Advice please A6q - won't start

[Brett Dikeman]

At 9:44 AM -0500 7/25/04, Chris Thorp wrote:
>DOUBLDz at aol.com wrote:
>
>>Here I am in Michigan (near Kalamazoo) and I cannot start Baby. 
>>When I turn the key I just get a quiet whine.
>>
>Dee,
>
>It sounds to me like you've got a bad starter solenoid.  I'd give 
>the starter a couple light taps with a hammer and try cranking it 
>again.

No!  Bosch starters often have a label on them which shows a hammer 
and a BIG red cross sign.  HItting a permanent magnet will destroy 
it- it will either loose magnetism, or chip/crack and jam up the 
starter motor.  They're like ceramic- very fragile to sudden impacts.

If by "a quiet whine" you mean a moderately high pitched whirring 
noise, that means the solenoid is fine (if the solenoid wasn't 
working, the starter wouldn't), but the bendix gear isn't popping out 
to engage the flywheel.  It should either be removed and lubricated, 
or the whole unit rebuilt/replaced.

If it's an electronic noise, and all the lights, electronics etc shut 
off or get very dim- you've got some sort of battery or cabling 
problem.

Brett
-- 
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/