Technical Gotta be the Solenoid, Doesn't It?

I have wired about 60 hot rods since 1957. A master electrician in 23 jurisdictions.
1. Battery in trunk ? Ground cable connected to the frame or cable run the the engine ? In the start mode you are pushing about 120 amps with only 12 volts.
2. Inside the solenoid there is a br*** washer that will pit, flip it. The washer contacts half the head of the 3/8" battery cable stud...it too will pit. Rotate it 180* Bingo = a rebuilt solenoid
Jim 410 535 1933

 

If the copper washer in the solenoid is not making contact, you'll hear the click of it moving, but the starter motor will not turn. So, that can't be the problem.

If the screwdriver trick works, that means the starter is working properly.

Check the voltage at the S terminal and see if it's enough to trigger the solenoid. If not, then make the purple wire fatter, shorter, or add a relay to it. Possibly the ignition or NS switches have dirty contacts, also.

 

Sounds more like a bad neutral safety switch issue. By jumping the solenoid you are taking the NSS out of the circuit. Wiggle the shift lever, try it in various positions with the key held to start and see if it makes it work. If you can run a temporary wire direct from the key switch to the starter, try that. If it works, you know for sure the NSS is out of adjustment or bad.

 

If you have a heat soak problem ??? Then use a GM high torque starter , not the Chinese junk one , that fixed my 11 to 1 sbc !!!

 

Try 1 redneck diagnostic. Next time it happens tap the whole starter with a dead blow or something, or a light tap with a hammer. If it works again you need brushes. Be sure to file out the mica in the commutator too if you put brushes in, or in fact you might be able to just clean up whatcha got. Also, clean up the big steel body of the armature while you have it out since you're there. If this isn't the case your neutral safety and solenoid search is also probably valid. 30K miles can probably pile a lotta copper on the commutator. Let us know please as well. Good luck...

 

Yes. Neutral Safety would likely be in-line with your purple to the solenoid.

Having an actual wiring diagram for your car would be helpful here.

 

Can’t tell you how many times I did that.

 

OK. Now I'm getting somewhere. My ignition switch has a red wire where the purple wire ought to be coming from the NSS. That's why I couldn't find it. It's not there. The red wire is tagged NSS. So, obviously I have changed something there when I wired the car, but it has been working right along. I'm beginning to think the neutral safety switch is bad or out of adjustment. It's kind of a pain to get to the NSS, but I think that is where this is headed. Just by luck I do have a spare NSS.
I haven't been able to check voltage at the S term yet. Need help. My arms aren't long enough to turn the key and read the meter. I'll have to get the wife out when she gets home.
I should be able to test the NSS with my Ohm meter without tearing into it, I think. Check continuity between the purple wire at the solenoid and the red/ should be purple wire at the switch. Correct?

 

Dammit! I hate electrical problems. I would much rather be playing with the motor.

 

Do you have a 12 volt test light? If so you can clip a jumper wire from the S terminal on the solenoid to the point on the test light, and hang it where you can see it when you're in the car turning the ignition switch. If the light comes on, the solenoid is bad, if not, and you've already changed the switch, I'd move to the neutral switch

 

You'd think I would have a 12V test light, but I don't. I could probably rig one up, but the old lady will be home before too long. She just loves coming out to the shop to help me.
Edit! No disrespect meant. She is 360 days younger than I am. So, she's old, and she is a lady. And we've been married 45 years.

 

Mark yourself very lucky that the old lady likes to help...

 

You didn't notice the roll eyes? I am lucky, though. She never says anything about the time I spend in the shop or the money I spend on my cars. She loves riding in them. In fact, she bought me a motometer for Christmas for the T. And she will drive the T occasionally. But helping in the shop is just about outside the lines.

 

Mine has ridden with me twice since I finished The Judge.... And that was in 2018....

By the way I'm voting on The NSS

 

My wife has always loved the shop: (She was a new customer of mine when I first met her) She came to work with me after a whirlwind courtship. Great mechanic.
I had a starter problem with my '55 F100, never before. (350 L.T.) Starter was a new Delco when purchased 2 years ago.
I jacked it up, got ready for voltage test. Wife went under on the creeper to attach the leads on my volt meter, then I heard her laugh...
"Low Maintenance Mike strikes again!", she said. I looked under, and the long starter case bolts were so loose she was wiggling the case up and down! Tightened them up, checked everything I could see...
Yes, it had been awhile. (Love that SBC, sooo dependable!)
As for relays, the Bosch 4 prong is installed alongside the ignition switch. Amen!

 

I recently got to fix a starter with loose through bolts. But it was on a Ford, and the fix took a couple hours. Definitely helps to do a visual check for the obvious.

 

You've used a kit but the purple starter wire has had the ignition switch to nss section subs***uted with some red wire right. Well, its not the colour of the wire that is an issue but the gauge of the wire. I fitted a nss to a car I bought and stupidly didn't give this gauge issue a thought. All was well for some years before problems (like in this case) developed. Turned out the wire I'd subs***uted from leftovers was at least a matching colour(!) but waaaay too lightweight for the starter draw!

Chris

 

Clean the brushes in your starter, if cleaning the solenoid does not fix your problem.
Also, if you can hear a click, but the starter does not turn over, it is not your nNSS.


Edit: I should have said check and clean your brushes!



Bones

 

For what it's worth the old Delco starters came in two versions. One was a High Torque and one Standard duty. The Standard duty the lug coming out of the housing bolted directly to the solenoid and the High Torque used a spacer. If your wiring is all in order I would bet on the brushes being worn down.

 

Those starters are pretty simple to overhaul if you want to. The worst part is removing the washer and c clip on the nose end of the starter. They used to make a tool just for that purpose and it is a life saver IMO. But if your not changing the drive you don't have to remove it. Brushes are probably $5 and I wouldn't think a solenoid would be much.

 

Got it! Did the test for voltage at the S terminal. 0.00 volts. Ok! Gotta be the NSS. So, I get down to the NSS and sure enough. There are 2 machine screws holding the NSS. One is the pivot and the other adjusts up and down for engagement with the shift lever. The adjusting screw was loose and the whole switch was pushed up into inoperable position. I adjusted the switch down and tightened it up. Hit the key and it fired right up! Success! Now I gotta put all that sh...tuff back together.
Hey Thanks for you guy's help! I'm back on the road and I win this round.

 

Cool, gotta love no cost fixes!

Chris

 

Yep! Iwas just thinking about how cheap it is to run my '26 T coupe as my daily driver. No payments. $400/year insurance, $50 license/year. 16 mpg in town. Do all my own work.
I don't even want to think what it would cost to run a new truck for a year.

 

I'm gonna remember that!

 

Oh yeah. I forgot. The answer to the original poster's question is ...NO

 

Testing usually means less work. Sun Electric's motto was "Test - Don't Guess".

 

I had that issue back in 2014. I went to start my truck to get on a ferry on a road trip, and nothing. We discovered it was the NSS just as they lowered the gate indicating that no more cars could go on.

My '62 Bel Air and my dad's '64 Impala have the same intermittent issue. Our X-frame Chevy cars have connection on the back of the fuse panel prone to oxidation and poor connections. It can be a number of things and usually it's not the starter. Glad you found it.

 

I love it when a plan comes together

 

Post 33. Glad I could help!

 

Let's summarize...

Who said "NSS"? Vote by posting "me".

Who said something else? Vote by posting "umm"