It was not the Starter Afterall

Flying Miss Daisy said:

Hi All,
I want to thank the folks who helped me out with the previous thread about my starting problem in 39Y. As I hit the starter button it would rotate to compression stroke and stop dead. I would then be forced to keep hitting the button hoping for the impulse coupling.
I was ready to plunk down $650.00 for a new B&C starter but I was provided a troubleshooting guide from B&C that stated that most starters returned to them for core credit had absolutely nothing wrong. I also got the Skytec troubleshooting guide which is a Nice color picture with voltage values between the components in the circuit.
The culprit was my first thought "The wire between the solenoid at the battery that extended through the side panel 13 feet to the starter is too small" after my investigation it was #4 copper. After going through the logs the previous owner referred to this as an upgraded cable but we could not find it in the log books of when it was changed but it was done so by the previous owner as he listed this mod in the sales thread he gave me.

Upon doing my homework and actually taking a 12 volt battery through a snow plow switch and double ought cable we gave voltage directly to the starter and the prop turned quickly and freely that was the clincher.
To replace the cable with a new 1 ought from Bogert was about $200 and all the side panels needed to come off. As advised by one of the members I needed to give up on the battery in the rear and spend the long dollar for the under seat gel battery and much shorter cable run of what I now estimate to be 6 feet. Brad up to Dans Aircraft was great and I spent a shade over $500 for this conversion that includes mounting gear, a new battery and STC. I decided that even though the run was much shorter I still bought a 2 ought cable to run to the starter. Of course while I had the seat removed and I had the Scot brakes exposed one conversion lead to another and I put in Steve's booster brakes in preparation of 31" ABW's in my future. Brian at Steve's helped me through this process and also was great. This allowed me to go under the seat one time only. My largest issue was as we started to expose the switches like the master to run the new wire from under the seat we had issue that the original installation had no wiring service loops and any stress on these 30 year old switches broke terminal connectors. The 30 amp master switch cost $85 alone from Spruce as I could not find a milspec switch rated for the amperage.

Bottom Line...I got the new switch installed this weekend and put all the covers back on. This new setup turns the prop surprisingly fast and the brakes are great. After two months of not even a start the she rotated three times and started right up. It is great. Do not be fooled that this was easy as under seat is extremely busy and tight with all the components.

My largest help was St. Steve Pierce who helped me through the process. I referred to myself as his favorite hemorrhoid.....A large non paying pain in the ass. Thanks again to all that helped.
John

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Flying Miss Daisy said:

Imagine this body upside down back across a board on the pilots seat legs extending through to the extended baggage with my head under the panel routing a new solenoid wire to the existing starter switch as a crack of thunder puts the dog into my groin doing pirouettes. OOOOOOFFFFFFPHHHHHHFUGGGGGHHHHH

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Tgskillskill said:

I was searching for the best existing post, and I think this old one matches perfectly.

I was recently having increasingly intermittent starter issues on my cub (Skytec 122-NL). Would hit the starter button, hear a ting ting ting ting.. Sometimes an engagement of the prop, sometimes not. Starter's pinion gear was engaging just fine it seemed, but took a lot of finagling to get to start. Anyway, long story short. I think we miss-diagnosed after a one for one starter swap. Continued having the same issues, and then focused on the starter solenoid (& grounds, like we should have in the first place). Replaced the starter solenoid (old plastic one had a crack in the housing that would couldn't see, which was obvious once we got the old off) and awesome/strong starts ever since.

I suspect the old starter is okay. Would love to sell on Alaskaslist/craigslist for a deal if still usable, but want to make sure I am not hosing someone by selling something that is truly junk. Whats the easiest way I can bench test? Or, alternatively, so I do not have to waste time, shouldn't a starter/alternator shop be able to quickly determine if all looks well (as far as operation, quick check of voltage, etc.)?

Cheers,
Jeff

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