Earth cable for starter-solenoid connection

Post by **daydream-believer** » 24 Mar 2006, 17:44

Hi,

The earth(?) cable between my starter and solenoid is completely rotten and hanging off. Can anyone advise where and what to get as a suitable replacement - does it need to be as thick as the old stuff?

Would prefer to buy it by the (centi)meter as obviously it's only a small bit and the places I've tried so far only seem to do thick stuff in 10-20m rolls for lotsa £!

Cheers!

Post by **R0B** » 24 Mar 2006, 17:52

have you tried a local auto electrician.....

Post by **daydream-believer** » 26 Mar 2006, 15:45

okay, the where bit was probably a dumb question!
I was really more concerned whether there is a minimum thickness/max length for the cable ...our first attempt at fixing has been a bit of a disaster..

.. removed the starter/solenoid put 12V directly through it from the battery and the pinion shot forward with no problems. Hooray!

Made a replacement earth connection between starter and solenoid with earth cable we had available, connected it all back up and tried the ignition. Heard the solenoid click and pinon engage, but engine doesn't turn. Trying a second time produced a bit of a fizz and smoke. Unfortunately aladdin didn't appear..

Removed it all again to find the earth has burnt through. The solonoid is still working, so my questions now are:

Could the "wrong" earth cable (too long/thin) prevent the starter from turning - am trying to figure whether the burnt earth is the cause or an effect of the new problem.

s there a way to check the actual starter whilst it's out of the car before forking out for a new'un ?

Any advice greatfully recieved!!

Post by **Mocki** » 26 Mar 2006, 22:39

if you refer to that braided cable from the solenoid that disappears tho the body of the starter via a grommet, its the LIVE, NOT EARTH, it mustnt contact with the starter body, or it wont be alladin you need, it'll be fireman sam.