Delco Remy Starter - Troubleshooting Noisy Engagement

Usually when a starter is noisy during engagement you will have to remove it and check it over. Other things to check is the flywheel teeth that mesh with the starter drive gear. When the starter continually spins at high speed while starting then either the drive gear or the flywheel teeth are badly worn. What causes this is the operator engaging the starter while the engine is running. The starter below has a worn groove where the snap ring is positioned.

The machined groove should be as thick as the lock ring. You can see the groove has been worn lengthwise from the constant pounding of the drive gear during normal starting. The lock ring fits inside the washer on the shaft and locks the two together to provide a stopping point for the drive gear when the starter is engaged.

The only way to repair this condition is replacing the starter or the armature shaft. Either way the shaft itself cannot be repaired. The Mechanic has to decide which route to take in this situation.

Testing A Starter Solenoid

Check out this excellent video on Electromagnetism. This is the principle that solenoids and relays use to provide the most efficient electrical circuits. It's over 10 minutes long so grab your favorite beverage and have a look.

The principles here will give you a much better idea how components work like a starter solenoid. Following this video is my own on bench testing a starter solenoid which connects the Battery to the starter motor and engages the starter drive with the engine flywheel.

Below is a demonstration on bench testing a starter by simply connecting battery supply to the solenoid positive terminal and the ground terminal at the starter motor.

The switch terminal which is marked "S" is the signal from the ignition switch that energizes the coil in the solenoid and turns it into an electromagnet forcing the contact plate to connect the main battery power to the motor.



Here is an older post on the disassembly & repair of a Delco 37 MT Starter