Main starter malfunctions and how to fix them. Starter repair

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Starter is an important element of any internal combustion engine. It is he who rotates after turning the key in the ignition, after which the engine starts. The starter creates the necessary revolutions for the crankshaft so that a compression ratio is formed in the cylinders sufficient to ignite the combustible mixture. If this mechanism is faulty, then starting a modern car will no longer work with the key. Let's learn about starter malfunctions, diagnostic methods and troubleshooting methods.

Device

This assembly is a small electric motor. Its characteristics are sufficient to ensure the possibility of movement of the pistons inside the cylinders. The electric motor is powered by direct current, and receives energy from the battery. Manufacturers make starters with or without a gearbox. Any starter has a motor, retractor, plug, bendix.

The former are recommended by many experts. This is due to the fact that the unit consumes less power than a similar starter without a gearbox. The unit provides the necessary crankshaft speed for starting even with a low battery charge. One of the important advantages of such units are permanent magnets. They keep winding-related starter failures to a minimum. On the other hand, if you turn such a mechanism for a long time, then the bendix may fail.

The second starters, in which the gearbox is not installed, directly affect the gear. The owners of such units benefit from the fact that the design is simpler, and in the event of a breakdown, the unit is easily repaired by hand. After applying electricity to the retractor relay, engagement with the flywheel occurs instantly. This ensures fast ignition. It should be noted that such starters are more durable, and the probability of breakdowns, the causes of which are associated with the electrician, is minimal. But the device may not work well due to low temperatures.

Operation principle

Knowing the principle of operation of this device, it is easier to diagnose starter malfunctions and ways to eliminate them become more accessible.

When the car owner turns the key in the ignition, current is supplied to the solenoid relay. It closes the contacts of the motor and at the same time moves the bendix - a gear that is engaged with the electric motor. After that, the starter motor starts to rotate. Engine starts.

Faults

There are not so many basic starter malfunctions. Often, car owners are faced with several popular breakdowns.

So the motor turns too slowly. Also, another problem is that the starter rotates, but the crankshaft does not spin. The next breakdown - instead of the usual buzzing, only a click is heard and nothing else happens. Finally, the element may not rotate at all and the relay clicks will not be heard.

These breakdowns have both electrical and mechanical causes. We will consider all starter malfunctions and ways to eliminate them below.

Starter cranks slowly

There may be several reasons for this malfunction. So most often the elimination is to charge the battery. The starter draws a lot of current and can easily drain a weak battery. It is also often possible to observe oxidized contacts on the battery, terminals and connections. The contact bolts on the solenoid relay may be loose. It happens that the collector burns out. Brushes may hang, breaks in the starter or armature winding are possible. It also closes the brush holder to ground, interturn short circuits occur.

Starter repair consists of cleaning all electrical connections and contacts, replacing burnt nickels and contacts.

How to check?

To make sure the starter is working, the first thing to check is the retractor relay. To do this, a measuring device is connected to the power circuit of the winding of the retractor. A gasket is placed between the restrictive ring and the drive gear. Its thickness should be from 12.8 to 15 millimeters. The thickness of this gasket depends on the type of starter. Next, start the relay. The current on the winding should not be higher than 23 Amps. The voltage should be 9 volts. If the values are higher, then the causes of the starter malfunction are found - this is the winding. To diagnose the winding more precisely, it is checked for a short circuit.

Do it in the following way. Take a test lamp or multimeter. It is necessary to disconnect the winding from the solenoid relay, then slightly raise the brushes, unhook the shunt coil wire, pull the brushes out of the holders. Through the lamp, 12 volts are supplied to the excitation winding and the body of the unit. If the lamp is on, then there is a short to ground in the winding.

The same method is suitable when you need to check if there is a short circuit to the brush holder housing. In this case, voltage is applied to the brush holder and housing. To make sure that there is no short to ground at anchor, you need to raise the brushes, apply voltage to the collector plates and to the starter housing. If the light is on, there is a short circuit and a starter malfunction has been detected. Broken or worn parts must be replaced.

What if the starter turns but the crankshaft doesn't?

Usually such a malfunction is associated with slipping of the freewheel. There may also be breakdowns of the clutch engagement lever, the lever may pop out of the axle. The same symptoms can be observed if the ring on the clutch is broken or the buffer spring is out of order. Maybe tightmove the drive on a screw thread on the armature shaft.

Starter does not turn off after engine starts

Among the causes of this malfunction may be a stuck lever on the drive, a jammed drive on the armature shaft, “sticking” of the solenoid relay contacts. Often the return spring on the ignition switch fails, the return spring on the freewheel or on the retractor relay is weakened or broken. With a stuck relay, the same symptoms of a starter malfunction may appear.

If the engine starts, but the starter does not turn off, the ignition must be turned off immediately. Next, open the hood and remove the wire that goes to the retractor relay. In this case, the cause may be the skew of the unit in its place. It is recommended to correct the misalignment and tighten the bolts.

If it is impossible to crank the engine

A starter is needed to rotate the crankshaft at a certain number of revolutions. If there is dirt in the connections or there is corrosion on the wires, this can lead to slowdown or more serious starter malfunctions. You need to make sure that the terminals are perfectly clean and secure enough.

Another reason could be that the gear is not engaging with the crankshaft, the clutch is slipping, or the motor is blocked by something.

Click on startup

If, after the electrical circuit is activated, a click is heard when the starter is turned on, then among the possible malfunctions of the starter, one can single out the absence of a relaythe voltage required to operate the element. You need to check all the wiring in the control circuit. If there are problems, they are fixed. If the voltage is sufficient, then they check to see if the contacts on the relay and nickels inside the retractor have burned out. They also check the battery voltage - often such signs of a starter malfunction can be caused by low battery voltage.

Starter does not turn, relay does not click

This could be due to a dead battery. Next - a popular reason is related to contacts.

The malfunction can be eliminated by restoring the contact on the solenoid relay. You can also remove it, take it apart and wash it thoroughly.

Conclusion

Most starter problems can be easily solved by disassembling the device, cleaning it from dust, dirt, replacing worn parts and lubricating what the manufacturers recommend. If you periodically perform maintenance on the starter, then there will be no problems with it. Naturally, this is true if this is an original starter, and not a Chinese copy. Repairing a starter that is made in China can be seriously difficult - there are a lot of defects.