Starter switch restoration

[Purdy Swoft]

The chances are good that there is nothing wrong with the starter switch. Try the hand crank and see if the engine will EVEN TURN. The starter drive can lock up and not allow the engine to turn. The fix is to rock the car backwards and foward in gear until you hear a click and the starter will unstick. I know this won't be possible with a snapped axle but the hand crank test will let you know if the problem is in the switch or a locked starter drive, I've had it happen. Usually when the switch goes bad, it shorts out and burns a hole right through the switch.

[29ModelA]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Connect a volt meter to ground and the starter switch stud to be sure it shows the right voltage when the switch is pushed.
The battery posts may have lost their good connection while setting. If they start out clean and have a good coating of vaseline or such, they usually give no trouble, but the volt meter will confirm this.

I will try this first, I already checked the battery and it was fully charged, it wasn't even low.

I had it cranking very well but it took some playing with the starter switch (read jamming it over and over with my foot for a few minutes), but after a few tries the switch just did nothing.

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

The chances are good that there is nothing wrong with the starter switch. Try the hand crank and see if the engine will EVEN TURN. The starter drive can lock up and not allow the engine to turn. The fix is to rock the car backwards and foward in gear until you hear a click and the starter will unstick. I know this won't be possible with a snapped axle but the hand crank test will let you know if the problem is in the switch or a locked starter drive, I've had it happen. Usually when the switch goes bad, it shorts out and burns a hole right through the switch.

I already used the crank to start it... it was 15 below when I did it too It wasn't happy about it, but it finally went. I didn't want it to sit when the switch was acting up.

I need to get it dug out, hard to work around it where I have it parked right now.