Probably the 100 th and something "I put an aftermarket mini starter on my hot rod and now it malfuncitons " thread I have seen on the Hamb since 2007. As the guys said, there are oem Delco mini starters for both 168 tooth and 154 tooth ring gears that work great and don't give the problems that the cheap one size fits all aftermarket ones do. Next question is do you actually need a mini starter or is it somthing you have to have to be in the cool guy club?
No. I did not need a mini starter. I had a long history with that engine, and as I did a compete rebuild I realized I had somehow misplaced the original starter. Well fast forward, this little gem of a starter came up for sale brand new quick and cheap. Nope, no cool guy club. Matter of fact I am somewhat a loner, as not a whole bunch of "car guys" in these parts.
I bet GM was just trying to fit in and belong when they switched to a mini starter. I’ll never lug another chunk of iron into place again when another starter goes out. Mini for me, and not trying to fit into a group/clique , but I am the coolest guy in my garage. Hell, ask any of my dogs.
Glad this got resolved. I'm playing with a couple of new Ford solenoids, modifying one to take a Harley Davidson button in the bottom of the solenoid case. (Underhood starter 'bump', one finger...)
Saw this thread and realized how my starter set up has been hooked up wrong for the last 25 years! Went right out and did some rewiring. No more “Chevy starter” sound. Never too old to learn.
You're welcome. I learned this way when I went to the Ford permanent magnet starter a few years ago. I was trying to wire it up like the old style starter, I didn't want the hot cable hot all the time like on a Chevy, just didn't seem right. I then learned to wire it just like Ford did when they started using them, no more run on. And a couple of added plus of using the permanent magnet starter, no heat soak when running headers along with a few pounds lighter. I love your coupe!
If I understand, the solenoid (Ford) is not carrying the load to the starter, but just used as a remote supply tonthe GM starter?
That's correct. The hot cable is hot all the time, the start wire is only hot when in the start mode of the Ford solenoid, that insures it gets full voltage. We used to do the same thing to VW dune buggies running headers, it helped with hot starts. It works on GM starters, too, if you are having problems with hot starts. Someone mentioned the I terminal, you can still use that to get full voltage to your coil on startup, too.
I may consider a GM mini one of these days. My car is a swap and I have to pick the engine off the mounts to change the starter. I will have to see some dimensions first. I like the fact that I can get a GM starter almost anywhere in a pinch. I only buy new ones or have mine done by a local shop. I always have 2 done up, salt one away in the box, kept in my kitchen broom closet. Edit: I just did a quick search, the fly in the ointment is that my starter bolts up to the bellhousing.
Generators, of course,and you're exactly right. The starter's coast-down generates enough current to keep the drive engaged, and is only released when the flywheel spins the drive fast enough . Good call! Terry