Starter motor repair (solenoid)

[kevtherev]

Ok so I had a starter motor that just didn't work, no click, no noise, nada.
Unless the armature is shagged, the old VW starters can be cheaply repaired.
You CAN NOT do this with a chinese copy, starter.
So first stop is the solenoid
I took this to a local repair shop to have the face removed a see if it was OK inside
It involves unsoldering the trigger posts and removal of the bolts





Straight away the problem is seen









If these starters are left for long periods of in activity with the battery connected the post from the battery oxidises quicker and forms a layer that the current can't penetrate


Because the cost was not prohibitive it was completely replaced
£25 later

[Oldiebut goodie]

That is water ingress rather than oxidisation due to being left - you can see the tracking of the water from the rusted steel. There must be an inadequate seal between the stud and plastic, that end of the solenoid could do with a rubber shroud to keep the water off all the terminals and all plastic to metal joints.
I wonder if Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure would make a difference when applied to a new one.

[kevtherev]

That is water ingress rather than oxidisation due to being left - you can see the tracking of the water from the rusted steel. There must be an inadequate seal between the stud and plastic, that end of the solenoid could do with a rubber shroud to keep the water off all the terminals and all plastic to metal joints.
I wonder if Captain Tolley's creeping crack cure would make a difference when applied to a new one.

I put that to the chap who removed the face, he has come across this only on vans with the battery connected, and left for long periods, like corrosion at the battery terminal.
I can see both points to be fair

I smother mine in grease

[Aidan]

did you fit a new cap or just clean up the old one and the contact plate ?
A new cap is only £15 and the correct long stud version is still available (though you see lots of recons with the wrong cap fitted as the short stud version is more commonplace), when I had starters reconned in Warrington a new cap was always fitted as it's always the bit that wears, pressing out the inners and pressing it back together and re-rolling the lip is the hard bit for which you need suitable tools and a bit of care
the rubbish hella labelled recons from eastern Europe don't replace the cap from what I have seen, in fact other than painting them black I don't know what they actually do

[kevtherev]

New long stud cap fitted and it was indeed £15
I needed the repair shop to re roll the solenoid as you say.

The point of the post really was to show just one reason why the starter motor fails.
...and the other is just how cheap they are to fix.
It's only too easy to fit a new one.



If you can afford to of course.

[Sir Brixalot]

Have you got a link KTR, if its OK for an auto starter. One of the contacts is snapped on mine. I couldn't get the screws out of the solenoid, waiting for a bigger 10mm screwdriver to arrive through the post which will hopefully do the trick. Then I'm going to give it a good clean etc and fingers crossed.

[kevtherev]

Link to what chap?

[Sir Brixalot]

Solenoid cap. One of the spades has snapped on min

[kevtherev]

Ah
I'll ask the repair shop for the suppliers name.

[Oldiebut goodie]

Solenoid cap. One of the spades has snapped on min

Just solder a wire directly to it and make your spade connection in the engine bay - solves the corroded spade issue at the same time. You need a 120 - 150w soldering iron to do it efficiently though, I did mine donkey's years ago and haven't had connection problems ever since. If you have the double spade there and one has broken just use a piggyback terminal. Seems silly to go and replace everything else for the sake of a spade.

[kevtherev]

Solenoid cap. One of the spades has snapped on min

Just solder a wire directly to it and make your spade connection in the engine bay - solves the corroded spade issue at the same time. You need a 120 - 150w soldering iron to do it efficiently though, I did mine donkey's years ago and haven't had connection problems ever since. If you have the double spade there and one has broken just use a piggyback terminal. Seems silly to go and replace everything else for the sake of a spade.

That's a top tip Rick!

[Sir Brixalot]

Thanks OBG. The starter needs stripping anyway as it's slow and I'd rather change the cap if possible than have extra wires in the engine bay. My starter has part number 003 911 023 E

[Sir Brixalot]

Bumpety bump

[RogerT]

I've been following this too as I'm wondering if I'll have to investigate my starter/solenoid if replacing my main wiring doesn't cure my starting probs. However my geography means a repair shop is not an option. I guess a new solenoid is not prohibitive but pulling it apart and fixing would be my preference. What is involved in taking the cap off and replacing?

As for sourcing a cap (if simply cleaning the contacts isn't possible) then jcrsupplies.co.uk looks promising. Their site promises it is just a selection of their stock...

[Oldiebut goodie]

Thanks OBG. The starter needs stripping anyway as it's slow and I'd rather change the cap if possible than have extra wires in the engine bay. My starter has part number 003 911 023 E

You would still only have the one wire - you are moving the join not the wire (unless your trigger wire doesn't go into the loom on the bulkhead for some reason)