starter motor short to positive

[jim potter]

ok ,

So my van died yesterday as i left the earth lead loose. This caused the ecu to pop ( ive now fixed the two burnt tracks )
but now when i turn the key , the starter motor clicks .
upon closer inspection with a volt meter held on the body of the starter and earth from the meter to a good earth, i see +12v from the body
of the starter when cranking. obviously this aint right .

any ideas, i have checked and clean every earth , ive also placed a nic new big cable to a good earth on the chassis.

ive swapped the solenoid for a known good one.

im guessing the key here is the +12v i see from the body of the motor when cranking .

is it possible the starter motor internals are dead ?

anyone had it happen before

[bigherb]

More likely you still have an earth problem.
Move the earth from the mutimeter to different points working away from the starter. You should get 0 volts with both leads connected to the starter body. If you get 12v with the earth connect to the gearbox then the problem is the starter to gearbox interface 0 volts a good interface. If you then go back to the body and get 12v you have a gearbox to body earth problem.