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94 940 starter issues 900

posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Sun Apr 21 13:08 CST 2019 [RELATED]

I drove over to Panera Bread Co to get my wife some cookies, when I went to leave the car wouldn't crank.
Long story short, the starter solenoid had gone south, no continuity through any of the connections.
I was in a bind time-wise and the only local business who could provide a starter (no one had a solenoid) was PEP Boys and that was advertised as a Wilson reman.
I looked up Wilson reviews and they came back good stating they were well known in the heavy equipment field and provided quality products.
So I ordered it and I get a call later saying the supplier can't get one till the next day. So much for my time crunch.
The part comes in and the box does not say Wilson but ProPArts. I install it but it cranks slowly and sometimes not at all (there is a definite click as the solenoid engages).
I check all the wires and voltages to find about 8.5V being supplied to the solenoid when cranking (meets specs I found). I bypass the ignition switch with a hot-wire switch to provide a full 12V to the solenoid but with no improvement.
No discernible Vdrop across battery/starter POS or NEG wires.
I cleaned the battery connections and all associated wire connections under the hood.
At this point the car will crank and start about 1/2 the time, the starter sounds sick and I am thinking the new starter is the problem (the solenoid) since there is no V at the wire feed from the solenoid into the starter when it does not crank.
Really not looking forward to pulling the starter again to troop it back to PEP Boys but...
Am I missing something?







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    94 940 starter issues 900

    posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Fri May 17 10:36 CST 2019 [RELATED]

    Well, after a number of fits & starts it seems my first diagnosis was correct.
    Bad solenoid on the rebuilt starter.
    Got another rebuilt from Voluparts here in ATL and it works just fine.
    They said they had been using the same rebuilder for 25 years so...
    To their credit, PEP Boys took their faulty starter back without a problem so there is that.








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    94 940 starter issues 900

    posted by  Blindboy on  Wed Apr 24 07:53 CST 2019
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
    last visit: Tue Oct 21 17:56 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    starter is peppy junk,I bet they cleaned the outside & panted it& nothin more








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      94 940 starter issues 900

      posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Sun May 5 06:28 CST 2019 [RELATED]

      At this point I have to agree with Blindboy.
      All my measurements point to the Pep Boys ProParts starter.
      Just put in a new Volvo ignition switch with no joy.
      Same sh*t, no change, hit or miss engagement of the starter electricals.
      I'll pick up a new starter @ Voluparts in ATL tomorrow and start the fight with Pep Boys to get my money back (that won't be easy).







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    94 940 starter issues 900

    posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Mon Apr 22 18:23 CST 2019 [RELATED]

    Upon closer inspection and more rigorous testing this is what I found.

    Responsiveness is affected by underhood heat, when cool it will crank but slower than I would expect.
    When underhood is operating temp, it cranks VERY, painfully, slowly, if at all (solenoid clicks but no spin).
    Battery wires (especially POS) seem hotter than surrounding components.
    Once it cools off a bit (about 15 min with the hood open) it will crank well enough to start

    There is almost a .5 Vdrop across the battery-to-solenoid wire. Is that too much?

    More telling, Vdrop across the brandy-new solenoid registers 3 V. That seems high to me, I would expect it to be less than .5 V. Would you guys agree?

    All measurements were taken after the engine had cooled off for 2 hours and would crank reliably, but slower than expected.

    Bottom line seems to be only 8V is making it to the starter.

    By the way, battery is fine, over 12.6V at rest and when cranking registers about 11.5V







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      94 940 starter issues 900

      posted by  spook on  Mon Apr 22 20:21 CST 2019
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      last visit: Fri Oct 24 08:06 CST 2014
      [RELATED]

      Dear rjk,

      Hope you're well. "Battery wires (especially POS) seem hotter than surrounding components."

      The excessive heat suggests electrical resistance, which in turn suggests that the battery cables are corroded, most likely under the insulation sheath.

      When the draw on a battery exceeds the cables' carrying capacity, the wire gets hot. That's why inadequate wiring causes fires.

      Inadequate carrying capacity explains why the starter turns weakly when powered from the battery, but turns normally, when "hot wired".

      Hope this helps.

      Yours faithfully,

      Spook








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        94 940 starter issues 900

        posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Tue Apr 23 07:23 CST 2019 [RELATED]

        Good morning Spook,

        You are correct in what you say but I am unsure we are on the same page with the term "hot wired"
        I am referring to jumpering the battery connection on the solenoid to the exciter terminal on the solenoid which bypasses the ignition switch when starting
        I am not referring to bypassing the main battery cable.

        The battery cable is not showing any electrical abnormalities beyond a .5Vdrop when cranking which is one of my base questions...is that normal, I am unsure.
        If not, I agree the cable may have a bit of corrosion inside but before the old starter died there were no cranking issues so I doubt the cable would go so far south just with a change of starter

        My greater concern is the 3Vdrop across the solenoid mains...that does not look to be normal and could that be a cause for the seemingly higher temp "feel" of the cable...would it create a greater current draw that heated up the cable








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    94 940 starter issues 900

    posted by  spook on  Sun Apr 21 16:40 CST 2019
    Author: [PROFILE] [EVERY POST] [THREADS] [BEST POSTS] RSS Feed     [IGNORE ALL POSTS]
    last visit: Fri Oct 24 08:06 CST 2014
    [RELATED]

    Dear rjk,

    Hope you're well. I don't think so. If a cable had corroded under its insulation sheathing, that might reduce power to the solenoid.

    It is also possible that the ignition switch is "on the way out". But if that is a factor other things - e.g., lights - should not work.

    Hope this helps.

    With every warm, best wish, I remain,

    Yours faithfully,

    Spook








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      94 940 starter issues 900

      posted by  someone claiming to be rjk on  Sun Apr 21 21:48 CST 2019 [RELATED]

      Ignition switch came to mind which is why I bypassed it with the hot wire.
      No change
      I should notice a Vdrop across the batt/starter cables during starting if there was an issue there and I do not.
      That is why I now suspect a bad reman part







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