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- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!ucbvax!centric!falcon!ian
- From: ian@centric.com (Ian Macky)
- Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
- Subject: Starter jamming
- Message-ID: <1992Sep2.003705.609@centric.com>
- Date: 2 Sep 92 00:37:05 GMT
- Sender: usenet@centric.com
- Organization: Centric Engineering Systems
- Lines: 21
- Originator: ian@falcon
-
- I just installed a rebuilt starter on my car and have had a couple
- experiences so far of the pinion gear jamming on the flywheel somehow.
-
- The engaging side of the pinion gear has a ramp cut into each tooth
- so that if when it's thrown out by the solenoid and the teeth aren't
- lined up to mesh properly, it hits the flywheel on the ramp and
- rotates into meshing position and continues to engage. That's the way
- it usually works, I think.
-
- But... sometimes the pinion seems to wedge somehow. Once it did this
- with full power applied through the solenoid relay to the starter,
- heating up both battery cables blistering hot (as my friend found out),
- almost instantly. Since this circuit has no fuse or fusible link, it's
- a major fire hazard! We had to rock the car in gear to disengage the
- pinion; we could hear it being retracted, click!, once unjammed...
-
- Anyway, should the flywheel ring gear be greased to aid in the pinion's
- ramping action? The ring gear was dry, and the pinion only lightly
- greased when installed.
-
- --ian
-