on his amp readings, I would say no. also note we told him to remove all wiring in regards to the starting, it should only be 2 wires. straight to the starter. he also mentioned the engine is not turning, alternators don't do anything unless they spin, its looking like mechanical alignment at this point.

At this point I would isolate just the starting circuit like you say. Just the big red lead to the starter and pull the 30a fuse, then jumper 12v to the starter solenoid. This would be isolating from any draw from the alt or glow plugs. If that doesn't work, something is limiting amps to the starter like cables or solenoid.

 

[LittleBill21]

At this point I would isolate just the starting circuit like you say. Just the big red lead to the starter and pull the 30a fuse, then jumper 12v to the starter solenoid. This would be isolating from any draw from the alt or glow plugs. If that doesn't work, something is limiting amps to the starter like cables or solenoid.

his testing above shows there is no power loss when the starter is mounted in the tractor, if anything its pulling more amps, we also showed there was no draw on the starting wires, so there does not appear to be a wiring issue, it seems like alignment of some sort

 

[ruffdog]

Is something major goofy here? Was the battery hooked up correctly? In rare cases, I've heard of batteries being able to have it's polarities flipped. Is the starter running in the correct direction?

 

[LittleBill21]

Is something major goofy here? Was the battery hooked up correctly? In rare cases, I've heard of batteries being able to have it's polarities flipped. Is the starter running in the correct direction?

he says it tests correctly when off the tractor... we can only go by what he says. the red herring in this, is the flywheel has been removed and reinstalled at some point....