Starter motor wiring. What am I doing wrong?

[bromster]

So I bought a bakkie and the starter was "giving problems" with all of the ignition wires having been removed.

So I took it off, opened it, cleaned it. Now the solenoid works when i bridge the solenoid's positive battery terminal to the ignition terminal. It throws the Bendix out as it should.

Similarly, the starter spins when i bridge the 2 big terminals on the solenoid, but it does not kick the Bendix out.

How do I wire this bad boy to do both at the same time as intended?

I have taken pics. The solenoid had the 2 big threaded terminals for the positive cable, but it also has 2 flat terminals, one for the ignition switch, and the other I'm not sure.

Help!

 

[bromster]

Wiring the unit as it would be in the bakkie, then applying 12v to the ignition terminal sparks a tiny bit, but does nothing.

I have tested these components individually and they are working, so I'm clearly missing something.

 

[thehuman]

so it kicks in when you trigger the solonoid but not turning?
could be the solonoid contacts does not send power to starter (braided cable going into starter)

 

[Hemi300c]

The solenoid might be shot and not have enough to effect the starter motor.

Also make sure the car isn't a stolen car - just a though.

 

[bromster]

so it kicks in when you trigger the solonoid but not turning?
could be the solonoid contacts does not send power to starter (braided cable going into starter)

If I :
1) Put my red jumper cable from battery + to the solenoid's battery post
2) Put my black jumper cable from the Battery - to the spade connector for the ignition switch

then the solenoid kicks the starter motor gear out as it should.

-----------------------------------

If I:
1) Put the Red Jumper From Battery + to the terminal which runs between the starter and solenoid.
2) Put the black jumper from Battery - to the body of the starter motor

then the starter motor turns as it should.

---------------B U T--------------------

With the starter on the car (grounded), If I:
1) Bridge the 2 solenoid posts, then the starter motor spins but obviously does not kick out the gear because the solenoid is being bypassed.

2) Bridge the Ignition spade connector to the Solenoid's Battery post, NOTHING happens.

^^^ That is what has me baffled. As far as I know, this should kick both the gear out and spin it, but it doesn't.



I found a very useful tutorial for testing everything properly and I'm making my way through it. But my starter is off the car now, so I can't do the voltage drop test.

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/misc-index/starter-motor-on-car-tests-1

 

[Akirky]

If I :
1) Put my red jumper cable from battery + to the solenoid's battery post
2) Put my black jumper cable from the Battery - to the spade connector for the ignition switch

then the solenoid kicks the starter motor gear out as it should.

-----------------------------------

If I:
1) Put the Red Jumper From Battery + to the terminal which runs between the starter and solenoid.
2) Put the black jumper from Battery - to the body of the starter motor

then the starter motor turns as it should.

---------------B U T--------------------

With the starter on the car (grounded), If I:
1) Bridge the 2 solenoid posts, then the starter motor spins but obviously does not kick out the gear because the solenoid is being bypassed.

2) Bridge the Ignition spade connector to the Solenoid's Battery post, NOTHING happens.

^^^ That is what has me baffled. As far as I know, this should kick both the gear out and spin it, but it doesn't.



I found a very useful tutorial for testing everything properly and I'm making my way through it. But my starter is off the car now, so I can't do the voltage drop test.

http://easyautodiagnostics.com/misc-index/starter-motor-on-car-tests-1

What happens if you put the black jumper cable to the starter body, and the red jumper cable to the spade connector?

 

[bromster]

Solved.

New solenoid.

When the thing was still broken, I was surprised that I could get both the solenoid and starter to work individually when applying current directly to them.

However, there was a problem inside the sealed part of the solenoid which was preventing 12v getting to the starter motor.

So, what I learned was that with the starter on the car (which grounds it) , bridging the 2 large solenoid terminals should spin the starter motor.
Bridging the large battery terminal on the solenoid to the small ignition spade connector is basically bypassing turning the key, and this should start the car.