My son whacked his hot starter for months until he got a rebuilt Bosch from ebay with a one year guarantee. No core charge and now I have one to play with. I started an associate’s Japanese something at my work’s parking with a starter whack. I loved the look on the owners face. Kind of a shock and delight look. (I kept my poker face on.)

Replacement solenoids, bushings and brushes are readily available at any auto parts store for the price of a rebuilt starter.

Hi PLT -

The rain is over, at least in Cypress, so this is to ruin your Saturday, LOL

Turn the Key and no sound from the starter. Voltage does drop to 11 or so volts and the lights go out until the key is released.

OK, voltage drop and no starter sound, so what's drawing the battery down? The sound is made when the solenoid is actuated and pulls the starter drive gear into the ring gear. If that sound is missing, but the voltage drops, it has to be the solenoid drawing the current. Energized but unable to move the armature.

Why could that happen? I would suspect that whatever lubrication the factory put in there has turned to semi-hardened glop (technical term). To me the idea of getting a JY starter%solenoid is a good idea. It can be re-habbed on your bench by removing the solenoid and cleaning all the linkages. Put into use and then do the other one.

Labor-intensive, but way less than buying a replacement of unknown virtue.


Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

when you check the connections at the solenoid, check the blade connectors and polish them up, also check the condition of those wires and the female connectors at the ends.

I have replaced just the solenoid several times on starters, it's very easy to remove, obvious once you get the the starter off the car. you cannot change it out without removing the starter. Last time I got a new solenoid for $35 from my local shop that specializes in auto electrical repairs and put in in myself.

Hey Paul, you're already into summer down there.

Lots of folks carry a stick to whack their starter solenoids;)

I've had a lot of experience with solenoid contact problems in the past, but fortunately, with Bosch on Volvo, very little. When I say contacts, I mean the internal copper, where a spring loaded disk is thrown by the solenoid against the special copper bolts that comprise both the contacts and the external terminals.

Not surprisingly, most of the troubles I've had to fix were on mass-market rebuilt starters, where the contacts were not addressed (not renewed) by the rebuilder. Those things they hand you over the counter in the chain stores are hit and miss, costing you plenty in labor down the road. In lieu of disassembling the thing and fixing it myself, I would recommend to someone not interested in doing that, to find a local auto electrics shop for a proper rebuild.

But with the Bosch in Volvo, my little experience I blame on a much better product to begin with, and fully trust my fortune to get good service from a part pulled in the yard.

One way the contacts can get into trouble happens when the external terminals are twisted during the replacement of battery cables or checking of the connections to them. The stud must maintain its place, or a worn, arc-damaged portion of the internal contact may be given favor to the disk as it moves to complete the circuit. The inner nut is supposed to hold it in place, but rarely is it counterheld while the outer nuts are tightened during a repair.

Conversely it may be possible to make it work better (or worse) simply by tweaking that stud a little with your 13 wrench, obviating the need to remove and dissect the starter.

To sum up, my approach would be to find a JY starter, and then attempt to cure the old solenoid to have a backup on the "shelf". I haven't tried using any of the rebuilts offered by our trusty Volvo parts suppliers.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.

May be the starter solenoid sticking. Next time it does not start hit the solenoid with a stick and see if that gets it going. Dan