[new2alpha]

CAn I bench test my starter? CAn anyone tell me how to do it? '71 1750 spider. The car was starting fine although not running great ( SPICA has yet to be fine tuned). I spent about 8 hours replacing motor mounts this weekend. With out a doubt the worst job I have ver done on any vehicle! The curse words are still floating around my neighborhood. My knuckles are still bleeding!. ( If anyone knows a good way to get the passenger side forward nut on the block stud I would love to hear it! Took me an hour with 3 different wrenches)
In any case she is dead as door nail now. I found a loose ground but it has no effect. Everything else seems normal. The starter has seemed weak for some time. On occasion when I would start it it would stop turning over with the key turned. The second time I hit the key it would usually start.

 

[Alfacliff]

you have to have a battery to check starters, also, they are not speed limited, so if you dont have a load on them, they will speed up till they go bang. other than worn brushes on starters, the bushings wear causing the starter to "drag" or let the armature rub on the field, kinda like putting the breaks on. the only bench test I know of is the "growler" that is used to check for shorts in armatures.
there is also a problem with the ignition key switch, there is an interlock that stops you from turning to start after you have tried until you turn the key off then back on, this sometimes sticks not letting the car start. a little wd40 down the key slot helps this.
cliff

 

[144]

Yea, that nut is a tough one. Just make sure the threads are very clean and use a new nut so it will spin on as easy as practical. Then alternately use the box-end and then the open-end of the wrench to snug up the nut. You'll only get an 8th of a turn or so on each movement, but still should only take a couple of minutes to tighten.

Eight hours to change motor mounts? Methinks there was more beer drinking than wrench turning going on there!

About all you can do is momentarily touch power to the starter motor to see if it turns. You don't want to let it speed up without a load. Chances are the starter motor itself is ok, but the solenoid on top probably has burned contacts in it. On the 2 bolt solenoids, you can carefully remove the back plastic cover and clean the contact bar and the contacts. The contact bar will stay attached to a very thin and rather fragile shaft to the solenoid itself, so be careful with it. The contacts in the plastic housing are rather easy to clean-up.

 

[bshorey]

CAn I bench test my starter? CAn anyone tell me how to do it? '71 1750 spider. The car was starting fine although not running great ( SPICA has yet to be fine tuned). I spent about 8 hours replacing motor mounts this weekend. With out a doubt the worst job I have ver done on any vehicle! The curse words are still floating around my neighborhood. My knuckles are still bleeding!. ( If anyone knows a good way to get the passenger side forward nut on the block stud I would love to hear it! Took me an hour with 3 different wrenches)
In any case she is dead as door nail now. I found a loose ground but it has no effect. Everything else seems normal. The starter has seemed weak for some time. On occasion when I would start it it would stop turning over with the key turned. The second time I hit the key it would usually start.

Could be the starter, the solenoid, or possibly the ignition switch. If it's still in the car, put the car in neutral, emergency brake on, and try running a hot wire directly to the ignition terminal on the solenoid. If it turns over fine, then your problem is in the ignition switch, otherwise, probably in the starter or solenoid (assuming the battery is fully charged).

I always recommend installing a starter relay in early Alfas. It's a lot of load to put on the ignition switches, and the major cause of those ignition switches wearing out.

HTH,

bs

 

[new2alpha]

I took the starter to a local shop that specializes in Bosch. They said it was all working but the solenoid was week. Had in in stock. They replaced it and the brusches, glass beaded it and painted it. Less than $75--- Looks great! Problem is I reinstalled it yesterday and I still don't get a thing when i turn the key. I am beginning to think Ignition switch. I will pull it this weekend and by pass the switch.

 

[bshorey]

I took the starter to a local shop that specializes in Bosch. They said it was all working but the solenoid was week. Had in in stock. They replaced it and the brusches, glass beaded it and painted it. Less than $75--- Looks great! Problem is I reinstalled it yesterday and I still don't get a thing when i turn the key. I am beginning to think Ignition switch. I will pull it this weekend and by pass the switch.

Do yourself a favor, try installing a starter relay first. There is a chance that your weak ignition switch will power the starter relay, which doesn't draw a lot of current.

Even if it doesn't help your existing ignition switch, and you end up having to replace it, the next one will last a *lot* longer.

I've written up how to do this, I'm pretty sure Kevin Redden has posted it to this BB. If you can't find it, e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send you a copy.

HTH,

bs

 

[new2alpha]

I mwill look it up and will install a relay. I did as you suggested and jumpered from the + battery termial directly to the solenoid and she kicked like a mule. It definetly ain't the starter. I am curious. I have a wiring diagram for my 71 1750 that show a red 10 gauge wire from the starter post were the battery is connected to the #1 fuse. There is no such wire and there never was. She use to start. I am confused about this wire.

 

[bshorey]

I mwill look it up and will install a relay. I did as you suggested and jumpered from the + battery termial directly to the solenoid and she kicked like a mule. It definetly ain't the starter. I am curious. I have a wiring diagram for my 71 1750 that show a red 10 gauge wire from the starter post were the battery is connected to the #1 fuse. There is no such wire and there never was. She use to start. I am confused about this wire.

Yeah, there is, but it may not be connected to the #1 fuse, and it's not on the 'output' side of the box.

If you look closely, you'll notice a large (presumably red) wire going from the starter post to the fuse box. That wire supplied power *to* the fuse box.

It must be there, if it wasn't, then pretty much anything that gets power from the fuse box would not be working.

Now, there is a chance that at some point, somebody replaced that wire, and they might also have taken power from the battery, or somewhere else. But there has to be something providing power to the fuse box.

Nothing surprises me anymore, I've seen a lot of hacks done by PO's over the years..

bs