Hitachi battery terminal lug, stripped.

[TomY]

This starter isn't 'that' old. I installed it in 2000. Some time after, the nut on the battery connection lug stripped. Since, I packed a few washers on to get to the good threads.

I'm in the process of adding some fusing. I'd like to fix this. The inner nut is loose, and turns. I'm thinking these are copper studs (which could be why it stripped easily), that thread into the starter?

Any ideas?

 

[Maine Sail]

Drop it at your local mom and pop auto-electric shop (Ron's in Windsor) and have a new solenoid installed.

 

[TomY]

T

Drop it at your local mom and pop auto-electric shop (Ron's in Windsor) and have a new solenoid installed.

That is where it came from, new. That's a good idea. If I pull the starter, the solenoid looks pretty simple to swap, two screws. That is, if it's easy to find, or find the #'s on the starter, etc. Not so much to save money as time, making two trips up and back.

Looking at the photo (which is a better view than your eyes can get on this location), I wonder why I wouldn't take the inner nut off, get a new nut, run a 8mm 1.25 die on the stud, and use the good threads under that?

I looks like the mating surface inside of that inner nut, would be a better, larger surface connection for the lug.

I'll try that, first. (Melting the snowball,...) Thanks.

 

[TomY]

I got lucky. The nut turned off and threads are fine underneath(I ran a die down them). I removed the starter terminal nut as well. It has no inner nut; the copper starter lug seats on the inner seat, which has a larger surface area.

What gives? Seems to me these solenoid terminals are designed to seat on the inner face. But they put a long one of the battery terminal, I guess to allow other connections (which can wreak havoc).

As I am removing my alternators terminal that shared the battery stud, and relocating the alternator terminal to the starting battery main switch, with just one lug, I should have a better connection now with more contact area. And if I cut the solenoid stud down (after the new nut and lock washer), nobody will make that mistake, again.

I had contact problems with this connection in the past, which is probably why I overtightened the nut, and stripped the stud. I can probably thank that extra inner nut(which the new starter came with), the extra alternator terminal and the wrong sized battery cable lug.

The battery cable has a 3/8" lug. I snipped that off (and an extra needless foot of cable), and will head to Hamilton, for a 1/0 with a 5/16" hole.

 

[TomY]

After reconnecting, I tested the starter. It slowly engaged and just barely turned over. Odd. Batteries haven't been charged since November, but I had just checked the voltage (I always do in the spring), and they had lost no more than 5% charge.

Turned the key again, and...nothing. No click. Dead. Must be my wiring so I checked voltage along the route. Everything checked. Disconnected the power from ignition key switch to the solenoid, and checked voltage. All good, same everywhere. Reconnected that line to the starter, turned the key to energize the solenoid while checking the voltage on the key switch, and voltage dropped like a rock.

Further, I couldn't get the starter to run as I bypassed the solenoid. This is a dodgy move though, as sparks fly when an arc makes the high amp connection through a screw driver - jammed into the lugs.

That would be weird, wouldn't it? Starter and solenoid, suddenly both die?

Curiosity got the better of me and after pulling the starter and taking it home, I took the solenoid off. I could tell that it was cooked. It had that odd smell of a burned electrical stuff. No matter how well I grounded the solenoid in a vise, power to energize the coil did nothing. Dead.

Put the starter in the vise with a negative cable terminal clamped in the jaws, touched the + cable to starter lead, ZAP, and it ran.

I'm waiting to catch the starter guy RC mentioned, on the phone. He's one of those dwindling businesses that has no online presence. There are a few still around. Glad this happened, now.