hello everybody, great forum. i have a 1994 chevy 1500 2wd pick up and it seems as if every week its something. well the last two mornings i've had problems starting it- the starter worked but the engine didn't turn over, like a connection was lost between the starter and the engine. battery is fine. each morning it would eventually start but would only turn over and start after two or three tries. the rest of the day it has seemed to works fine. i live in wisconsin. any help much appreciated.
so its the starter solenoid? just to help me understand how things work what does the solenoid do? and why would it work fine throughout the day but not in the morning during first start? is it hard to change? thanks alot for the help!
The solenoid is the part of the starter that gives the starter the power to kick the flywheel on the motor around. The noise you hear is the starter gear failing to engage the flywheel and just spins uselessly. It is worse in the morning because the engine is cold, therefore more difficult to turn over. Starters are usually easy to swap out depending on access. Just disconnect the positive side of the battery terminal AT THE BATTERY for safety. Then look at your starter. Two or three bolts hold the starter motor to the engine. Just undo them and pull the starter off. There is one large wire on a stud and a couple smaller wires on the solenoid that have to be swapped out. It's easier if you have your new starter right there to make sure you get the wires back in the right place. Hook your battery back up and you're good to go. Some starters have shims on the main bolts that need to go back in the same place to work properly.
If your starter turn each and every time you turn the key, but fails to engague; then it is a weak bendix spring - the portion of the starter that actually moves forward to engague with the flywheel. Cure, replace it or get a rebuilt starter. Yes, the cold can effect it. As to your question about the solenoid its a heavy duty electrical switch, on chevy it made into the starter; the starter draws large amounts of electrical flow when engagued. The solenoid has internal contacts than close when light duty currant (from your key) is applied.
I'm curious why you would recommend someone to remove the positive battery cable instead of the safer route via the negetive cable?
Removing the 'negative' cable is safer, no sparks and stops the system from sparking which could cause battery explosion.
About a year ago I had many starting problems with my f150. New solenoid, pulled starter.. the starter tested good, replaced battery to started pos wire, replaced battery...major PIA...turned out to be bad ground wiring. A combination of corroded wires and contacts and some previous creative wiring :no: Good luck getting the Chevy sorted out... Eric
