Question: Starter kicks out????

[Dirty Offio]

Hey guys,

So the starter on my 86 6.2L is pissing me off.  If it is plugged in (even now, when the temps are nice) it will fire right up.  If I try to start it if it hasn't been plugged in, the starter will start to roll the motor over and then kick out.  Sometimes it rolls over several revolutions, other times it doesn't make it a full turn before it kicks out. 

So my question is this.  Do you think this is the starter drive?  as in, if I pull the starter and change the starter drive will it start playing nice with the other kids?  Or do you think it would be the solenoid?  The starter works great, other than this...so I don't really want to swap the unit out...besides, the dang things are expensive!

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Offio

[Irish_Alley]

does it do this with the motor hot (other than warm) and cold?

[Dirty Offio]

No, it only does it when the engine is cold and it hasn't been plugged in.  If it is warm, it does not do it, if it is plugged in it does not do it.  Overnight temps right now are in the 50's, so I shouldn't need to plug it in...other than this stupid habit of it's.

Cheers!

[bake74]

     To answer your question we would need to know if the solenoid is loosing power when the starter "kicks out".
      As you know, the solenoid only uses a small amount of current to connect the battery and starter.  So during the "kick out", is the problem with the solenoid losing power, or, the actual starter loosing power from the battery ?  Starters can draw up to 500 amps, and a lot of ignition systems have resistance wires built into the circuit to avoid over a ping and catching the system on fire.
     You need to do a couple of test when cold.  1st test the solenoid power leads while starting cold to see if it is loosing power during the kick out.  This will give you a direction to start your diagnosis procedures, either with the solenoid, or the starter/ignition system.
     Report back your findings.

[Irish_Alley]

while your doing that test does the starter Bendix(gear) still turn when the starter kicks out? you would hear a loud starter spinning noise

[74 C-10 Shorty]

Starter drive, clutch is bad that's why it zings..

[zieg85]

Classic description of a Bendix in need of replacement... (zings under extreme pressure like thicker oil of a cold engine). 

[74 C-10 Shorty]

Yep, they're a one way clutch and it just won't hang on anymore, more pressure worse it is and it just keeps getting worse.

[Dirty Offio]

Just a quick note.  Thanks everyone for the replies.  I replaced the starter drive and the solenoid.  She works like a champ now!

[Irish_Alley]

glad you got her fixed