Ginormous
Gold Member
I think you've fixed it, but found some other stuff to deal with. It can be very easy to get overzealous trying to crank these things to get them to started when they have lost prime. As the others have said, a good cleaning (and maybe new terminals on the ends if they look corroded or loose), and a freshly charged battery will get you up and running again.
Since the power needed to run a starter motor is amps divided by volts, if battery voltage is low the current required must increase proportionally, and that extra current generates potentially damaging heat. Hopefully the starter is still sound; you may get lucky.
Unfortunately, it does not look like I got lucky. I still get the "click!" from the solenoid when I turn to start, but the starter motor isn't turning. I took the starter apart. I cleaned it as best that I could -- I couldn't figure out how to get the central part to come out of the housing. It was really, really dirty and had a lot of bits of copper floating around -- see before and after pics below. It turns easily by hand. BTW, I also am able to turn the engine by hand. After I reassembled the starter and re-attached to the engine, I still just get the "click!" The connections are no longer getting hot after working on those, so I did make SOME progress. So, does this mean the starter needs rebuilt? I don't know what that entails. Thoughts?