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Starter problem

C

Carolina boy

Member
Happy New Year Y'all
I have my dadddy's 1950 TO20 that I have gone through and restored/rebuilt. I did not do anything with the starter except clean it up and repaint it. Anyway I recently started having intermittent problems with no action on the starter when I tried to start it. I have voltage to the starter and when I try to start it the positive(12v system) cable gets very hot. I ohmed between the post on the starter and the case, with the cable disconnected, and it read continuity, .3 ohms. I suspect that this is a dead short, which would explain the hot cable. Any ideas on how to proceed.
 
Is the starter jammed against the flywheel?

That's common with some machines, I don't know if it is with a TO20, though.

Ignition "OFF", put the transmission in the highest gear and rock the tractor back and forth and note if the fan rocks back and forth.

A starter is a heavy-duty high amp draw motor and WILL show a very low Ohm value from it's power stud to the case/ground, so the low Ohms reading itself MAY or may NOT indicate in internal short in the starter.

Also, is the whole battery cable heating up, or just one of it's ends (which would indicate a poor/dirty/corroded connection at that point.

Does the negative cable also heat up? If not is the positive cable a much lighter-gauge cable?

If it seems a short is the problem, I would check in the area of where the terminal stud passes through the starter "belly" first.
 
I get fan movement when I rock it. Only the positive cable heats up and both negative and positive are of heavy gauge and are clean.I know a starter shop nearby. I think I will have them check it out Monday. If it is the problem, do you know if a 6 volt starter can be rewired for 12 volt. Thanks
 
If the cables are the same size, BOTH should eat up equally. Likely, you will find the problem at the area where the heating is the greatest.
 
Wait to see what the local shop says. Here is what could be good news. If you want to change to 12 volts you do not have to change the starter as long as your engine is tuned correctly and starts fairly quickly. Of course if you want to change to 12 volts you would have to change, regulator, generator, coil, etc. Also if you have lights the bulbs would have to be changed. As long as you do not have to crank on the starter very long it would last a long time if it is in good condition. If you have to crank on it very long it will burn out. You can loosen the starter bolts and see if the starter will loosen if it is stuck which it sounds as it is.
 
The cable getting hot, does the entire cable heat up, or just the end?

If just the end, check the connection carefully. Could be the nut is welded to the stud and loose on the cable, or the cable has a bad connection where the end is crimped.

If the whole cable is getting hot, pull the starter and look it over. Those are known for the nose cone breaking, which will lock the starter. If there is an internal short in the starter, it will be obvious when you open it up. It will show as something burned, stinky.
 
Attach the ground cable to one of the bolts holding the starter to the bell housing. This will insure a good ground to the starter. You will have to buy a longer battery cable to do this.
BilL
 
I already have a coil with an internal resistor and the lights have 12v bulbs. The tractor starts within a couple rotations so there has been not a lot of cranking on it except nothing has been done to the starter in 66 years, original equipment.It just seems that the windings in the starter should read more than .3 ohms. Anybody have an idea of what the resistance on a good starter should be? I will be taking it to the shop tomorrow, Lord willing. Hopefully I can rule out or confirm that the starter is the problem. Thanks, Rick
 
I had the starter on the bench this morning. I hooked some jumper cables straight from the battery to the starter case and post. It turned over just as it is supposed to. I think at this point that you are right. It has lost it's ground. I had the same issue with the lights after I had it painted. I had to use bonding straps from the fenders to the frame before I could get the lights to work. I guess I will now do the same for the starter, a good ground down from the battery to the block, and then a bonding strap to the starter mounting bolts if necessary. Thanks
 
If you still have the starter off, look at the shaft bushings, especially the drive end bushing. Be sure they don't have excess wear or possibly worn through and fallen out.

Sometimes what happens is the drive gear will try to ride over the flywheel gear and lock the starter.

And while the starter is off, be sure the engine will turn.
 
Just to close this. I cleaned all of the cables ,again. I had ordered a braided battery cable that came today. I ran it from the negative post to one of the bolts holding down the starter switch. I sanded all of the paint off of the starter where it bolts up to the block. Hit the starter and it started right up. Don't know which was the fix but now shes good to go. Thanks to everyone , I appreciate it.
 
(quoted from post at 18:35:48 01/06/17) Just to close this. I cleaned all of the cables ,again. I had ordered a braided battery cable that came today. I ran it from the negative post to one of the bolts holding down the starter switch. I sanded all of the paint off of the starter where it bolts up to the block. Hit the starter and it started right up. Don't know which was the fix but now shes good to go. Thanks to everyone , I appreciate it.
Click to expand...
I'm a little late. My friend painted his cub with the starter out and would not start when he put it back together. I pulled it and cleaned the paint and it started fine. I like to run my grounds directly to starter mounting bolt as someone else said.
 
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