63 Plymouth slant. Starter spinning at random.

[Wallus57]

Hi folks. Bit of a weird one lol. I started my engine to let it warmĥ up and all was fine. But a couple of minutes later I heard a whining noise slowly ramping up. Ends up it was the starter. Not enough to engage the ring gear but ended up sounding like she was ready to blow!!! I shut the key off but there was still power getting to it somehow. It finally stopped just before I could disconnect the battery. I'm thinking either relay or solenoid but it hasn't done it again so hard to test. I'm sure that if I don't address it though it'll bite me HARD!! on the road in the middle of nowhere lol. I remember horn relays fusing (usually in the middle of the night) so I guess starer relays can do the same. Anyone here had a problem like this? Thanks, Wally.

 

[RJRENTON]

Hi folks. Bit of a weird one lol. I started my engine to let it warmĥ up and all was fine. But a couple of minutes later I heard a whining noise slowly ramping up. Ends up it was the starter. Not enough to engage the ring gear but ended up sounding like she was ready to blow!!! I shut the key off but there was still power getting to it somehow. It finally stopped just before I could disconnect the battery. I'm thinking either relay or solenoid but it hasn't done it again so hard to test. I'm sure that if I don't address it though it'll bite me HARD!! on the road in the middle of nowhere lol. I remember horn relays fusing (usually in the middle of the night) so I guess starer relays can do the same. Anyone here had a problem like this? Thanks, Wally.

Another POSSIBILITY is the high current contact (as part of the the shifting solenoid on (THE STARTER ITSELF), not the fire wall mounted device) retract spring (weak or broken) will not disengage the internal contacts causing the starter motor to continue to operate......the fix, rebuild the starter's solenoid.......just a thought.....
BOB RENTON

 

[Don Frelier]

Try getting some light oil on the Bendix where it extends out towards the ring gear.

 

[Wallus57]

Another POSSIBILITY is the high current contact (as part of the the shifting solenoid on (THE STARTER ITSELF), not the fire wall mounted device) retract spring (weak or broken) will not disengage the internal contacts causing the starter motor to continue to operate......the fix, rebuild the starter's solenoid.......just a thought.....
BOB RENTON

Thanks Bob. This isn't the type of solenoid that moves the starter gear fork if that's what you're thinking. It's basically like an old Ford solenoid that bolts to the fender only this one bolts to the top of the starter.

 

[RJRENTON]

Thanks Bob. This isn't the type of solenoid that moves the starter gear fork if that's what you're thinking. It's basically like an old Ford solenoid that bolts to the fender only this one bolts to the top of the starter.

YES.....this solenoid also contains the high current contact assembly (top and bottom stationary contacts plus tha moving disc contact) that, when energized, engages the starter drive (aka "BENDIX") with the ring gear AND powers the starter motor armature. This is similar to the Ford setup, also GM. The high current contact assembly, because of the high current being controlled can arc and weld together. The internal spring, if broken, can aggravate the situation. There are rebuild kits available for this solenoid assembly. Remember to disconnect the battery b4 doing any work. Just my opinion of course.....
BOB RENTON

 

[Wallus57]

YES.....this solenoid also contains the high current contact assembly (top and bottom stationary contacts plus tha moving disc contact) that, when energized, engages the starter drive (aka "BENDIX") with the ring gear AND powers the starter motor armature. This is similar to the Ford setup, also GM. The high current contact assembly, because of the high current being controlled can arc and weld together. The internal spring, if broken, can aggravate the situation. There are rebuild kits available for this solenoid assembly. Remember to disconnect the battery b4 doing any work. Just my opinion of course.....
BOB RENTON

Thanks again Bob. I'm tempted to drill out the rivets and check it out. Should be simple enough!

 

[Wallus57]

Thanks again Bob. I'm tempted to drill out the rivets and check it out. Should be simple enough!

Well I took the solenoid apart and the spring is in one piece and it looked clean inside so I buffed the contacts and bolted it together. Then I took the cover off of the relay and it was like new inside and had tension on the contact spring. I ran the car for 15 minutes and it worked fine. Hoping it was just a glitch (nope). Thanks for the info.